George R.R. Martin Teases ‘Larger and More Toxic’ Changes Are Being ‘Contemplated’ for Future House of the Dragon Seasons

The author previously promised to address “everything that’s gone wrong with ‘House of the Dragon’ ”

 

George R.R. Martin gave House of the Dragon fans his own thoughts on some of the controversial deviations the series made from his books.

In a since-deleted post on his official website titled “Beware the Butterflies” on Wednesday, Sept. 4, the Game of Thrones author, 75, predicted even more “toxic” changes would be coming to future seasons of the HBO series.

He also pointed to differences between the “Blood & Cheese” plot in HOtD‘s Season 2 premiere, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline reported.

On Aug. 30, Martin said he would write “about everything that’s gone wrong with House of the Dragon.”

“I promised you some further thoughts about ‘Blood and Cheese’ and Maelor the Missing after my commentary on the first two episodes of HotD season 2, A Son for a Son and Rhaenyra the Cruel,” he explained on Wednesday.

“Those were terrific episodes: well written, well directed, powerfully acted. A great way to kick off the new season,” Martin said, adding that fans and critics “seemed to agree.”

He observed that “the handling of ‘Blood and Cheese,’ and the death of Prince Jaehaerys” received “significant criticism.”

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“From the commentary I saw [online], opinion was split there. The readers of Fire & Blood found the sequence underwhelming, a disappointment, watered down from what they were expecting. Viewers who had not read the book had no such problems. Most of them found the sequence a real gut-punch, tragic, horrifying, nightmarish, etc. Some reported being reduced to tears. I found myself agreeing with both sides.”

He then pointed out key variations between the projects, such as the ages and number of children in one house, in particular.

“In my book, Aegon and Helaena have three children, not two. The twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, are six years old. They have a younger brother, Maelor, who is two. When Blood and Cheese break in on Helaena and the kids, they tell her they are debt collectors come to exact revenge for the death of Prince Lucerys: a son for a son.

As Helaena has two sons, however, they demand that she choose which one should die. She resists and offers her own life instead, but the killers insist it has to be a son. If she does not name one, they will kill all three of the children. To save the life of the twins, Helaena names Maelor. But Blood kills the older boy, Jaehaerys, instead, while Cheese tells little Maelor that his mother wanted him dead. Whether the boy is old enough to understand that is not at all certain.”

“There is no Maelor in House of the Dragon, only the twins,” he continued.

“I still believe the scene in the book is stronger. The readers have the right of that,” Martin said, adding, “The two killers are crueler in the book. I thought the actors who played the killers on the show were excellent… but the characters are crueler, harder, and more frightening in Fire & Blood.”

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Before concluding his lengthy post, Martin wrote, “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.”

Soon after, HBO released a statement, defending the changes showrunner Ryan Condal and his team have made.

“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,” an HBO spokesperson told Deadline.

“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 statement continued. “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.”

House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and is based on Martin’s book Fire & Blood. The author created the series with Condal and serves as an executive producer. The first and second seasons are now streaming on Max.

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