Fans of George R.R. Martin have hung on his every word regarding his fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire and its HBO adaptations in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, if only because such things are a relatively precious resource these days. As we patiently await the release of the next entry in the series, Winds of Winter (thirteen years and counting now), a sudden and unexpected plot twist has popped up: George R.R. Martin has turned on his own creation.
Martin’s frustrations stem from the recent second season of House of the Dragon, the latest stretch of episodes produced by HBO that’s adapting Martin’s history of Westeros as described in Fire & Blood. It’s not very often that an author directly criticizes an adaptation of their work (unless their name happens to be Stephen King), but Martin has gone above and beyond such past examples by penning a blog entry that explains point for point what he thinks went wrong with House of the Dragon’s second season. Here’s a breakdown of everything that has George R.R. Martin breathing fire.
How Has George R.R. Martin Expressed His Dissatisfaction with House of the Dragon Season 2?
Like Many Keyboard Warriors, He’s Taken to his Blog
In early September 2024, shortly after House of the Dragon season 2 had finished airing its final few episodes, George R.R. Martin took to his website, Not a Blog, to write a lengthy post titled “Beware the Butterflies.” In it, Martin expressed a series of frustrations about Dragons; in particular, he complained about showrunner Ryan Condal’s decision-making and the upcoming plans for the show.
The title of Martin’s post refers to the butterfly effect, the phenomenon in which a small change to something seemingly innocuous can lead to massive (and unintended) effects elsewhere. Likewise, Martin’s diatribe explores how one creative choice in this page-to-screen adaptation has threatened to derail the entire series. This is also not Martin’s first use of the analogy to fret about the consequences of his adaptations.
In 2011, after the otherwise successful airing of season one of Game of Thrones, Martin mentioned bringing up the butterfly effect to the showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. After Game of Thrones’ divisive conclusion, he brought it up again to explain how his finale might differ from the television series (should that miracle ever come to pass). What’s important to note about all of this is that Martin’s discontent did not sprout out of nowhere. If anything, he’s been building towards “Beware the Butterflies” all summer long.
What Was George R.R. Martin’s Initial Reaction to the Blood and Cheese Affair?
Richer and More Fascinating
The second season of House of the Dragon hit the ground running with the premiere episode, “A Son for a Son. ” The episode concludes with the brutal murder of King Aegon’s young son in a sequence that has become infamous to readers of Fire & Blood as the Blood and Cheese affair. This episode aired on June 16th, 2024, and George R.R. Martin had nothing to say about it for almost a month. Then, in early July, Martin took to Not a Blog to discuss the on-screen depiction of this sequence. The short and sweet of it was, he loved it.
Admitting that he had seen a sneak peek of the sequence earlier in the year, George R.R. Martin referred to the Cheese and Blood finale as a “great way to start the season,” sharing more than a few kind words regarding the series’ direction and acting. Martin even suggested that the singular change that would later irk him so greatly, removing the infant Maelor (don’t worry, more on this in a moment), benefitted actress Phia Saban and her performance as the boy’s mother, Helaena, writing,
“Very little of what she brings to the part was in my source material… but once I met the show’s version of Helaena, I could hardly take issue. Phia Saban’s Helaena is a richer and more fascinating character than the one I created in FIRE & BLOOD.”
Martin ended this particular post with a gleam of dissatisfaction. While amusing himself over the thought that audiences had responded so positively to the latest House of the Dragon episode titled “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” suggesting it might even be better than the best Game of Thrones had to offer, Martin references the audience’s criticism of the conclusion of the Blood and Cheese storyline, suggesting that while it might have been powerful for those who had never read the book, those who had read his version of events knew better, and that, one day, Martin would express his thoughts about “Maelor the Missing.”
What Was George R.R. Martin’s Take on the Battle of Rook’s Rest?
Martin’s Dos and Don’ts of Training Dragons
George R.R. Martin had another criticism before expanding his thoughts on Blood and Cheese. Following the rip-roaring dragon battle at the end of House of the Dragon’s fourth episode, Martin took to his blog to applaud all those involved, writing,
“Has there ever been a dragon battle to match [Rook’s Rest]? Our guys knocked this one out of the castle.”
Sounds pretty positive, right? Well, then, Martin kept writing and arrived at two complaints. First, he expressed frustration that the Targaryen sigils in both the late stages of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon use anatomically incorrect dragons with four legs instead of the two that Martin envisions. His second frustration was that the dragon’s migratory patterns weren’t adequately expressed in the television series, specifically writing, “You won’t find dragons hunting the riverlands or the Reach of the Vale, or roaming the northlands or the mountains of Dorne.”
