George R.R. Martin promises to reveal “everything that’s gone wrong with House of the Dragon”
As a devoted fan of George R.R. Martin’s epic saga for many years now, I must admit that his words resonate deeply with me. Having spent countless hours immersed in the intricate world of Westeros and Essos, I can attest to the sheer brilliance of the source material.
George R.R. Martin, the writer behind “A Song of Ice and Fire” and the mastermind of the realm of Westeros, recently shared an intriguing update on his “Not A Blog”, fueling speculation about potential difficulties he encountered with the second season of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel series “House of the Dragon”. Here at “Winter Is Coming”, we’ll be focusing on the key points and delving deeper. However, a visit to Martin’s blog is always enlightening, so don’t forget to check it out too!
The post labeled “Burn Him! Burn Him!” isn’t solely focused on House of the Dragon. Instead, it represents George R.R. Martin’s initial major update since his European travel from July 15 to August 15. Now that he’s back home, he’ll be attending Santa Fe’s Fiesta, one of the city’s oldest festivals. The grand finale of this event is known as the “burning of Zozobra,” a tradition dating back many years and often referred to as the original “Burning Man” for those unfamiliar with the term.
To put it simply, I wasn’t familiar with Zozobra before. Martin explained that Burning Man in Santa Fe symbolizes consuming the shadows, paving the path for the hoped-for light and joy of the upcoming year.
The festival holds significant importance for Martin this year, given the difficult time he’s had personally and globally. With war everywhere, fascism rising, and a year marked by stress, anger, conflict, and defeat, it seems as though he has a lot to express but found himself unable to do so while traveling.
I am glad I took that trip, though. My stress levels beforehand were off the charts, so much so that I was seriously considering cancelling my plans and staying at home. I am glad I didn’t, though. It was so so good to get away for a little, to put all the conflict aside for a time. I began to feel better the moment the plane set down in Belfast, and we all headed off to Ashford Meadow to see the tournament. We had five great days in Belfast and environs, and that made me feel so much better. The rest of the trip was fun as well, a splendid combination of business and pleasure that included visits to Belfast, Amsterdam, London, Oxford, and Glasgow. I look forward to telling you all about our adventures… though it may take a while. I had a thousand emails waiting for me on my return, and then I went and brought a case of covid back with me from worldcon, so I am way way behind.
It’s great to hear that the trip was ultimately rejuvenating for Martin, but unfortunate that he caught a case of COVID at Worldcon, a major science fiction and fantasy festival he attended. Hopefully he’s well on the mend at this point. The other big tidbit in there is the five days he spent in “Belfast and environs,” which included a trip to “Ashford Meadow to see the tournament.” He’s talking about the set of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, a Game of Thrones spinoff show based on Martin’s Dunk & Egg novellas. It features a big old tourney, filled with pageantry and drama and larger-than-life personalities. It sounds like Martin enjoyed his set visit, which hopefully bodes well for the adaptation.
It would be beneficial if they approached “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” in a manner that pleased George R.R. Martin, as his dissatisfaction seems evident with the second season of “House of the Dragon.”
I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will. Not today, though. TODAY is Zozobra’s day, when we turn away from gloom.
It seems Martin has been quite open about his disagreements with House of the Dragon season 2, as rumors emerged that he made similar comments at Bubonicon in Albuquerque, New Mexico last weekend. However, these remarks weren’t officially recorded and were shared among a small audience. Now, with the internet’s vast reach, those words live on permanently.
What’s going on with George R.R. Martin and House of the Dragon?
For several months now, Martin has been expressing concerns about the way popular novels are adapted for television. In May, he penned a blog post expressing disappointment towards screenwriters who feel compelled to put their own twist on adaptations, often at the expense of the original material, even when that material was created by renowned authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, or Ursula K. Le Guin. As he stated, “No matter how significant a writer one may be, no matter how magnificent the book, there’s always someone ready to step in and believe they can do better, eager to reshape the story and ‘enhance’ it.” However, Martin argued that these attempts rarely result in improvement; instead, they usually make things worse.
During a chat at Oxford in early August, I shared my thoughts that go something like this: “When creators reimagine works by authors like Dickens, Tolkien, or Shakespeare (or anyone else for that matter), they often put their own spin on it. But here’s the thing – more often than not, those who are reshaping these stories aren’t as gifted as the original writers, and so their adaptations don’t surpass the brilliance of the originals.”
In the scenarios under discussion, George R.R. Martin didn’t explicitly mention “House of the Dragon,” but given the significant departures from the book during season 2, some fans began to speculate that he might be subtly criticizing the HBO series. The novel “Fire & Blood” by Martin serves as a fictional historical account, intentionally clouding the truth about the events in Westeros’ history such as the Dance of the Dragons. However, there are still many aspects within it that are undisputed. For instance, the storyline featuring Daemon Targaryen’s failed attempts to raise an army in the Riverlands, Alicent and Rhaenyra forming alliances, and characters like Otto Hightower being imprisoned or Rhaena Targaryen searching for a dragon in the Vale were significantly altered in season 2. These changes stacked upon one another, creating a very distinct narrative from Martin’s original work, even though it remained engaging television overall.
One of the biggest changes involved the story with Rhaena. It seems like the show is giving her material from another beloved book character, Nettles, who in Fire & Blood searches for a dragon on Dragonstone, not the Vale. At this point it seems pretty likely that Nettles has been cut altogether. Martin seemed to address this in another blog post published in July a few days before he left for Europe. He dropped this tidbit which felt pretty pointed: “You won’t find dragons hunting the riverlands or the Reach or the Vale [in my books], or roaming the northlands or the mountains of Dorne. Fantasy needs to be grounded. It is not simply a license to do anything you like. Smaug and Toothless may both be dragons, but they should never be confused. Ignore canon, and the world you’ve created comes apart like tissue paper.”
Another interpretation could be: Budget constraints at HBO might have added to Martin’s pressures. One noticeable flaw in the second season of “House of the Dragon” was the decrease in the number of episodes, from 10 to 8; it has been disclosed that significant events initially planned for the end of season 2 were shifted to the start of season 3, leaving season 2 lacking a substantial climax. Before the season’s premiere, writer and producer Sara Hess told Entertainment Weekly that the decision to cut down the episode count wasn’t entirely their choice. Could this be part of the reason behind this situation?
At present, we’re left with speculation. However, should Martin adhere to his promise and publish the blog entries, our need for speculation might significantly diminish. We’re excitedly looking forward to unraveling his insights on the subject matter.
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2024-08-30 20:42