House Of The Dragon: George R. R. Martin Slams Makers For ‘Toxic’ Changes from His Book, Deletes The Post Later
George R. R. Martin has called out the makers of House of the Dragon for omitting an essential character from his book that would affect the overall storyline.
George R. R. Martin took an unmissable dig at the makers of House Of The Dragon, here’s why! (Photo Credit – Instagram/Facebook)
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Since House of the Dragon Season 2 premiered in June, George R. R. Martin has repeatedly hinted that he disagrees with certain aspects of the show. After announcing last week that he would get into the details of what went wrong with the new season, the author finally addressed the issues in his latest blog post. George R. R. Martin, who is the author of Fire & Blood, on which the HBO fantasy drama is based, highlighted some ‘toxic’ changes made by the creators of the show that could have long-lasting effects on the overall storyline. However, he deleted the post after it sparked a controversy, forcing HBO to release a statement.
George R. R. Martin Calls Out House of the Dragon Creators for Plot Changes from Fire & Blood
On Wednesday, Martin took to his blog, Not a Blog, to publish a now-deleted post titled Beware the Butterflies. In the post, the author criticized House of the Dragon creators for not including one essential character from his book, Prince Maelor Targaryen, and how his absence would create a ‘butterfly effect,’ impacting the show’s storyline. Martin stated that he disagreed with showrunner Ryan Condal, who told him in 2022 that Maelor would not appear in the second season. In the book, Maelor is the third child of Aegon and Helaena, after Jaehaera and Jaehaerys. He had a significant role in the Blood and Cheese plot depicted in season 2, episode 1, where Helaena was supposed to choose between her two sons. The show; however, omitted his character and made Helaena choose between Jaehaera and Jaehaerys.
House Of The Dragons Creator Cited Practical Reasons For Not Adding Maelor Targaryen’s Character On The Show
George R. R. Martin said that when he learned about Condal’s plan, he opposed the move, but the creator cited practical reasons for not wanting to cast a 2-year-old toddler in the show and assured him that Maelor would be made a part of the show in season 3. “[Condal] assured me we were not losing Prince Maelor, simply postponing him. Queen Helaena could still give birth to him in season three, presumably after getting with child late in season two. That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and consented to the change,” Martin wrote, “The author revealed that later he got to know Maelor was skipped from the show altogether. “The prince’s birth was no longer just going to be pushed back to season three. He was never going to be born at all.” Martin then spilled some spoilers about season 3, revealing how Maelor’s existence was important for a key plot point in his story. “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 three and four,” added the author. Martin later removed the post, but the damage was already done and HBO had to release a statement defending the creative team of the show.
“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,” stated a spokesperson of the network. We wonder whom the fans will support in the middle of this fiasco.
