Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

George R.R. Martin Slams 'Toxic' Changes To Plot Of 'House Of The Dragon' In Scathing Blog Post

George R.R. Martin
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for HBO, HBO

The author slammed the hit HBO series for making changes to the plot that differ from his book 'Fire & Blood,' which the show is based on, warning of the 'Butterfly Effect' that those changes will have on future seasons.

Warning: Spoilers for 'House of the Dragon' season 2.

Author George R.R. Martin, who wrote Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon which respectively inspired the HBO TV series of the same name, slammed the "toxic" tweaks made in the latter's TV adaptation in a blistering social media blog post.


The fiery post has since been taken down but not before a screenshot was taken and shared by Culture Crave on X (formerly Twitter).

House of the Dragon is a spin-off series based on parts of Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood. Martin co-created the series with showrunner Ryan Condal.

The Game of Thrones prequel takes place about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, about 200 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen.

The 75-year-old author is not happy about the changes made to the show and the direction it was heading as a result, and he expressed deep concern about how it might affect future plotlines in seasons 3 and 4.

In the deleted post, Martin wrote in part:

"Sometime between the initial decision to remove Maelor a big change was made. The prince’s birth was no longer just going to be pushed back to season three. He was never going to be born at all. The younger son of Aegon and Helaena would never appear."
"Most of you know about the Butterfly Effect, I assume...The lesson being that change begets change, and even small and seemingly insignificant alterations to a timeline - or a story - can have a profound effect on all that follows."
"Maelor is a two-year-old toddler in Fire & Blood but like our butterfly he has an impact on the story all out of proportion to his size."
"Will any of that appear on the show? Maybe... But I don't see how. The butterflies would seem to prohibit it."

"I have no idea what Ryan has planned - if indeed he has planned anything," he said of his co-creator, adding, "but given Maelor's absence from episode two...The simplest way to proceed would be just to drop him entirely."

"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."

Martin then went on to explain how Maelor's absence could adversely affect future events in House of the Dragon that would not make sense in Fire & Blood.

"What will we offer the fans instead, once we've killed these butterflies? I have no idea," he said.

Martin concluded the lengthy message with:

"I do not recall that Ryan and I ever discussed this. And 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 three and four."

Here is the screenshot of the post in full.

Fans weighed in with their varied stances on his epic rant.












Whether or not the original creator's authentic vision for the story is being compromised is up for viewers who are still being entertained by the production quality to decide.

All episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 are available for streaming MAX.

More from Trending

Man holding a finger against his lips in a 'Shh!' gesture
Photo by Sander Sammy on Unsplash

People Anonymously Divulge The Secrets They Plan To Take To The Grave

As much as we might not want to, most of us have some secrets that we'd rather not tell.

But there are two kinds of people when it comes to long-term secrets: those who intend to take those secrets to the grave, no exceptions, and those who'd rather say, "Well, cat's outta the bag!"

Keep ReadingShow less

Actors Who Nailed A Role So Perfectly That No One Will Ever Live Up To It

When we think of a particularly immersive acting performance or a role in which an actor seemed to "disappear," we all have an example that spring to mind.

These roles were so memorable, not just because we were watching because of the character instead of the actor, but because we knew that there would never be another performance that could top it.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots from abbyyyyflo's TikTok video
abbyyyyflo/TikTok

Woman Sparks Debate After Waking Up 15 Minutes Before Flight And Somehow Still Making It

We've all had one of those days when we overslept, even when there was something important happening that day.

But there's a big difference between experiencing this one time and having it happen so frequently it's considered "on brand" for you.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshots of TikToker @unpluggedmoments
@unpluggedmoments/TikTok

Company's New Executive Demands All Employees Take Lunch At Noon—And It Backfires Hard

A TikToker encouraged new leaders in a managerial positions to check themselves before power-tripping after her new Chief Operating Officer (COO) implemented a new rule about taking lunch at noon, "no exceptions."

Spoiler alert: It backfired big time.

Keep ReadingShow less
A group of young people looking at a laptop computer.
three person pointing the silver laptop computer

Millennials Explain What Their Retirement Plan Actually Entails

By definition, Millennials are currently between the ages of 29 and 39.

As a result, their days of dreaming about what their lives would be like when they become adults are arguably over, and they now have a sense of their career path and family plans.

Keep ReadingShow less