'House of the Dragon': Author George R.R. Martin Reviews Season 2's 'Butterfly Effects'

Martin lamented small changes to the show that could have big ramifications.

By Michael Hein

Author George R.R. Martin has been uncharacteristically critical of the TV adaptations of his work lately, and on Wednesday he published (and later deleted) a blog post reviewing House of the Dragon Season 2. Martin has been teasing this post since the season finale, and fans have already generated a lot of conversation by speculating about what he would say. The author only touched on one of the changes this season made from his book, Fire & Blood, but delved into why he was wary of messing with the narrative.

Fair warning: there are spoilers for both House of the Dragon and Fire & Blood ahead! Martin took it all the way back to the beginning of the season to comment on the murder of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena's (Phia Saban) son, Jaehaerys, referring to the incident as "Blood and Cheese" for shorthand. The book version of this event was much more psychologically horrifying, as the would-be assassins forced Helaena to choose which of her sons would be killed, then killed a different one instead, leaving Helaena and her children to stew in the choice she had made. The show cut one of Aegon and Helaena's sons, meaning this choice was off the table to begin with.

Martin refers to the absent prince as "Maelor the Missing," and went on to explain that there was more to this change than the blunting of a torturous moment. He noted that, in his book, Helaena pleads with Blood and Cheese to kill her instead of her children, but they refuse, saying they need to kill a son in retribution for Prince Lucerys. He wrote: "As 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 from the comments on line, most of the fans seemed to agree."

Martin revealed that he did argue with showrunner Ryan Condal about this change during production – "not long, or with much heat, however." Condal explained to him that casting another young actor and then filming an action scene with three toddlers rather than two would have a significant impact on the show's budget, and "Budget was already an issue on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, it made sense to save money wherever we could." From here, this is the prime example Martin uses to launch into a discussion of the "butterfly effect" in this adaptation.

Martin recapped some upcoming events in the book that require both Maelor and Jaehaera to play very different, very important roles in the story. He felt that it would be difficult to add Maelor in now since he hasn't been shown at all, and since Aegon made it very clear he cannot conceive another child. He wrote: "I have no idea what Ryan has planned – if indeed he has planned anything." He wrote that cutting Maelor is "simplest, yes, and may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better."

Martin went on to describe events in his book that he feels hinge on Maelor – and, ultimately, on the "Blood and Cheese" incident playing out as it did in his writing. He made a strong case that the very climax of this war could fall flat without that vital piece of the foundation. He wrote: "None of that is essential, I suppose... but all of it does serve a purpose, it all helps to tie the storylines together, so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing manner. What will we offer the fans instead, once we've killed these butterflies? I have no idea."

Martin seemed to let this example stand in for his thoughts on all the changes to House of the Dragon Season 2, as he concluded: "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... GRRM." Here, he could be referring to the ongoing changes to Rhaena Targaryen's (Phoebe Campbell) storyline and the simultaneous removal of another character, which is perhaps fans' least favorite change so far. There are other changes to analyze as well – some small tweaks that change only tone and atmosphere, and some so large in scale they could alter the history of Westeros in HBO's continuity altogether.

Martin did not sum up his feelings on the season as a whole, or fall back on any of his frequent idioms such as "the show is the show, the books are the books." He also did not assure blog readers that he is still hard at work on his long-awaited novel The Winds of Winter, as he often does. This leaves fans to speculate not only about how involved he is in the TV franchise, but how invested in it he is. Martin has said that he prefers writing novels over screenplays because there are no budgets, shooting schedules or other details to worry about, so now might be a great time to bask in the freedom of prose.

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As for the books, hopes for a new publication have waxed and waned severely on fan forums this summer. Many have been hoping that Martin would finish his series A Song of Ice and Fire in order to separate its legacy from that of Game of Thrones, but five years later, that hope is growing thin. There is growing concern among commenters that he will not finish because he is trying to work on too many things all at once.

House of the Dragon is streaming now on Max. Season 3 is in pre-production, while the next spinoff, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight, premieres in 2025 on HBO and Max. Martin's books are available now in print, digital and audiobook formats.

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