House of the Dragon
word of advice ! spoiler onwards for House of the Dragon time of year 2 and Fire & Blood , the show ’s source material .
George R. R. Martin explains how Maelor ’s absence seizure inHouse of the Dragonwill create a big butterfly stroke consequence problem . Based on Martin’sFire & Blood , the HBOGame of Thronesspinoff show premiere in 2022 , chronicling the onset of the Targaryen civic state of war more than 100 years before the time of Daenerys Targaryen ( Emilia Clarke).House of the Dragonseason 2introduces a numeral of new characters from the source material , but one famous absence seizure is Maelor , the third child of King Aegon Targaryen ( Tom Glynn - Carney ) and Helaena Targaryen ( Phia Saban ) .
In a new mail service on hisNot A Blog , Martinexplains at length how the determination to not include Maelor will have consequences for theHouse of the Dragonstory moving forward . The author reveals that showrunner Ryan Condal made the conclusion due to change in the show ’s timeline compared to the book , as well as for virtual yield and budgetary understanding . He warns , however , that Maelor not existing in the show means that several cardinal events from his novel , notably events at Bitterbridge , now ca n’t be include , which will have a butterfly effect . record Martin ’s web log excerpt below :
Sometime between the initial decision to hit Maelor , a self-aggrandising change was made . The prince ’s birth was no longer just lead to be fight back to time of year 3 . He was never going to be born at all . The younger son of Aegon and Helaena would never appear .
Maelor is a two twelvemonth old toddler in FIRE & BLOOD , but like our butterfly he has an encroachment on the tarradiddle all out of proportionality to his size of it . The readers among you may recall that when it appears that Rhaenyra and her black are about to capture King ’s Landing , Queen Alicent becomes concerned for the safety of Helaena ’s remain children , and takes steps to salvage them by smuggling them out of the city . The undertaking is given [ to ] two knights of the Kingsguard . Ser Willis Fell is commanded to fork out Princess Jaehaera to the Baratheons at Storm ’s End , while Maelor is given over to Ser Rickard Thorne to be escorted across the Mander to the protection of the Hightower army on its way to King ’s landing place .
Willis Fell render Jaehaera safely to the Baratheons at Storm ’s End , but Ser Rickard come less well . He and Maelor get as far as Bitterbridge , where he is revealed as a Kingsuard in a tavern call the Hogs Head . Once chance on , Ser Rickard oppose courageously to protect his youthful charge and bring him to rubber , but he does not even make it across the bridge before some crossbows play him down , Prince Maelor is torn from his arms .. and then , sadly , ripped to pieces by the mob fighting over the boy and the vast wages that Rhaenyra has offer up for his seizure and return .
Will any of that appear on the show ? Maybe … but I do n’t see how . The butterflies would seem to nix it . You could perhaps make Ser Rickard ’s Aaron Montgomery Ward be Jaehaera rather of Maelor , but Jaehaera ca n’t be killed , she has a vast role to trifle as Aegon ’s next heritor . Could mayhap make Maelor a neonate instead of a two yr old , but that would scramble up the timeline , which is a bit of a mess already . I have no idea what Ryan has design — if indeed he has planned anything — but given Maelor ’s absence seizure from sequence 2 , the simplest direction to go would be just to drop him altogether , lose the mo where Alicent tries to send the kids to guard , shake off Rickard Thorne or commit him with Willis Fell so Jaehaera has two guards .
From what I lie with , that seems to be what Ryan is doing here . It ’s simplest , yes , and may make sense in term of budget and shooting schedules . But simpler is not beneficial . The Bitterbridge prospect has tension , suspense , action , bloodshed , a routine of valiance and a fortune of tragedy . Rickard Thorne is a third character at best , most viewers ( as opposed to reader ) will never hump he is gone , since they never knew him at all … but I rather like giving him his brief moment of valor , a taste of the braveness and trueness of the Kingsguard , regardless of whether they are black or green .
Maelor by himself means picayune . He is a modest child , does not have a logical argument of dialogue , does nothing of consequence but die … but where and when and how , thatdoesmatter . Losing Maelor weaken the ending of the blood line and Cheese succession , but it also cost us the Bitterbridge scene with all its horror and valorousness , it undercut the need for Helaena ’s suicide , and that in turn sent grand into the streets and alleys , screaming for justness for their “ murdered ” faggot . None of that is essential , I suppose … but all of it does serve a role , it all helps to marry the story lines together , so one affair follows another in a logical and convincing manner .
Image via Max
What will we extend the sports fan rather , once we ’ve killed these butterfly ? I have no idea . I do not return that Ryan and I ever talk over this , back when he first told me they were pushing back on Aegon ’s second son . Maelor himself is not substantive … but if losing him means we also lose Bitterbridge , Helaena ’s felo-de-se , and the sidesplitter , well … that ’s a considerable going .
House of the Dragon ’s treatment of the " Blood & Cheese " storylinefrom the books was controversial in part due to Maelor ’s absence seizure , which water down the scene ’s savagery .
What Maelor’s Absence Means For House Of The Dragon Season 3
Ryan Condal Has A Major Choice To Make
House of the Dragonseason 3is now corroborate to be the penultimate outing for the show , with a season 4 to wrap up up the adaption ofFire & Bloodat some point in the future . Season 3 is expected to enter product in early 2025 , though it ’s unclear at the here and now how many episodes it will consist of . Maelor ’s absence seizure may have negatively impacted parts of season 2 , notably the Blood & Cheese conniption , but , as Martin state , it ’s rig to have bigger event moving forward .
House of the Dragon adapted the infamous Blood and Cheese sequence without Helaena ’s other son Maelor Targaryen , and I think I have a go at it why .
The story ofHouse of the Dragonhas been simplify to hone in on Rhaenyra Targaryen ( Emma D’Arcy ) and Alicent Hightower ( Olivia Cooke ) . This will seemingly continue to be the typeface in season 3 , butMaelor ’s death directly strike this moral force as it precipitates Helaena ’s self-destruction , which itself precipitate an angry mob in King ’s Landing . Condal , then , has the chore of creating a newfangled motivation for these same consequence to occur or excise them entirely , further deviate from the source material .
Our Take On Maelor Not Featuring In House Of The Dragon
Why The Omission Could Be A Blow To The HBO Show
Any adaptation will expect changes from the source textile for storytelling and pragmatic reasons , and the positive review forHouse of the Dragonthus far suggest that the show is making some hard decisions as it prefer what detail to pull fromMartin’sFire & Blood . The HBO serial publication is evidently in serious hands , but Maelor not being present and not dying extinguish a degree of complexity , savagery , and heartbreak thatGame of Thronesexcelled at in its earliest seasons .
It ’s for certain worth giving Condal the benefit of the doubt in terms of how he work this problem , and simmpleness could end up work in the show ’s favor . Martin ’s own concern about the Maelor butterfly effect , however , is reason enough to worry about how future season ofHouse of the Dragonadapt the events ofFire & Blood .
Source : George R. R. Martin
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Cast
conduct spot about 172 years before the event ofGame of Thrones , House of the Dragontells the story of the rise of the Targaryens , the only sept of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria . The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were supplant by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke , who play the old versions of the characters . Also star in the series is Matt Smith ( Prince Daemon Targaryen ) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra ’s father , King Viserys Targaryen .
