Who Are Blood and Cheese in House of the Dragon? (& What Did They Do)
There are a lot of different minor characters that have played their own roles in the storyline of House of the Dragon, and there are more who are on the way. After all, while the series revolves around House Targaryen, the ordinary people still have their own roles to play in the storyline, even though such roles are quite small. Two characters that we are talking about are Blood and Cheese, who both had big roles in the book. So, who are Blood and Cheese, and what did they do?
Blood is a butcher that used to be a serjeant in the City Watch. Meanwhile, Cheese is a ratcatcher familiar with the different tunnels in the Red Keep. They were both hired by Mysaria to assassinate Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, who is the son of King Aegon II with Queen Helaena.
Of course, the Dance of the Dragons is an all-out war where each side has done what it can do to try to gain an advantage over the other. In this case, the fact that Blood and Cheese killed Jaehaerys in the book is one of the moves done by Daemon Targaryen in response to the death of Lucerys Velaryon. With that said, let’s take a better look at Blood and Cheese and what they did in Fire & Blood.
Who Are Blood And Cheese?
One of the things that we have all noticed in the books of George RR Martin is that his stories tend to focus more on the ones with power, and that means that the stories revolve around the kings and the lords of Westeros. After all, his books have always been about politics, and that means that the leaders of his fictional world are supposed to be the ones that the story should focus on.
But while that may be true, there are also other characters that may not have power or position but have played important roles in the storylines of his books, no matter how small they may be. From where House of the Dragon is headed, it does seem like we are going to see the smallfolk playing their own role in this political battle between two powerful factions.
In episode 9 of House of the Dragon, we saw Mysaria, who is known as the White Worm, receiving ransom money from Otto Hightower so that she would reveal where she hid Prince Aegon. After that, she told the Hand of the King that the king only has power because the people allow him to have power. She even told him that Aegon only became king because she allowed him to become king when she could have just easily killed the prince.
This seems to be something that foretells one of the most important events in the entire storyline of Fire & Blood because of how it affected the events that happened in the Dance of the Dragons. Also, this is where the duo of Blood and Cheese comes in. But who are Blood and Cheese in House of the Dragon?
Blood worked as a butcher in King’s Landing but used to be a serjeant with the City Watch. However, he was removed from his position when he was too drunk that he beat a whore to death. Meanwhile, Cheese is a ratcatcher that works in the Red Keep. Due to his job, Cheese knows his way around the Red Keep and is an expert in using the secret tunnels and passageways that are found in the castle.
The names of Blood and Cheese are unknown. While they aren’t the most important characters in the storyline of Fire & Blood, both Blood and Cheese had a huge role to play in the sequence of events in the book.
What Did Blood And Cheese Do In Fire & Blood?
When the Dance of the Dragons broke out, Rhaenyra Targaryen sent her second son, Lucerys Velaryon, to Storm’s End so that he could ask House Baratheon to ally with the Blacks. However, Aemond Targaryen had also been sent there by the Greens to do the same. While Borros Baratheon prevented the two from fighting while they were in Storm’s End, he didn’t stop them from fighting when they left his home. In the fight between the two dragonriders, Aemond’s Vhagar easily killed Luke’s Arrax, as the young Velaryon prince died as well.
Rhaenyra collapsed upon hearing what had happened to her second son. She was inconsolable, and this led Daemon to vow to take revenge for what had happened to his wife’s child. That was when he told the Greens the words: “An eye for an eye, a son for a son.” And while the Greens thought that he was talking about Aemond, who was responsible for killing Luke, Daemon was talking about Aegon II’s son.
Daemon commissioned the help of his former lover, Mysaria, to assassinate Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, the eldest son and heir of King Aegon II. And Mysaria used Blood and Cheese for this mission, as this was within their expertise.
Blood was an expert butcher, while Cheese was a ratcatcher that was great at finding his way around the Red Keep by using the secret tunnels in the castle. As such, using Cheese’s knowledge of the different passageways and tunnels in the Red Keep, the duo was able to get to Prince Jaehaerys without having to go through the Kingsguard. That was when they killed the boy in cold blood and avenged the death of Lucerys.
It is possible that the “beast beneath the boards” that Helaena was talking about in episode 9 was a premonition to what is about to happen to her child, as Blood and Cheese were probably beneath the boards when they were traversing their way around the Red Keep to get to the young prince.
In the book, this was the event that destroyed Queen Helaena, as she was inconsolable after the death of her son. This also led to her eventual suicide during the time when Rhaenyra was already holding King’s Landing. Helaena’s death was one of the reasons why the people of King’s Landing eventually revolted against Rhaenyra, who was forced to vacate the capital. And the riots of King’s Landing were what also led to Rhaenyra’s death at the hands of King Aegon II.
