House of the Dragon: George RR Martin Plans Major Changes for Seasons 3 and 4

As promised, so kept. The author of Fire and Blood and Game of Thrones has brought up what was wrong with the series.

If House of the Dragon narrates the conflict between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, in real life, these are George RR Martin and Ryan Condal who face each other. While the novelist warned a few days ago that he would not fail to make known what bothered him in season 2, the latter finally put his plan into action. Tongues were loosened.

In a post shared on his personal blog and since deleted, George R. R. Martin pointed out the absence of a character in the series and the consequences that this will have in future seasons. Entitled “Beware of butterflies” – in reference to the well-known butterfly effect – the text was transcribed online before its deletion and reported by Variety.

Readers of Fire and Blood had already noticed. The Blood & Cheese sequence seen at the end of episode 1 of season 2 was rewritten. In the novel, Helaena first chooses to sacrifice herself before designating her last son Maelor to the assassins. They still end up killing Jahearys just like in the series. In the adaptation, Maelor does not exist. Helaena and Aegon only have two children, and when Blood and Cheese come to eliminate their eldest son, the mother does not sacrifice herself and offers her necklace in exchange. A crueler episode in the novels, this tragedy is nevertheless successful for the author. Except that…

House of the Dragon, season 2: the shocking scene at the end of episode 1 explained

It is Maelor's absence that displeases his creator:

“When Ryan Condal told me what he was going to do a few years ago, I objected, for all those reasons. I didn't push it long or hard enough. The move weakened the scene, I think, but only a little bit. And Ryan made that choice for pragmatic reasons. He didn't want to bother hiring another kid, especially a two-year-old.”

For reasons of budget, law and time, the child has therefore been erased – but not necessarily forever. His appearance could be in the next season, although this is strange according to Martin. Keeping it simple is not always synonymous with better. Because Maelor's absence risks having big repercussions for seasons 3 and 4:

“He's just a little kid, who has no lines of dialogue, doesn't do anything special except die. But where and when, that's what's important.”

Spoiler alert!

As Rhaenyra marches on King's Landing, Aegon flees the capital—this is what we see at the end of the last season. But he is not alone. In the novels, Maelor is taken to safety and sent to Oldtown, the seat of the Hightowers. But on his way, he stops at Bitterbridge and dies there in excruciating pain. This scene is one of the cruelest in Fire and Blood. Helaena, held hostage in the Red Keep, learns the news and commits suicide – throwing herself into the void. The people rise up against her death and accuse Rhaenyra.

Without Maelor, these events risk losing their value or even disappearing. “What will we offer instead, once we have killed these butterflies?” According to George RR Martin, Helaena ends her life in season 3 but for no particular reason.

Faced with this fire fanned by social networks, HBO is trying to calm the author's anger. A representative of the channel told Variety :

“There is no bigger fan of George RR Martin and his books Fire and Blood that the creative team of House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO. Typically, when adapting a novel to the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner is inevitably forced to make difficult choices about the characters and stories that the audience will follow. We believe Ryan Condal and his team have done a wonderful job and that the millions of fans the show has amassed over these two seasons will continue to love it.”

Maelor's removal is not the only change made by the series. Readers will have noticed, for example, that the character of Ortie, the future dragon rider of Voleurs-de-Mouton has been visibly erased and her story combined with Rhaena. She will be the one to ride the dragon deemed untamable.

So will the novelist continue to note other changes and make his opinion known? We will have to wait a few more years before we can see on our screens the butterfly effect and the consequences of these changes. Season 3 of House of the Dragon should arrive during 2026.

GRR Martin had his cameo in episode 7 of season 2 of House of the Dragon