George R.R. Martin's Deleted Blog Post Reveals Tensions with HBO Over Its 'House of the Dragon' Adaptation

By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 5, 2024 |

By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 5, 2024 |

In Pajiba Love last night, Mike linked to a George R.R. Martin blog post that detailed some issues he is having with HBO’s House of the Dragon. However, by the time Pajiba Love had published, Martin had already deleted the blog post, and HBO had released a statement defending House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal.

It all sounds very salacious, doesn’t it? The author behind Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and whatever spin-offs are yet to come butting heads with HBO and the showrunner of what is basically the network’s flagship series! Truthfully, however, it’s not that interesting, save for the fact that Martin spoiled a season three death.

The gist is this: Martin was upset over the removal of a character, Prince Maelor, the youngest child of Aegon and Helaena. In the show, they have two children instead of three. This change affected the “Blood and Cheese” sequence in the season two premiere, making it less impactful than in the book. Recall in the season two premiere, Helaena was forced to choose which of her two children two hired thugs would kill. In the book, there were three children, which made the decision more difficult (although, in both cases, Jaehaerys is killed). Martin felt the book version was stronger and more emotionally charged.

Moreover, Condal told Martin that the youngest child, Maelor, would be introduced later, but Martin later learned the character was being removed entirely. He is concerned about how this will affect future seasons and storylines. Further, based on what he’s seen in the outlines of season three, he thinks there are “larger and more toxic butterflies to come.” He also expressed disappointment that a character in season three takes their own life for little or no purpose.

After the blog post was deleted, HBO released the following statement: “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. 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.”

Condal also expressed similar sentiments — about showrunners needing to make difficult decisions that may depart from the source material for various reasons, including the budget — on the final official House of the Dragon podcast of the season.

That is the down and dirty of it. Martin aired his frustrations with some of the creative choices that Ryan Condal has made on House of the Dragon and HBO defended Condal. There was nothing in Martin’s tone, however, that suggested there is any real threat to the long-term relationship between Martin and HBO.

Martin did not take issue with one of the show’s best characters, Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen, being isolated from the rest of the main cast for most of the season. This suggests to me it was also a choice made in Martin’s book, which indicates that both Martin and Condal have some storytelling deficits.