The author behind the Game of Thrones series, George R.R. Martin, is concerned with the future of House of the Dragon, particularly in the build-up to Seasons 3 and 4 – while addressing his unhappiness with the recently broadcast second season.
In a now-deleted blog post (via GamesRadar), Martin discussed his dissatisfaction with Maelor’s death in the Season 2 opener, A Son For A Son. “I argued against it, for all these reasons,” Martin says, detailing the ‘Sophie’s Choice’ scene from the episode.
“I did not argue long, or with much heat, however. The change weakened the sequence, I felt, but only a bit. And [showrunner Ryan Condal] had what seemed to be practical reasons for it; they did not want to deal with casting another child, especially a two-year old toddler. Kids that young will inevitably slow down production, and there would be budget implications,” he continues.
“Budget was already an issue on House of the Dragon, it made sense to save money wherever we could. Moreover, Ryan assured me that we were not losing Prince Maelor, simply postponing him … That made sense to me, so I withdrew my objections and acquiesced to the change.”
The absence of Maelor, while not pivotal as a character to the plot, Martin suggests, could still pose problems later in the series.
“Will any of that appear on the show? Maybe… but I don’t see how. The butterflies would seem to prohibit it … From what I know, that seems to be what Ryan is doing here. It’s simplest, yes, and may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better … Maelor by himself means little. 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 wrapped up his post on a more worrying note, addressing the potential for “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…”
