George RR Martin SLAMS House Of The Dragon Season 2

welcome to the heavy spoilers show I'm your host Paul and this video we've got a lot to talk about so stuff's went a bit crazy in the Game of Thrones fandom and George R Martin has put out a big blog post detailing all his thoughts on House of the Dragon season 2 the guy will do anything but write the book um it was very controversial he talked about some spoilers for season 3 you know kind of kind of crapped on the creatives and uh within a couple of minutes the the entire post was deleted guessing that he got a message from Warner Brothers and the worst thing is they didn't even warn a brother the internet is of course forever though um so I thought in this video we'd kind of go through what he says as doing something like this is completely unprecedented a full disclaimer I have an okay relationship with HBO um I'm guessing George did as well but they still copyright claim uh all my vids however after a dispute they normally tend to lift it however if you're from HBO and there's something in this video that kind of spoils something massive then please get in touch yet don't copy right strike the video please I don't really want to give the studio a chance to copyright claim this video um so we're not going to be using any of their footage and basically all this video is going to be is me reading the post out and kind of giving my thoughts on it normally I'd have clips for context um but that could cause issues copyright wise so I'm I'm not taking that chance and the editors can have a day off shabow best boss in the world now the fact is at the moment we don't know why it was removed so all we can do is speculate lack of knowledge is basically how all conspiracy theories start as people kind of guess what might have gone on behind the scenes in the end though I have to State we don't know why it was removed but as we go through it I'm sure there'll be a couple of things that'll flag up there's some leaks and spoilers in for season 3 and also this is a guy who works alongside a big studio um so they might not want someone coming out and saying I didn't like the stuff that you're adapting from me like I said it's pretty unprecedented um it might even be unprofessional for a creative to do this especially because they've got so many projects in the workout Warner Brothers so it might have been deleted because of the tone how it makes the shers look or even just the fact there's plot spoilers now that means that there's also a spoiler alert on this video as well but obviously if you're reading a George R Martin post then chances are you've read the book I do worry that they might remove this video but it could be a stri and effect thing so maybe they won't anyway that's why it won't be as polished as our usual videos big long disclaimer out the way also yeah before I forget I spoke to a lawyer and they said I have to say season 3 is subject to change as it's being written all the time we also contacted HBO for comment um initially they said that Ryan Condell addressed the comments in a Show's podcast which HBO sent us a transcript for which is over 17 pages long I can some it up but they've also put out a more professional statement and I'll go through that at the end of the video so sorry yeah we just get on with it and this is what Georgia said back in July well not do the voice back in July I promised you some further thoughts about blood and cheese and M or the missing after my commentary on the first two episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 a son for a son and R are the cruel those were terrific episodes well written well directed powerfully acted a great way to kick off the new season bands and critics alike seem to agree there was only one aspect of the episode that Drew significant criticism the handling of blood and cheese and the death of Prince Jaris from the commentary I saw online opinion was split there the readers of Fire and Blood found the sequence underwhelming a disappointment watered down from what they were expecting viewers who had not read the book had no such problem most of them found the sequence a real gut Punch Tragic horrifying nightmarish Etc some reported being reduced to tears I found myself agreeing with both sides so we can see things from both sides um and I actually put out a video at the time you know after blood and cheese happened saying I did feel like the the whole thing was a disappointment that's because I'm a big fan of the book um and from my perspective they kind of dropped the ball on stuff not to be a complete ego Maniac here but I did wonder when reading this if George actually watched my video because there was something in there I said that he also seems to repeat but we'll get into it in my book Egon and Helena have three children not two the twins Jaris and Jara are 6 years old they have a younger brother Mayo who is two when blood and cheese break in on Helena and the kids they tell her they are debt collectors come to exact revenge for the death of Prince lucaris a son for a son as Elena has two sons however they demand that she choose which one should die she resists and offers her own life instead but the killers insist it has to be a son if she does not name one they will kill all three children to save the life of the twins Helena names meor but blood kills the oldia Harris instead while cheese tells little meor that his mother wanted him dead whether the boy is old enough to understand that is not at all certain also yeah I'm I'm just going to be reading out this text so if you want to just put this on and go for a walk or something or do the dishes or put eye in the clothes or so make no hard feelings