"House of Dragon Showrunner Responds to George R.R. Martin's Critique"

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has expressed his disappointment over Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin's criticisms of the series' second season, following remarks Martin made public in August 2024.

The tension arose when Martin pledged to delve into "everything that’s gone wrong with House of the Dragon," and subsequently critiqued certain plot elements involving Aegon and Helaena’s children. He voiced concerns about the future direction of the show. Although the post was later removed from Martin's website without explanation, it had already caught the attention of thousands of fans and HBO.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Condal discussed his feelings about Martin's criticisms. He emphasized the personal impact of the strained relationship, stating, "It was disappointing. I will simply say I've been a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire for almost 25 years now, and working on the show has been truly one of the great privileges of, not only my career as a writer, but my life as a fan of science-fiction and fantasy. George himself is a monument, a literary icon in addition to a personal hero of mine, and was heavily influential on me coming up as a writer."

Condal acknowledged the challenges of adapting Fire & Blood for television, noting that the source material's nature as an incomplete history requires significant creative interpretation and invention. He stressed his efforts to involve Martin in the adaptation process, saying, "I made every effort to include George in the adaptation process. I really did. Over years and years. And we really enjoyed a mutually fruitful, I thought, really strong collaboration for a long time. But at some point, as we got deeper down the road, he just became unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way.”

He further elaborated on the challenges he faces as a showrunner, juggling both creative and practical responsibilities: "And I think as a showrunner, I have to keep my practical producer hat on and my creative writer, lover-of-the-material hat on at the same time. At the end of the day, I just have to keep marching not only the writing process forward, but also the practical parts of the process forward for the sake of the crew, the cast, and for HBO, because that's my job. So I can only hope that George and I can rediscover that harmony someday.”

Condal highlighted that every creative decision in the show takes "many months, if not years" to finalize and passes through him before reaching the audience. He aims to create a show that appeals to both Game of Thrones readers and a broader television audience.

Despite the current friction, HBO and Martin have several projects lined up, including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which Martin has praised as a "faithful adaptation," and potentially another Targaryen-centered spinoff. Meanwhile, House of the Dragon has already started production on its third season following a successful second season, which received a 7/10 rating in our review.