House of the Dragon showrunner explains why he (basically) cut Nettles from Fire & Blood

As a long-time fan of George R.R. Martin’s works and a binge-watcher of all things Game of Thrones, I find myself at a crossroads with the upcoming House of Dragon series. The recent news about potential changes to the storyline has left me feeling like a maester trying to decipher ancient scrolls in the darkest corners of the Citadel.

The past few days have been quite eventful among fans of “House of the Dragon“. Initially, author George R.R. Martin voiced his disapproval in a blog post about the show deviating significantly from his book “Fire & Blood”. Later, he removed the post, and then HBO unexpectedly released a podcast episode featuring “House of the Dragon” showrunner Ryan Condal explaining some of his decisions regarding changes to the original material. It’s been a rollercoaster ride with new developments at every turn!

Generally speaking, fans appeared to back Martin’s stance on preserving faithfulness to the text, yet it’s intriguing to listen to Condal discuss some of the alterations he and his crew implemented. For instance, consider Nettles from Fire & Blood. In this tale, Dragonstone plays host to Nettles, a peasant girl who gains control over Sheepstealer, a dragon, not due to Targaryen lineage, but through her wit and resourcefulness. Every day, she feeds the dragon a sheep until it grows to trust her.

In a different wording, it seems that the creators are planning to assign the role of Nettles, as seen in the books, to Rhaena Targaryen, Damon’s daughter, instead. Given this development, I don’t anticipate the original Nettles character making an appearance, unless something unforeseen takes place.

In the podcast episode, Condal hinted at plans for the story without explicitly revealing them, explaining that the narrative is still developing and he wants to keep some elements a surprise for the audience. He stressed that any decisions made for the show are carefully considered, and they have a good grasp of the popular stories within their genre. These stories, which are often discussed online, hold significance for the audience, and it’s their responsibility to adapt them in an unpredictable yet satisfying way. This story, in particular, offers an opportunity to create something that is true to its historical roots while also introducing a fresh, unexpected twist.

frankly speaking, I find these comments somewhat peculiar. Given that Condal and his team are transforming a book into a screenplay, one might wonder why they feel obligated to alter the story in a manner that readers of the book may not anticipate. I presume what’s “engaging and unexpected” for the readers would be witnessing their beloved characters and tales unfold on-screen, while for others, it will offer something fresh and innovative.

I’m not sure if that explanation holds up, but let me clarify his subsequent point better. Previously, I mentioned that our show revolves entirely around King Viserys and his kin. The character of Rhaena, though she may take a while to enter the story in the books, is significant within this family, being part of the larger Targaryen dynasty. In our adaptation, she’s one of Daemon’s two daughters who have a somewhat strained relationship with him. We felt it crucial to develop her narrative fully, as it not only gives Rhaena a well-rounded storyline but also affects Daemon. This development will gradually unfold, and I believe viewers will appreciate how it fits seamlessly into the existing history. So, keep watching!

I think the way we approach this is we’re constantly balancing the need to tell a broadly appealing fantasy story and also servicing this book that we revere very greatly, Fire & Blood, and rendering an adaptation that remains very faithful to it and respectful to it and sometimes will not do exactly the thing that the audience expects or has read in the text. But I think in the final analysis of it, hopefully most people can go in and see, ‘oh, I can see how the historians had one perspective on this story.’ But when you tell this objective story of what it was actually like living there on the ground with these characters, how that story was then absorbed into the history either because that was the accepted propaganda of the time because somebody had an agenda or simply because that person wasn’t there and only knew the what the who and the when and didn’t know how and the why.

If House of the Dragon is going to cut Nettles, make it a clean cut

Fire & Blood isn’t a traditional novel; instead, it’s presented in the style of a fictional historical text. Events are recounted by various sources who may not have been directly involved, adding an element of uncertainty or potential misinterpretation to the narrative.

I believe many fans would concur that Condal and his team might be overstating the ambiguity in the original story, altering elements that are as fixed as they can possibly be according to the narrative. The paragraph you provided suggests that Condal may merge Nettles’ story with Rhaena’s, implying that the authors of Fire & Blood overlooked this connection. This idea seems rather far-fetched, considering that in the book, Nettles and Rhaena are distinct characters carrying out separate actions in different locations at the same time, and their presence is clearly documented. If indeed Condal is proposing that they were one person who split apart due to historical perspective, this theory is challenging to accept.

It appears that Condal’s initial explanation makes more sense: they chose to concentrate the story on Viserys’ family, as Nettles isn’t part of it. So, they excluded her and had Rhaena perform some of the tasks she does in the book instead. There’s no need to explain this by trying to fit it into the structure of “Fire & Blood”; that argument won’t convince anyone. It’s simply a change made for the adaptation.

I have a different perspective on that narrative approach; I believe the series could effectively focus on Viserys’ family, incorporating Nettles who, in my opinion, adds significant dramatic depth. However, it seems unnecessary for Condal to assert that history merged two distinct characters into one person. It feels questionable how much reverence is being paid to the original text if such flexibility with language is employed. Despite my disappointment over Nettles’ absence, I could appreciate a plot where Rhaena rides a dragon and spends time with her father; why not? However, it’s these strange attempts to restructure the story that leave me uneasy.

Pondering their creative limits, I speculate if Condal and the team might stretch Rhaena’s narrative to fit certain expectations. For instance, could she disguise herself as a commoner and adopt an alias like Nettles? However, numerous obstacles come to mind as I consider this possibility. If the show decides to part ways with Nettles, I hope it’s a decisive goodbye. We’ll learn more when House of the Dragon season 3 premieres in 2026.

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2024-09-06 17:42