now he then goes on to say that's not how it happens in the show there's no maor on House of the Dragon only the Twins and he then says both of whom look younger than six but I am no judge of children's ages so I can't be sure how old they're supposed to be blood can't seem to tell the twins apart so Helena's ass to reveal which one is the boy you would think a glance up his PJs would reveal that without involving the mother we'll not get into that George instead of offering her life to save the kids Helena offers them a necklace blood and cheese are not tempted blood saws Prince sharis's head off we are spared of the sight of that a sound effect suffices in the book he lops the head off with a sword it's a bloody brutal scene no doubt how not an innocent child is being butched in front of his mother now George then says he still believes the scene in the book is stronger and the readers have a right of that as well this is because the two killers are crueler and though George says he thought the actors who played the killers on the show are excellent the characters are crer harder and more frightening in the book in the show blood is a gold cloak in the book He's a former gold cloak stripped of his office for beating a woman to death blood is the sort of man who might think making a woman choose which of her sons should die is amusing especially when they double down on the want and cruelty by murdering the boy she tries to save Buck cheese is worse too he does not kick a dog true but he does not have a dog and he's the one who tells Meo that his mom wants him dead I would also suggest that Helena shows more courage more strength in the B by offering her own life to save her son offering a piece of jewelry is just not the same he then says as I saw it the Sophie's Choice aspect was the strongest part of the sequence now that's what I mentioned in my video um I know s's choice is a whole thing so he probably didn't watch it um but that's kind of what I gave it an analogy of as I felt that was the most fitting way to describe the scene by using pop culture terms it does kind of sum up though the main criticism of the scene um and he says that judging from the comments online most of the fans seem to agree so yeah I'm of that notion but yeah what's quite interesting is that Ryan Condell actually explained to him back in 2022 why they weren't going to do it I'm not going to keep reading this stuff out um but basically George says that they argued and after much heat they decided to weak in the sequence this is because Ryan says they had to do it for practical reasons and they didn't want to cast another child especially a 2-year-old toddler and this kind of then goes into how production works with children you know they can only work a certain amount of hours a day um is also getting them involved you know their parents in flying them out hotels and so on um and it kind of gets into how that would balloon up the budget a bit but something that Ryan said they didn't necessarily need George genen says the budget was already an issue on House of the dragon and that it made sense to save money wherever they could moreover Ryan assured me that we were not losing Prince meor simply postponing him Queen Helena could still give birth to him in season 3 presumably after getting with Char l in season 2 that made sense to him so he withdrew his objections and aced this change hear me he says he still loves the episode and the blood and cheese sequence overall losing Helena's Choice did weaken the scene to him but not to any great degree he said that only book readers would even notice its absence which is something I agree with um and I did still find the the the scene quite a gut punch now this is where the tone kind of changes and George Goes On to how the removal of the prince has a big knock on effect he says those of you who hate spoilers should stop reading here spoilers will follow at least for the readers among you if you've never read Fire and Blood maybe it does not matter because all I'm going to spoil here are things that happen in the book that may never happen on the series starting with Meo himself sometime between the initial decision to remove Meo a big change was made the prince's birth was no longer just going to be pushed back to season 3 he was never going to be born at all the youngest son of Egon and Helena would never about a pier most of you know about the butterfly effect I assume it's a great movie underrated yes there was a movie with that title a few years back I knew it it's a familiar Concept in Chaos Theory as well but most science fiction fans were first exposed to the idea in Ray Bradbury's classic time travel story A Sound of Thunder wherein a time traveler from the present panics and crushes a butterfly while hunting a T-Rex when he returns to his own time he discovers that the world has changed in huge and frightening ways one dead butterfly has Rewritten history the lesson being that change begets change and even small and seemingly insignificant alterations to a timeline or a story can have a profound effect on all our follows now he then says that Meo is a 2-year-old toddler in Fire and Blood but just like the butterfly he's got a bigger impact in the story the readers among you may recall that when it appears that rir and her blacks are about to capture King Landing Queen Allison becomes concerned for the safety of Helena's remaining children and takes a step to save them by smuggling them out of the City the task is given to two knights of the king's God so Willis is commanded to deliver Prince Jaris to the barians at Storm's end while meor is given over to Sir Thorn to be escorted across the Manda to the