Warning: This article contains spoilers from the House of the Dragon season 2 finale.

It looks like House of the Dragon is finally giving us Nettles — even though the character has seemingly been revamped from the book, and even though many fans have already surmised who her true identity is.

In Fire & Blood, the book on which House of the Dragon is based, author George R.R. Martin writes about individuals among the smallfolk who become new dragonriders in the court of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy). We've seen most of them on the show: Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), a bastard son of Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), is chosen by Seasmoke, the dragon previously ridden by Rhaenyra's first husband and Addam's half-brother Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan); Hugh (Kieran Bew), a down-on-his-luck blacksmith fighting for a better life for his family, claims Vermithor, the second-largest dragon in the world; and Ulf (Tom Bennett), a drunkard who alleges to be the bastard half-brother of Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) and the late King Viserys (Paddy Considine), claims Silverwing, the dragon ridden by King Jaehaerys' wife, Queen Alysanne Targaryen.

But there's still one more we haven't seen yet — or have we? Martin writes about another dragonrider in Fire & Blood named Nettles, a.k.a. Netty. He describes her as a small, brown-skinned girl with black hair, a foul mouth, and crooked nose. Another Targaryen bastard of unknown birth, Nettles is able to tame a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. While all those who previously tried to mount the drake met their doom at his jaws, Nettles fed Sheepstealer a freshly slaughtered sheep every morning until the dragon became accustomed to her and eventually submitted to Nettles as his dragonrider.

HBO

For some time, it was perceived that Nettles was left out of the historic record for the events of House of the Dragon, but as season 2 progressed, it became more and more clear that Lady Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) would be getting this storyline in a major revamp from the source material.

The daughter of Daemon, sister of Lady Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia), and step-daughter of Queen Rhaenyra, Rhaena is notably the only Targaryen royal without a dragon. Characters on the show have referenced her previous attempt to bond with one, in which she nearly lost her life. So Rhaenyra tasked her with watching out for her youngest children as they are escorted first to the Eyrie in the Vale and then off to Essos for their protection. She gives Rhaena a clutch of dragon eggs with the promise that she can claim the first one to hatch.

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Lady Rhaena appears to have other plans. In season 2's seventh episode, "The Red Sowing," Rhaena decides to flee from the convoy as it departs the Eyrie and instead runs off into the fields of the Vale. In the finale episode, Rhaena is surprised, and also terrified, to encounter a dragon gnawing on its latest meal. This is the same wild dragon that has been roaming the land, leaving scorch marks on the ground to mark its prey. The dragon screeches a warning at Rhaena when she approaches, but even though she doesn't yet tame and mount the dragon, all signs point to her becoming the sixth member of the queen's dragonriders, counting also Rhaenyra's son, Prince Jacaerys (Harry Collett), and Baela.

Theo Whiteman/HBO

Series showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal, as well as his lead writing partner Sara Hess, spoke in the past about how they tweaked material on House of the Dragon, often to fit the large expanse of storytelling from the book in the 10-episode first season and eight-episode second season. The slaughter of Queen Helaena's son Prince Jaehaerys by Blood and Cheese was another notable departure, given that the event happens on a different timeline for the show versus the book.

This arc for Baela will no doubt be one of various story threads that will hatch come season 3, which was officially renewed ahead of the season 2 premiere. The finale episode heavily alludes to the Battle of the Gullet, a violent conflict to come involving the Triarchy, which is currently setting sail for Westeros. There are also scenes of various armies marching: forces for House Stark head through the Twins in support of Rhaenyra and the Blacks; soldiers for House Hightower, including Alicent's other son Daeron Targaryen (still uncast on the show) riding his dragon Tessarion overhead, march from Oldtown in support of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and the Greens; and then there's Aegon himself, who's fleeing King's Landing with Larys (Matthew Needham) for his own safety.

Everyone is ready for war, and that now includes Lady Rhaena.