‘House of the Dragon’ Includes a Clever ‘Sesame Street’ Joke

House of the Dragon Season 2 has made notable deviations from George R.R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood, yet it has pleasantly surprised fans by including a beloved Easter egg. This week, Archie Barnes delivered an outstanding performance as Oscar Tully, the new lord of the Riverlands, following the death of his grandfather, Grover. Interestingly, Martin named several characters in House Tully after Muppets and Sesame Street characters.

Throughout this season, Lord Grover was frequently mentioned, with Daemon eagerly awaiting his demise to leverage House Tully’s influence for uniting the Riverlands and raising an army. Though Grover never appeared on screen, Barnes shone as Oscar Tully, presenting a confused and distraught facade in response to Daemon’s callousness and then evolving into a shrewd and calculating figure by Episode 7. The show’s portrayal of Oscar amalgamates two other book characters, Elmo and Kermit, into a single entity.

This alteration isn’t drastic, but some fans are somewhat disappointed that more Tullys with Muppet names won’t be featured later. In the book, Grover was succeeded by his grandson Elmo, who has seemingly been omitted from the show. Unfortunately, Elmo only survived his grandfather by 49 days, succumbing to the effects of drinking unclean water while his army was marching.

Following Elmo’s brief tenure, his eldest son Kermit took over, while the original Oscar was Kermit’s younger brother. It’s not surprising the show merged these three characters; it didn’t even allocate screen time for Grover, so introducing two more characters with flamboyant names might have confused viewers. Among Grover, Oscar, Kermit, and Elmo, the latter two would have appeared outlandish, while Grover and Oscar are more believable names for characters in Westeros.

Fans have delved deeper into these Muppet references, highlighting Martin’s meticulousness. In the book, Oscar is described as “green as summer grass”—a phrase indicating his lack of battle experience but also nodding to Oscar the Grouch’s green fur. The show mirrored this reference in Episode 7 when Oscar remarked, “I am still green in these matters.” Additionally, the colors of these characters align with the names of the three major rivers in the Riverlands—the Red Fork, Green Fork, and Blue Fork, making up the larger body known as The Trident. Red correlates with Elmo, green with both Oscar and Kermit, and blue with Grover.

While not all fans appreciate every adaptation change, and Martin himself has expressed some disappointment, touches like these demonstrate the writers and producers’ dedication to the books. They are honoring the source material whenever possible. House of the Dragon Season 2 concludes on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and Max. Martin’s books are accessible in print, digital, and audiobook formats.

Source: Popculture