A representative for the high-end cable network has responded to criticism leveled at it by author George R.R. Martin.
In a statement obtained by Variety, HBO responded to Fire and Blood Author George R.R. Martin's criticisms of the handling of characters in the second season of House of the DragonThe statement reads: “There are few bigger fans than George R.R. Martin and his book Fire and Blood compared to the creative team on House of the Dragonboth in production and at HBO. Usually, when adapting a book for the screenwith its format and limitations, in the end the showrunner is forced to make some difficult choices about the characters and the stories that audiences will follow. We think Ryan Condal and his team have done an amazing job and the millions of fans the series has amassed in the first two seasons will continue to appreciate it.”
George R.R. Martin's Criticisms of Season 2
This statement comes after a now-deleted blog post from Martin on Wednesday detailing his issue with the deviation the show took from his book. Fire and blood. In the blog post, Martin would explain,
“When Ryan Condal first told me what he was going to do, years ago (maybe 2022), I was against it, for all these reasons. I didn't think about it for long, or very hard, anyway. The change weakened the sequence, in my opinion, but only a little. And Ryan had what seemed like practical reasons for doing it; they didn't want to have to deal with casting another child, especially a two-year-old. Children that young will inevitably slow down production and there will be budget implications. Budget was already an issue on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, it made sense to save money wherever possible. Also, Ryan assured me that we wouldn't lose Prince Maelor, simply by delaying him. Queen Helaena could still give birth to him in season 3, presumably after getting pregnant towards the end of season 2. It made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and agreed to the change. I still love the episode and the Blood and Cheese sequence in general. The loss of pacing in “Helaena's Choice” weakened the scene, but not significantly. Only readers of the book would have noticed its absence; viewers who had never read FIRE & BLOOD would still have found the scenes heartbreaking. Maelor didn't actually DO anything in the scene, after all. How could he? He was only two years old. There is another side to the removal of the young princeling, however.”
Martin then went on to describe how these changes could impact the next two seasons of House of the Dragonwhile some important elements of the plot are also revealed Fire and Blood book.
“Maelor alone means little,” Martin wrote. “He is a small child, has not a line of dialogue, does nothing of importance except die… but where, when and how, this
ago
question. The loss of 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 undermined the motivation for Helaena's suicide, and that in turn drove thousands into the streets and alleys, screaming for justice for their “murdered” queen. None of it is essential, I suppose… but it all serves a purpose, it all helps to tie the narrative threads together, so that one thing follows another in a logical and convincing way.”
Martin then teased at the end of his blog post that there could be more changes coming in seasons 3 and 4 of the show that could further damage its story, saying, “And there are bigger, more toxic butterflies coming, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON proceeds with some of the changes contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”
Martin has had both positive and negative reviews for the show. After the first two episodes of season two, he wrote in a blog post, “Both episodes were simply fantastic. Dark, mind you. Very dark. They might make you cry. (I didn't cry, but a friend of mine did.) Powerful, emotional, heartbreaking, heartbreaking. Just the kind of thing I like. (What can I say? I was weaned on Shakespeare, and I love tragedies and historical plays the most.)” But after the show used the wrong sigil design for House Targaryen compared to the one used in his books, he wrote, “They chose the bad sigil over the good one. That sound you heard was me screaming, 'No, no, no.' Those damned extra legs even found their way onto the covers of my books, despite my strenuous objections.”
Source: Variety