[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon and George RR Martin's book, Fire & Blood.]

Season 2 of House of the Dragon ended on the brink of a big battle in George RR Martin's Fire & Blood, giving the already greenlit Season 3 a violent start.

In a change from the book, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) became the final pawn in Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) impending attack on King's Landing. They met again in secret, this time at Dragonstone, where Alicent pleaded with Rhaenyra to take King's Landing and end the war she had started when she installed Aegon on the throne. The tide had already turned in Rhaenyra's favor, as Daemon (Matt Smith) successfully assembled an army in the Riverlands, she found three new dragonriders for Seasmoke, Vermithor and Silverwing, and Corlys' fleet readied to attack from the sea.

The next major events of the Targaryen Civil War were covered in House of the Dragon Season 2, setting the stage for the major conflict that would erupt next season. But there were many changes to the plot of the book. Here, we discuss them all.