George R.R. Martin scolds ‘House of the Dragon’ in now-missing blog post

Author of the article:

Washington Post

Herb Scribner, The Washington Post

Published Sep 05, 2024  •  4 minute read

George R.R. Martin in September 2018 at the Emmy Awards after party. Photo by Avalon /Bang Showbiz

George R.R. Martin published a blog post Wednesday that criticized the HBO series “House of the Dragon” and its showrunner, saying the series has started to stray too far from the novelist’s source material.

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In the blog post, titled “Beware the Butterflies,” Martin wrote that “HOTD” showrunner Ryan Condal’s decision to delay the birth of a character named Maelor created a “Butterfly Effect” that will make the HBO series widely different from Martin’s 2018 book, “Fire & Blood,” and less enjoyable for fans. The concerns come about one month after “House of the Dragon,” a prequel to HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” wrapped up its second season.

“Change begets change, and even small and seemingly insignificant alterations to a timeline – or a story – can have a profound effect on all that follows,” Martin wrote in the blog post, which is no longer viewable on his website. An archived version still exists online.

A spokesperson for Martin did not respond to questions about what happened to the blog post. Vince Gerardis, a manager for Martin and a producer for “House of the Dragon,” said when reached by phone, “Tell them you called me and I laughed.” He declined to comment further.

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An HBO spokesperson said in a statement that the “HOTD” creative team supports Martin’s work and that the creative decisions are made to help audiences.

“Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow,” the spokesperson said. “We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”

“We didn’t have anything to do with George’s blog or timing of posting or taking it down,” the spokesperson added.

Martin first teased the criticisms on Aug. 30, saying in a blog post that he’d explain “everything that’s gone wrong” with the show.

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His spoiler-filled musings published Wednesday mostly centred around the minor character of Maelor, the third child of Aegon and Helaena Targaryen in “Fire & Blood,” whose story arc directly affects several characters, including Queen Rhaenyra. In the show, the character hasn’t been born yet; Martin said Condal delayed his birth over budget and casting concerns. And therefore some of the book’s crucial events can’t happen in “HOTD,” Martin wrote.

Martin pointed to the show’s Season 2 premiere as one example. In the episode, a pair of thugs, named Blood and Cheese, kill Helaena’s son Jaehaerys in front of her (even after she offers a bribe). But in the book, the thugs force Helaena to choose which of her sons will die: Maelor or Jaehaerys. She chooses Maelor, but Blood and Cheese kill Jaehaerys instead (even after Helaena offers to sacrifice herself.)

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Martin wrote that Helaena showed more strength in the book over her choice, and Maelor’s survival led to further events down the road. Martin added that Condal’s outline for future seasons of the show eliminates more elements of the book.

Martin ended his blog post by suggesting that the show has many more issues to explore. “And there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”

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The author’s comments were met with considerable backlash on Wednesday from fans of “HOTD,” criticizing the author’s negative stance on the show’s creative direction. Others said Martin should be concentrated on writing “The Winds of Winter,” his long-promised sixth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series that has suffered multiple delays. However, there were some fans who seemed to agree with Martin’s comments.

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Condal, whose representative did not respond to a request for comment, said on HBO’s official “House of the Dragon” podcast published Wednesday morning that the elimination of Maelor was one of several creative changes made to move the “Fire & Blood” story forward without needing to recast more characters. Because the show takes place over decades, “House of the Dragon” has recasted several roles as the characters have aged.

“We had to make some compromises in rendering that story so that we didn’t have to recast the whole cast multiple times and really, just frankly, lose people,” he said.

Martin was previously supportive of the show’s second season. In December 2023, before production on its first two episodes ended, Martin wrote in a blog post that he enjoyed them so far.

“Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work…,” he wrote, “but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great. … Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart rending. Just the sort of thing I like.”

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