George R.R. Martin criticises 'House of the Dragon's' deviation from his book

George R.R. Martin shared his thoughts on the controversial changes made in House of the Dragon, deviating from his books.

In a now-deleted post titled "Beware the Butterflies" on September 4, the 75-year-old author warned of even more "toxic" changes to come in future seasons.

He specifically highlighted differences in the "Blood & Cheese" plot in the Season 2 premiere.

Previously, on August 30, Martin had announced his intention to write "about everything that's gone wrong with House of the Dragon."

“I promised you some further thoughts about 'Blood and Cheese' and Maelor the Missing after my commentary on the first two episodes of HotD season 2, A Son for a Son and Rhaenyra the Cruel,” he explained on Wednesday.

“Those were terrific episodes: well written, well directed, powerfully acted. A great way to kick off the new season,” Martin said, adding that fans and critics “seemed to agree.”

He observed that “the handling of 'Blood and Cheese,' and the death of Prince Jaehaerys” received “significant criticism.”

“From the commentary I saw [online], opinion was split there. The readers of Fire & Blood found the sequence underwhelming, a disappointment, watered down from what they were expecting. Viewers who had not read the book had no such problems. Most of them found the sequence a real gut-punch, tragic, horrifying, nightmarish, etc. Some reported being reduced to tears. I found myself agreeing with both sides.”

He also noted significant differences between the book and show, including the ages and number of children in a specific house, which had been altered for the series.

“In my book, Aegon and Helaena have three children, not two. The twins, Jaehaerys and Jaehaera, are six years old. They have a younger brother, Maelor, who is two. When Blood and Cheese break in on Helaena and the kids, they tell her they are debt collectors come to exact revenge for the death of Prince Lucerys: a son for a son. As Helaena has two sons, however, they demand that she choose which one should die.

"She resists and offers her own life instead, but the killers insist it has to be a son. If she does not name one, they will kill all three of the children. To save the life of the twins, Helaena names Maelor. But Blood kills the older boy, Jaehaerys, instead, while Cheese tells little Maelor that his mother wanted him dead. Whether the boy is old enough to understand that is not at all certain."

“There is no Maelor in House of the Dragon, only the twins,” he continued.

“I still believe the scene in the book is stronger. The readers have the right of that,” Martin said, adding, “The two killers are crueler in the book. I thought the actors who played the killers on the show were excellent… but the characters are crueler, harder, and more frightening in Fire & Blood.”

Before concluding his lengthy post, Martin wrote, “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 3 and 4.”

House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones, is based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood and set 200 years before the original series. 

Martin co-created the show and is an executive producer, with both seasons now available on Max.