Looking back on that criticism now, it’s almost as if George R.R. Martin knew that, at the end of House of the Dragon’s second season, the wild dragon Sheepstealer would be revealed to be hunting in the Vale (as opposed to residing in a lair on Dragonstone as it does in the book). Of course, being an executive producer and the mastermind of this entire universe, Martin was absolutely aware of this incoming change and was getting ahead of it here to vent his frustrations. Then, he took things to a whole other level.
What Was George R.R. Martin’s Problem With Blood and Cheese?
Something Smelt Off
On September 4th, 2024, George R.R. Martin wrote the blog post “Beware the Butterflies.” He slowly gets to the point of this entry by beginning with faint praise for House of the Dragon, mentioning that the season’s first two episodes were well-written, well-directed, and powerfully acted. Then, his tone shifts.
Martin explains that he initially expressed opposition to the idea of altering Blood and Cheese. For those needing a reminder, in Martin’s version of this sequence from Fire & Blood, Aegon and Helaena have three children, not two as in the series. There are the twins Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, accompanied by their 2-year-old brother, Maelor. As Martin tells it, when Halaena is confronted by the two madmen, Blood and Cheese, they force her to choose which son she wants to die, Jaehaerys or Maelor. She eventually selects Maelor, but Blood and Cheese refuses to heed her selection and murder Jaehaerys instead while informing Maelor that his mother preferred him to be the one who had died.
In House of the Dragon, Maelor doesn’t exist, so Helaena has no real choice in the matter. Instead of picking which son she wants to die, Helaena is instructed to point out Jaehaerys to Blood and Cheese to distinguish him from his sister. And here is the heart of George R.R. Martin’s discontent.
As the author sees it, the entire “Sophie’s Choice” aspect was the most vital part of the sequence and what makes it both memorable and horrifying. Having taken the time since the premiere aired to peruse other fans’ comments, Martin became convinced that he was right and that House of the Dragon should never have dropped Maelor as a character. And he wasn’t done with his criticisms yet.
What Else Does George R.R. Martin Think Went Wrong With House of the Dragon Season 2?
The Butterfly Flapped Its Wings
After opening Pandora’s box and saying the quiet part aloud, George R.R. Martin ripped off the band-aid and unleashed a series of further criticisms of House of the Dragon. For starters, Martin claims that the budget has always been a problem for the series and that showrunner Ryan Condal’s justification for cutting Maelor stemmed from logistical issues instead of being a creative choice. Employing a young child would inevitably slow down production, which, in turn, would affect the budget, something Condal wanted to avoid.
According to George R.R. Martin, Ryan Condal promised him that Maelor would still be part of the story. Somewhere along the way, Condal’s thoughts on the matter changed, and he didn’t inform Martin of his decision to write Maelor off completely. This, in turn, led to Martin abandoning discussing further plotting details with Condal and leaking the few remaining spoilers that he knows the showrunner has planned for season three, including how Halaena’s ultimate fate and that of Rhaenyra (remember, we’re dealing with the butterfly effect after all), has now been affected by this seemingly “insignificant” alteration.
Last but not least, Martin hints towards a series of other drastic changes that are on the way to House of the Dragon, concluding his lengthy post with the foreboding thought,
“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…”
After expressing his frustrations with House of the Dragon, George R.R. Martin did something even more curious: he deleted the entire “Beware the Butterflies” post. In all likelihood, this was mandated from up high (no doubt a combination of frustrated HBO executives and Martin’s concerned management team). It also likely means that despite promising to continue to vent with multiple posts about what went wrong with the series, the author has decided against such actions.
Martin’s criticisms of House of the Dragon are, in all honesty, valid. Most fans who had read Fire & Blood were disappointed with the lack of Helaena’s choice. And he’s right about the butterfly effect, too. Outside of removing some of the drama effects from that initial scene, without Maelor around, many character motivations in the upcoming seasons will require serious thought to be reinterpreted.
In the meantime, however, it’s probably best for everyone to get on the same page to ensure House of the Dragon doesn’t wind up in the same spot as its predecessor, with everyone complaining about how lackluster the ending felt. And maybe (just maybe) Martin’s time would be better spent finally completing his epic saga instead of wasting what little time remains by complaining about how other people are failing at doing it for him.