Spoiler Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 and Season 3.
Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin has vented his frustration with changes done to House of the Dragon and seemingly spoiled a major development for Season 3 of the hit HBO series. Earlier this week, Martin hinted that he would spill secrets about the troubled production of House of the Dragon and his frustration with the series. Martin has made good on his word but also may have spoiled a key plot point two years in advance.
In a now-deleted blog post titled Beware the Butterflies via Variety, Martin explained that the series decision to cut one character from the series, Aegon and Helaena Targaryen’s youngest son, Prince Maelor, has major repercussions for the series moving forward. Martin explained the decision to omit the character of Prince Maelor was a practical one, as showrunner Ryan Condal knew that casting another child, particularly a two-year-old toddler, would be a big issue for the production as it would slow down production and increase the budget. Martin did say the series still intends to include Prince Maelor in Season 3, but said how losing the character and his death in the original book will impact future seasons.
Maelor by himself means little. He is a small child, does not have a line of dialogue, and does nothing of consequence but die… but where and when and how, that
does
matter. Losing Maelor weakened the end of the Blood and Cheese sequence, but it also cost us the Bitterbridge scene with all its horror and heroism, it undercut the motivation for Helaena’s suicide, and that in turn sent thousands into the streets and alleys, screaming for justice for their ‘murdered’ queen. None of that is essential, I suppose… but all of it does serve a purpose, it all helps to tie the story lines together, so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing manner.”
Martin claimed removing Prince Maelor and his death will have a similar to a butterfly effect impact on House of the Dragon moving forward. The butterfly effect is a theory in science where a small change can result in large differences in another form. [SPOILER WARNING AHEAD]. Martin reveals that removing Maelor from the story affects the death of his mother, Helaena Targaryen. In the book, she kills herself after hearing of Prince Maelor’s grisly death. According to Martin, she still dies in the current outline for the show, but the reason is gone. Martin revealed, “In Ryan’s outline for season 3, Helaena still kills herself… for no particular reason.” He adds, “There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm the fragile young queen.”
He ended his blog post with a message: “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…”
George R.R. Martin Passes Off Blame
While Martin has since deleted the post, what he said is now out there and has now spoiled the plot for one of HBO’s most popular series. HBO released a statement to Variety following the post.
“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.”
Martin and his work are clearly vital assets to HBO, as they already have another Game of Thrones spin-off prequel titled A Knight of Seven Kingdoms based on Martin’sTales of Dunk and Egg. However, they are likely not happy with the author not only spoiling plot points for their upcoming season, but also openly talking badly about the series.
Writers have expressed disappointment in adaptations of their works before, but Martin’s seem a little more troubling. Martin is still actively involved in House of the Dragon as a co-producer, and this move certainly feels like he is trying to pass the blame off on his fellow collaborators. While Martin has been critical of how Game of Thrones ended, saying the writers strayed from his books, he notably still has not finished Winds of Winter despite having started writing it 14 years ago. Martin is showing a repeated pattern of praising Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon when they stick to his books, taking credit for their successes while trying to distance himself from any criticisms of the series by saying they are changing his work.