As Promised, George R. R. Martin Fired Shots at “House of the Dragon”
It’s no secret that House of the Dragon’s season 2 finale didn’t sit well with audiences. The second season ended in roughly the same place as it began, highlighting the pacing issues that the Game of Thrones prequel series has struggled with since the beginning. Now you can count creator George R. R. Martin among the disgruntled viewers as well. “I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON,” the author wrote on his personal blog last week, “but I need to do that too, and I will.”
Classic George! Talking about writing instead of just writing. Still, the author was true to his word when he posted his gripes with the series on Wednesday afternoon. According to Variety, Martin's problems stemmed from House of the Dragon cutting one of his characters from the story. The show eliminated Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena Targaryen's (Phia Saban) youngest son, Maelor.
Though Martin stated that the omission would have major ramifications for the series moving forward, it's tough to say that the child is that important. Furthermore, Martin's case wasn't entirely convincing. "Only the book readers would even notice its absence," he wrote on his blog, though "viewers who had never read FIRE & BLOOD would still find the scenes heart-rending. Maelor did not actually DO anything in the scene, after all. How could he? He was only two years old... He is a small child, does not have a line of dialogue, does nothing of consequence but die… but where and when and how, that does matter." Again, that's arguable. After explaining how it affects the story, he goes on to state that, "None of that is essential, I suppose."
Martin also reportedly warned—rather cryptically, we might add—“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…”
Then, the Game of Thrones author deleted his blog post! The link now leads to a "Error 404—Page Not Found" page, with yesterday's blog remaining as the latest post. Though Martin didn't state why he retracted his critique of season 2, it was certainly puzzling that he was only dissatisfied with their omission of Maelor. After fan backlash plagued the final seasons of Game of Thrones, the writer supposedly made sure to be more hands-on with HBO’s prequel. Martin suggested several tie-ins to his overarching story, according to showrunner Ryan Condal, which the writers were more than willing to include. He also praised previous episodes in season 2, calling both the acting and directing “superb.” Now, it appears the writer's changed his tune.
According to Variety, it's possible that the blog post was struck down by HBO themselves. "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 official spokesman for HBO stated. "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." Essentially? You're not allowed to complain about it.
As for House of the Dragon's pacing problems? Not a single comment. The writer previously stated that he planned to fix Game of Thrones’ controversial ending with a very different story in the novels, but those books won’t arrive anytime soon. “When Winds of Winter is done, the word will not trickle out, there WILL be a big announcement,” he recently wrote on his blog. “Where and when I cannot say.” Sounds like pacing problems are becoming quite the theme.
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