That series do not always stick precisely to the book template is quite common. However, the author of the books for Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, is unhappy with a change in season 2 of House of the Dragon. He expresses his frustration in a post on his blog, but deletes it shortly afterwards.
Warning: The following section contains a spoiler for episode 1 of season 2 of House of the Dragon.
Which scene is it about? Daemon sneaks into King’s Landing and bribes a rat catcher named Cheese and a member of the City Watch named Blood to kill Aemond. However, the two cannot find Aemond, so they break into Queen Helaena’s chambers.
They force the queen to reveal which of her two children is a boy, so they can murder the heir to the Iron Throne. Helaena initially offers them her necklace, but when the intruders refuse, she points to Jaehaerys, her son. He is soon afterwards murdered.
In the book, the scene plays out somewhat differently. Helaena actually has three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehaera, and Maelor. When the intruders ask which child is male, Helaena first offers her own life and then that of Maelor. However, Jaehaerys also dies, because the villains recognize which child is the eldest son.
Helaena’s youngest child Maelor, however, never appears in the series. On his own blog, George R. R. Martin now discusses what consequences this change could have and thinks that season 3 could be “full of toxic butterflies” (via Archive.is).
Here you can watch a trailer for House of the Dragon:
George R. R. Martin is concerned about season 3 of House of the Dragon
What is he worried about? The author initially states that he argued strongly against the exclusion of Maelor. But in the end, he accepted the changes that Maelor will not appear in the series.
- The team did not want to cast a two-year-old for the series because it would have slowed down production.
- Including another child in the cast would have further increased production costs. The series was already struggling with budget issues and had to save money.
- Showrunner Ryan Condal promised that Maelor would appear later. So, he wouldn’t be cut from the series but only postponed.
However, the production team has since decided to remove Maelor completely from the series. According to Martin, Maelor’s absence in season 2 could have far-reaching consequences for seasons 3 and 4. He fears a snowball effect because future scenes would have to be altered. He does not know how some parts from the book could appear in the series under these conditions.
Although Martin still loves the scene with Blood and Cheese, the change in Helaena’s choice has already led to the scene becoming worse. And although Maelor was only two years old at the time, his absence has already severe consequences:
Maelor himself means little. He is a small child, has no dialogue lines, does nothing of significance except to die… but where and when and how, that matters.
Finally, Martin predicts that seasons 3 and 4 of House of the Dragon will have even bigger toxic butterflies if the production team makes the proposed changes.
Meanwhile, George R. R. Martin has deleted the post on his blog. It is not known whether he got into trouble with the production team or reconsidered his post. With a colleague’s story, Martin definitely has a dilemma: George R. R. Martin had a big problem with one aspect of The Lord of the Rings
