George R.R. Martin Only Has Himself To Blame For Condal Feud

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I was really surprised to hear in a recent interview that George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal, the showrunner for House of the Dragon, apparently don’t get along very well. It sounds like they haven’t agreed on where the show should be going for a while now. Honestly, it’s not totally shocking considering how much the series has diverged from Martin’s book, Fire & Blood, but it’s still a bit disheartening to hear.

I just read Martin’s interview with The Hollywood Reporter, and wow, it really lays out how messy things have gotten with Condal and the show. It’s pretty clear from what Martin says that he sees Condal as the one who created the problems, and honestly, as a fan, I’ve felt something was off for a while now. But the thing is, as much as I sympathize, I think Martin ultimately bears some responsibility for how things unfolded. It’s a tough situation, but he played a part in it.

Martin Sold His Rights To Complain About HOTD’s Future

Considering George R.R. Martin’s past experiences with TV adaptations of his work, the conflict with Ryan Condal isn’t unexpected. However, Martin seems to be acting as if he hasn’t learned anything from the challenges he faced with Game of Thrones and its showrunners, D.B. Weiss and David Benioff, which is particularly striking given the current situation.

Viewers might recall a comparable pattern unfolding with the relationship between George R.R. Martin and the showrunners of Game of Thrones. The series began to move beyond the material Martin had already written in his A Song of Ice and Fire books, ultimately causing tension.

The truth is, the showrunners weren’t chosen through standard industry practices; George R.R. Martin had to advocate for them to HBO. Without Martin’s direct support and recommendation, Ryan Condal likely wouldn’t have been considered to adapt Fire & Blood at all. HBO and Warner Bros. weren’t required to let Martin select the showrunners, but they did, and it ultimately proved to be a risky decision for the show.

Martin admits hiring Ryan, and seems aware of the irony given his limited control over the show’s writing. Despite giving up creative control, he was still able to choose the showrunners. He also supported Condal during a disagreement with a previous co-runner, which allowed Condal to guide the show’s direction.

Fans Have Long Been Questioning Martin’s Judgment

Recent news about the making of House of the Dragon proves what fans have been saying for a long time: if George R.R. Martin wants his stories adapted accurately, he needs more than just promises from people he trusts. He made the decision to sell the rights to his work, which meant losing the ability to strongly influence how it was adapted.

I have to admit, watching House of the Dragon feels a little strange now. The story has really gone its own way, and honestly, it feels more like Ryan Condal is writing his own version of the tale than staying true to George R.R. Martin’s original vision. It’s frustrating because it feels like, after years of Martin making similar errors, we ended up with this outcome – a show that’s strayed so far from what made the source material so special.

This explains why many fans struggle to feel sorry for Martin. Some, like a Reddit user named PolarizingKabal, believe he needs to either accept that the show won’t be a perfect copy of his books and return to writing, or stop giving his approval if he can’t accept the changes.

Look, a lot of viewers – like one user, tasha2701 – are pointing out that George R.R. Martin isn’t exactly blameless in all this. They’re drawing parallels to Game of Thrones, suggesting he essentially handed over the reins and didn’t seem to care until things went south with the writing. While it’s easy to criticize showrunner Condal for messing up Martin’s source material, many believe Martin himself shares a significant amount of responsibility for how the show ultimately failed. It’s an unfortunate situation, but arguably, it could have been avoided if he’d been more involved.

However, it’s worth remembering that fans may not have all the details. Last year, George R.R. Martin published a post – which was meant to be the first of six detailing problems with House of the Dragon – but he was asked to stop by those in charge. Now that the HBO series adapting A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is coming out this weekend, fans are hoping things go more smoothly this time.

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2026-01-17 19:20