The drama surrounding the House of the Dragon series intensified when showrunner Ryan Condal responded to George R.R. Martin's critique of the show's second season. In August 2024, Martin had vowed to address "everything that's gone wrong with House of the Dragon," and he followed through by criticizing plot elements concerning Aegon and Helaena’s children. His concerns about the show's future direction were shared in a post that was later removed from his website without any explanation, though not before it had reached thousands of fans and HBO.
Condal, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, expressed his disappointment over Martin's comments, highlighting the emotional toll it took on him due to his long-standing admiration for the Game of Thrones author. "It was disappointing," Condal stated, reflecting on his nearly 25-year fandom of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. He described working on the show as "one of the great privileges" of his career and life as a fan of science fiction and fantasy, and praised Martin as both a literary icon and personal hero.
Condal admitted that deviations from the source material, Fire & Blood, might be disappointing for Martin and fans alike. However, he emphasized the complexities of adapting beloved books for television. "It's this incomplete history and it requires a lot of joining of the dots and a lot of invention as you go along the way," he explained. Despite his efforts to involve Martin in the adaptation process over the years, Condal felt that Martin became "unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way" as the project progressed.
As a showrunner, Condal stressed the need to balance creative vision with practical production demands. "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," he said. He expressed hope for a future reconciliation with Martin, aiming to "rediscover that harmony someday."
Condal also noted that the creative process for the show involves decisions that take "many months, if not years" to finalize, and he is the final gatekeeper before content reaches the screen. His goal is to cater to both Game of Thrones readers and a broader "massive television audience."
Despite the tensions, HBO and Martin continue to have a collaborative relationship with several projects in development, though a few projects have been shelved. Fans can look forward to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which Martin has described as a "faithful adaptation," and potentially another Targaryen-centered spinoff.
Meanwhile, House of the Dragon has already started production on Season 3, following a second season that received a 7/10 in our review.
