George RR Martin criticizes changes in “House of the Dragon” and predicts possible problems in the series

The author, and also executive producer, published an extraordinary chronicle of his concern for fantasy dramagiving readers a rare glimpse into the behind-the-scenes creative friction of a major television series.

Martin essentially says on his blog that the co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal has made a key creative change from Martin’s book “Fire & Blood” which he totally disagrees with and which, in his opinion, has already weakened the adaptation in the second season and will cause much bigger problems in seasons three and four (Condal has said that the show will end with the fourth season).

(Spoilers for season two of House of the Dragon follow.)

George RR Martin’s message about the second season of House of the Dragon

At first, the change seems extremely minor: In the show, Aegon and Helaena have two young children (6-year-old twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera). In the book, they have three; there’s an even younger brother, 2-year-old Maelor. In a sprawling series with plenty of characters for viewers to remember, having one less child seems like a fairly routine adaptational choice. But, According to Martin, there is a “butterfly effect” of consequences.

The most immediate consequence was altering the “Blood and Cheese” sequence in the season two premiere, where two hired thugs kill Jaehaerys in front of his mother. In the book, the sequence was a more grueling “Sophie’s Choice” moment (referring to the film), where Helaena was forced to choose between her three sons. She chooses Maelor to save her twins, and then Blood and Cheese kill Jaehaerys instead. Helaena also offers her life to try to save her son; in the series, she tries to bribe them.

Although Martin still thinks the sequence is powerful, he notes: “I still think the scene in the book is stronger.. Readers have a right to that. The two killers are crueler in the book. I thought the actors who played the killers in the series were excellent… but the characters are crueler, tougher and scarier in Fire & Blood… I would also suggest that Helaena shows more courage, more strength in the book, by offering her own life to save her son. Offering a piece of jewelry is not the same… The way I saw it, the ‘Sophie’s Choice’ aspect was the strongest part of the sequence, the darkest, the most visceral. I hated to lose that. And judging by the comments online, most fans seemed to agree.”

Martin said he opposed losing Maelor during a conversation with Condal in 2022.

“I was opposed to it for all those reasons,” Martin writes. “I wasn’t opposed to it very much, though, or too ardently. The change weakened the sequence, I thought, but only a little. And Ryan had what seemed to be practical reasons for it: they didn’t want to deal with hiring another child, especially a two-year-old. Children that young inevitably slow down production, and that would have budgetary implications. Budget was already an issue on House of the Dragon, it made sense to save money where we could. Plus, Ryan assured me that we weren’t losing Prince Maelor, we were just postponing him. Queen Helaena could still give birth to Maelor in Season 3, presumably after becoming pregnant late in Season 2. That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and agreed to the change.”

But Martin adds: “Somewhere between the initial decision to kill off Maelor, a big change occurred. The prince’s birth would no longer be delayed until Season 3. He would never be born. Aegon and Helaena’s youngest son would never appear.”

That said, Martin said the first two episodes of the season “were fantastic episodes: well-written, well-directed, with strong performances. A great way to start the new season.”

What Martin is most concerned about is how the loss of Maelor will affect the next two seasons of the series. Martin mentions several sequences from his book that would apparently be cut.

“Will any of that appear in the show?” Martin asks. “Maybe… but I don’t see how. The butterflies seem to forbid it… As far as I can tell, that seems to be what Ryan is doing here. It’s the simplest thing, yes, and it may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better… Maelor on his own means little. He’s a little boy, he doesn’t have a line of dialogue, he doesn’t do anything important except die… but where, when and how, that does matter.”

Martin also reveals the death of a character from Condal’s scheme for the third season, noting that the character now commits suicide “for no particular reason” instead of as it happens in his book.

“I guess none of that is essential… but it all serves a purpose, it all helps tie the story lines together so that one thing follows another in a logical and compelling way… that’s a considerable loss.”

Martin then adds, rather presciently: “And bigger and more toxic butterflies will come if House of the Dragon continues with some of the changes that are being considered for seasons 3 and 4…”