“Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the show-runner 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 August 30, saying in a blog post that he’d explain “everything that’s gone wrong” with the show.
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 two 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.)
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…”
The author’s comments were met with considerable backlash on Wednesday from fans of HOTD, criticising 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.
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 re-casted 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.”
House of the Dragon is available to watch in New Zealand on Neon.