protection of the high tower Army on its way to King's Landing Willis fell delivers Jara safely to the barians at Storm's end but sord fares less well he and Mayo get his far as bitter bridge where he's revealed as the King's Garden Tav called the hog's head once discovered CET fights bravely to protect his young child gge and brings him to safety but he does not even make it across the bridge before some crossbows bring him down Prince meor is torn from his arms and then sadly ripped to pieces by the mob fighting over the boy and the huge reward that riro has offered for his capture and return will any of that appear in the show maybe but I don't see how the butterflies would seem to prohibit it you could perhaps make S rickets War be Jara instead of Meo but Jara can't be killed as she has a huge role to play as egon's next day could maybe make mayor a newborn instead of a 2-year-old but that would scramble up the timeline which is a bit of a mess already bloody hell George he says he's got no idea what Ryan has planned if anything um but given Mayo's absence from season two the simplest way to proceed would be to just drop him entirely lose the bit where Allison tries to send the kids to safety drop Ricket Thorn or send him and Willis F so Jara has two Gods now this is when he kind of spoils what's going to be happening in season three and he says that from what he knows Ryan seems to be doing this it's the simplest yes and may make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules but simpler is not better the bitter Bridge scene has tension suspense action Bloodshed a bit of heroism and a lot of tragedy ricked Thorn is a tertiary character at best most viewers as opposed to readers will never know he's gone since they never knew him at all but I rather like giving him his brief moment of heroism a taste of the courage and loyalty of the king's God regardless of whether they are black or green the butterflies are not done with this yet however in the book when word of Prince mayor's death and grizly manner of his passing reaches the red keep that proves to be the thing that drives Queen Helena too I'm going to YouTube it unive herself she damn she could barely stand to look at mord knowing that she chooses him to die in the selfie Choice scene and now he's dead in truth her words having come true the grief and Guild are too much for her to Bear now this is a big big ass spoiler for season 3 so spoiler alert quit quit the video of your want to know in Ryan's outline for season 3 Helena still unives herself for no particular reason there is no fresh horror no triggering event to overwhel a fragile young queen and I must stress from the lawyer season 3 is still being written as we speak and things are subject to change and he then goes on to say and the final butterfly follows soon thereafter Queen Helena sweet and gentle soul is much beloved by the small folk of Kings Landing riro was not so when rumors to arise that Helena did not un alive herself but Raa was murdered at rira's command the commons are quick to believe them that night King's Landing Rose in a bloody Riot and he basically then goes into how it's the end of rira's rule over the city which ultimately leads to the storming of the dragon piar and the rise of the shepherd's mob that drives rir to flee the city and then return to Dragon Stone which then leads into her death spoilers alert there George now this way kind of says Malo by himself means little he's a small child does not have a line of dialogue does nothing of consequence but die but where and when and how that does matter losing Mao weakened the end of the blood and cheese sequence but it also cost us the bitter Bridge scene with all its horror and heroism it undercut the motivation for heler uning herself me and that in turn sent thousands into the streets and alleys screaming for justice for their murdered Queen none of that is essential I suppose but all of it does serve a purpose it helps to all tie the story lines together so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing manner which I completely agree with I think you know even watching blood and cheese I was thinking like M or missing it's it's going to mess things up I think it kind of shows that maybe they didn't Focus so much on what was going to happen down the line and you can kind of see that in some of the character choices Nettles is a big one as they've kind of smushed that together um into another character but in doing so you're kind of thinking how's that going to work down the line not to get too spoilery with there but Damon ends up running off with her whereas if they do it in this though incest and being inbred like yeast is a big inbred like yeast is a big thing in the show I don't know if it's going to work when it's father and daughter so yeah it just kind of seems like they're more focused on the season not necessarily what's coming in season three and four but because of that you know pieces are going to fall apart you're kind of building it with a house of cards where you know it's steady at the bottom but the the further up you go and basically the more the butterfly effect doesn't have repercussions the more that the impact of these events is going to kind of lose what they're actually going towards in the end it'd be like if they did sunf for a son without killing lucer at the end of season one you know what I mean georan says what will we offer the fans instead once we've kill these butterflies I have no idea I do not recall that Ryan and I ever discussed this back when they first told me they were pushing back on eggon Second Sun Meo himself is not essential but if losing him means we also lose bitter Bridge the