Shortly after George R.R. Martin criticised House of the Dragon Season 2 on his blog for deviating from his book Fire & Blood, the post was removed, now redirecting to a 404 error. HBO responded, expressing admiration for Martin and his work, noting the inevitable tough choices required in adapting books for screen:
“There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO. 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. 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.”
Reports and screenshots suggest that Martin’s main issue was the omission of Maelor, the young son of Helaena and Aegon, in the TV series. He also expressed dissatisfaction regarding the show’s handling of the ‘Blood and Cheese’ storyline, which diverged significantly from the source material.
In the series, the narrative simplifies a harrowing decision faced by the character Helaena Targaryen, which Martin felt diluted the story’s emotional impact. The author lamented that Helaena’s choice in the show — offering a piece of jewelry for her son instead of her life — failed to convey the depth and darkness of the original ‘Sophie’s Choice’ scenario in the books.
“When Ryan Condal (showrunner) first told me what he meant to do, ages ago (back in 2022, might be) I argued against it, for all these reasons. I did not argue long, or with much heat, however. The change weakened the sequence, I felt, but only a bit,” Martin wrote.
The decision to not include Maelor as a character was defended by showrunner Ryan Condal on HBO’s official House of the Dragon podcast. He explained the choice was due to the compressed timeline of the show, which aimed to avoid multiple recasts and maintain continuity in the age progression of the characters. Condal emphasised that this adaptation strategy, while resulting in some narrative sacrifices, was intended to strengthen the show’s portrayal of time and character development.
“That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and acquiesced to the change. I still love the episode, and the ‘Blood and Cheese’ sequence overall. Losing the ‘Helaena’s Choice’ beat did weaken the scene, but not to any great degree,” Martin wrote. He also revealed that an initial decision to delay Maelor’s introduction was later changed to remove the character entirely, which he believes will significantly alter the storyline going forward. He referred to ‘The Butterfly Effect’, suggesting that small changes could lead to unforeseen consequences in the story’s trajectory.
Despite expressing concerns about these alterations and their implications for future seasons, Martin acknowledged the strengths of the show, including the premiere episode of Season 2. He noted that while the changes weakened certain scenes, they did not drastically diminish the overall quality of the series.
As House of the Dragon prepares for its third season, with writing underway and production set to start in early 2025, it remains to be seen how the show will address Martin’s concerns and the potential impacts of the omitted character. Fans and critics alike await the next season, slated for a 2026 release.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, games, and comics — you name it. When she’s not reading or geeking out about the latest shows on Netflix, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
