HBO Responds to George R.R. Martin’s House of the Dragon Complaints

An HBO spokesperson has responded to George R.R. Martin’s House of the Dragon Season 2 complaints.

On Wednesday, September 4, 2024, author George R.R. Martin addressed some of the complaints he had with House of the Dragon Season 2 in a now-deleted blog post.

HBO has now responded to Martin’s complaints.

What did HBO say about George R.R. Martin’s House of the Dragon comments?

A spokesperson for the company told Variety, “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.”

One specific moment Martin took issue with was the “Blood & Cheese” sequence that took place in the Season 2 premiere, as the character of Maelor Targaryen — Helaena Targaryen’s youngest son — is omitted from the scene (and, presumably, the entire prequel series).

“He is a small child, does not have a line of dialogue, does nothing of consequence but die… but where and when and how, that does matter,” Martin wrote. “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 storylines together, so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing manner.”

He also commented, “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.”

Brandon Schreur

Brandon Schreur has been writing about comics, movies, television shows, and all things pop culture for roughly five years. He's a lifelong cinephile who spends way, way too much money buying Blu-rays and trade paperbacks. You can find him on twitter at @brandonschreur.