Just hours afterGeorge R.R. MartinslammedHouse of the Dragonon his blog,Not a Blog, only to take it down, HBO returned with a response. The network is currently home to the adaptation of Martin’sGame of Thronesprequel series and were less-than-thrilled by Martin’s harsh reactions to what showrunnerRyan Condalhas and will likely continue to do with his story.
As perVariety, the statement from an HBO spokesperson reads:
“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.”
What Did George R.R. Martin Say About ‘House of the Dragon’?
Because you’re able to no longer go to the author’s blog to read his lengthy post about“the butterfly effect”and how it pertains toHouse of the Dragon, we’re here to happily fill you in. The most recent bout of drama started earlier this week whenMartin told fansthat he would soon be jumping behind his keyboard to feverishly type up not a book (dear God please just give us what we want) but instead a blog post. With the power of the pen and paper, or in this case the keyboard and computer, Martin sat back, cracked his knuckles, and got to ripping Condal and the rest ofHouse of the Dragon’s creative team a new one.
His qualms with the wildly successful series? It was veering too far from his original source material. While he said thathe aligned himself with both book readers and show watcherswhen it came to the death of Prince Jaehaerys, he wasn’t so understanding and forgiving about the absence of Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena’s (Phia Saban) other child, Maelor. For one reason or another,House of the Dragoncut Maelor from the story, which, in turn, leads to a bunch of hangups in the future - namely (spoiler alert!) the driving reason or final straw behind Helaena’s suicide.
For this, Martin has no patience! In his post, he said that the audience would be left confused about why Helaena would make the decision to end her life, but like babe, I don’t know, she’s living a really rough life. She’s already lost one child, she’s married to her brother who is the most reckless king to sit on the Iron Throne,herotherbrother is a violent sociopath, and her mom issecretly schtupping the worst man in King’s Landing. I feel like she’s going through it and audiences can empathize.
Where the drama between Martin and HBO is going, nobody knows, but we will be here to bring you any and all updates. Right now, both seasons ofHouse of the Dragonare streaming on Max.
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones.Based on George R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood,House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
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