GRRM’s Now Deleted Post Highlights the Two Major Blunders by HOTD Writers

House of the Dragon Season 2 was indeed a roller coaster ride, as it involved several events that fans had awaited since the finale of Season 1. One such event was the Blood and Cheese sequence that gave us nightmares; I mean, who would think of witnessing a boy getting butchered on their screens? Even though the creators didn’t showcase the murder onscreen, we can’t deny how disturbing the offscreen noises were.

The viewers who haven’t read George R.R Martin’s Fire & Blood didn’t find any problem in the sequence, but the ones who watched HOTD’s most anticipated scene after reading the book were undoubtedly disappointed. Not only those viewers but also the author himself was not satisfied with Blood & Cheese’s part on the HBO TV Series, and recently, he discussed what went wrong before deleting the blog post. However, let’s not forget that nothing can be permanently deleted from the Internet.

What Did GRRM’s Blog Say About HOTD Season 2

George R.R. Martin is the author of the books that were adapted into Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, so it’s evident that he reacts to events that either go brilliantly or go wrong in the screen adaptations. So, as per the promise he made to fans through his X account, he finally opened up regarding things that could have been more impactful in HOTD Season 2.

GRRM’s blog states that he wasn’t pleased with the Blood and Cheese sequence featured in House of the Dragon Season 2’s premiere episode. As per the author, the sequence was much stronger in the books. He says the actors who portrayed the brutal killers were absolute stunners, but the characters seemed flat in the TV series compared to the books. GRRM then continues that in HOTD, Blood & Cheese made Haelena reveal who Jahaerys was among her two asleep twins, as there was no Maelor introduced in the show.

In the books, Aegon II and Haelena had three children: Jahaerys, Jahaera, and Maelor. The killer duo asked the Queen to choose among her two sons whom she wanted to sacrifice. In addition, in the books, Haelena asks the killers to kill her and spare the kids, while in the show, she doesn’t show such courage and offers jewelry to the assassins.

The author’s blog post also revealed the cruel personalities of Blood & Cheese in the Fire & Blood:

In the show, Blood is a gold cloak. In the book, he is a former gold cloak, stripped of his office for beating a woman to death. Book Blood is the sort of man who might think making a woman choose which of her sons should die is amusing, especially when they double down on the wanton cruelty by murdering the boy she tries to save. Book Cheese is worse too; he does not kick a dog, true, but he does not have a dog, and he’s the one who tells Maelor that his mom wants him dead.

He also says that the essence of this sequence was ‘Sophie’s Choice,’ and he is disappointed that the showrunners decided to ignore it. George R.R. Martin also stated that, based on the comments, most of the audience agreed with him.

Despite all the aforementioned criticism, GRRM also says it was a good episode overall. But it could have been better if Haelena had been shown as she was visualized in the books, especially during this instance when she has to make a tough decision.

How Did Ryan Condal Respond to Criticism from GRRM

Martin’s post also sheds light on Ryan Condal’s response when the author confronted him regarding the changes in 2022. According to him, Condal said that a two-year-old toddler should be cast to portray Maelor, and he didn’t want to do that. The showrunner added that toddlers were mainly the reason for the delays in production, and he wasn’t prepared to take a chance. He also talked about the budget issue; Condal said that the budget for the TV series was already huge, so he decided to save money wherever possible.

When Martin asked Condal about Maelor’s absence from the show, the latter said that he didn’t wholly avoid Maelor but would include him in Season 3. This statement made sense to Martin, so he stopped further arguing with the showrunner.

GRRM Sheds Light on the Significant Events of HOTD Season 3

Despite Condal’s statement about bringing Maelor in the third season, Martin says that the young prince would never be born in the TV show. In the books, Haelena commits suicide following Maelor’s death, and the show will still see the Queen giving up on her own life without any reason. “In Ryan’s outline for season 3, Helaena still kills herself … for no particular reason,” the author says.

There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm the fragile young queen- George R.R Martin

The author then discusses the Butterfly Effect in his post. He says the most minor events in the past can lead to big circumstances in the future. So, Maelor’s deletion from the show will provoke the creators to adjust or remove some significant events in HOTD Season 3, and that will certainly be the biggest loss for the viewers.

As reported by USA Today, following the Blog post’s removal, HBO also stepped forward to share a statement regarding the issue:

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 is ultimately 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.

Nevertheless, the author of the book deleted his post for unknown reasons, but several fans had already saved it and started discussing it. However, the author has yet to reveal why he chose to delete the blog post.