leners UN Al living herself and the riots will add to considerable loss and they 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 four so yeah what a way to end the blog post you know obviously he's like I think this is just throwing shots and me like you need to give me a call Mate before you sign off on these scripts cuz uh some of this stuff ain't going to work now like I said before HBO sent us a massive 17 Page transcript of the podcast um I'm not going to read up everything I'm kind of summed up the main points but basically um in regards to blood and cheese Ryan Condell said that the children they had in the story were simply too young to be able to construct that narrative exactly as laid out in the book he also later says that the writing that they did on the show was always available to George um and there are places that they might not have agreed or you know co-signed off on but he he's always tried to take on board his notes so yeah that's kind of how um things happen with it I I do get the kind of technical ISS issues with blood and cheese I just think that you know we could have just had that extra kid in because it's not going to cause so many issues down the line and you know maybe doing this little thing in season two it's going to help your story a lot more down the line but like I've said they've gone with that choice and yeah um HBO have also reached out for comment this comes from the streamer you know that's who we work with in terms of PR and they got the comment from them and here's what they said there are a few greater fans of George R Martin and his book fire and blur than the creative team on House of the Dragon both production and at HBO commonly when adapting a book for 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 we believe that Ryan conell and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series as a master over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it which yeah obviously we're going to have to see you know it's a bit difficult to kind of Judge this entire thing um without you know seeing it for for how it turns out I think with season two though um it has had its issues and a lot of that has come down to the writing and how they've adapted certain parts of the book I think season 2 I have discussed this a lot before Season Two started off really strong you know you had the the blood and cheese episode which I do still like I just felt like disappointed in terms of the book and then you had the cargal twins stuff you know episode three was nice and solid uh when I think that was one where riro went to the the keep and then episode four was the Battle of Rooks rest which was definitely the high point of the season now after that you had the Dragon seed um I do like Adam of Hull H I do like um you know ul and Hugh what they did with them and I thought episode 7 especially you know where you've got that big dragon bit scene it was really really well put together my issues kind of lay with how they laid things out for example you know Raina getting sheep stealer um they had like basically what was a five minute sequence all together but they cut it up and then inserted it at different points throughout different episodes so instead of just watching it as one sequence you're like well this is happening this is happening and I felt out with the dragon seeds and definitely with Damon's Visions as well you know Milli Al Cox Cameo was great the first time she popped up but then we had her the next episode and then after that we had a a Damon Vision with feris and then after that it was like another one with Patty kadine which all think scenes that I love on their own but as part of an episode it's kind of weird watching it I think I think Damon's Vision should have been two episodes at Max basically I think you know the one with Millie Alcock should have had her in the start Cameo and then at the end of the episode you end with the vision where Damon beheads her and that's the last of it it's weird kind of having two surprise cameos of the same person spread across two episodes and that's obviously the same with viseris um and I just felt in terms of structure that everything was kind of laid out in a really really weird way I think the dragon seeds could have probably been one episode like even when I was reading through the book I was like this is a perfect one episode segment this and they spread it out over a couple which was weird um and I think it was just stuff like that just the way it was laid out my my main comment on um and my main criticism that I kind of went semi viral for was House of the Dragon The House of the Dragon season to finale feels like episode 8 in a 10 episode season and I still stand by that I think just the way they've laid it out is a bit all over the place hopefully they sorted out for season 3 um don't know if they will but yeah what a what a wild thing to to wake up to and see um everything just kind of hitting the fan from the creative like you never you never hear anyone else basically writing a blog post about why the guys who adapted my work messed it all up and it's going to suck down the line so yeah obviously a lot to unpack there um again if you're from HBO and you you're like can you cut the spoilers out just message me and we we'll talk about it but yeah I hope you guys enjoyed it a little more relax a little more relaxed video um and I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your day if you want some else to watch we've also got a house of the dragon video on screen right now so definitely head over there right after this but out the way I've been your host Paul you've been the best and I'll see you next time take care peace