George R. R. Martin criticizes the changes made by ‘House of the Dragon’ in a quickly deleted blog post

In his blog post, Martin admitted that “Maelor by himself means little,” being a 2-year-old toddler with no dialogue or decision-making abilities.

But he also argued that Maelor’s omission would cause a butterfly effect and weaken the overall narrative.

In the book, when Rhaenyra threatens to take King’s Landing, Queen Alicent sends Maelor away from the castle in an attempt to keep him safe.

Unfortunately, the young prince is killed in Bitterbridge by a mob of smallfolk, desperate to reap the reward for his capture. Maelor’s brutal murder triggers a chain reaction, including the suicide of his mother, Queen Helaena, and a riot that results in the deaths of several dragons.

“In Ryan’s outline for season 3, Helaena still kills herself… for no particular reason. There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm the fragile young queen,” Martin wrote.

“What will we offer the fans instead, once we’ve killed these butterflies? I have no idea,” he continued. “I do not recall that Ryan and I ever discussed this, back when he first told me they were pushing back on Aegon’s second son. Maelor himself is not essential… but if losing him means we also lose Bitterbridge, Helaena’s suicide, and the riots, well… that’s a considerable loss.”

Martin said he doesn’t know how Condal and his team plan to adapt these plot points, but he fears that without Maelor, future seasons will lack the “logical and convincing” storylines from his original story.

Martin ended his rant with a sharp warning: “There are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if HOUSE OF THE DRAGON goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4…”

Although the blog post was deleted shortly after publication, an archived version is available to read. Fans have also circulated screenshots on social media.

A spokesperson for HBO told Variety in a statement, “There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book ‘Fire & Blood’ than the creative team on ‘House of the Dragon,’ both in production and at HBO.”

“Commonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow,” the statement reads. “We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”

Representatives for HBO did not immediately respond to a request for comment from BI.