George R.R. Martin has announced his intentions to discuss the issues he has encountered with the adaptation of House of the Dragon.
The Game of Thrones author made this revelation in a blog post, hinting at some complications with the prequel series.
In the past, Martin has openly criticized adaptations, noting that screenwriters often believe they need to “improve” the original source material.
He stated: “‘The book is the book, the film is the film,’ they will tell you, as if they were saying something profound. Then they make the story their own.
“They never make it better, though. Nine hundred ninety-nine times out of a thousand, they make it worse.”
It is widely known that the Game of Thrones series finale was poorly received by fans.
Additionally, some viewers criticized the show’s quality once it surpassed Martin’s written material.
Now, Martin has hinted at possible problems with the prequel series.
In his blog, Martin wrote: “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.”
House of the Dragon is adapted from another of Martin’s works, which differs in format from Game of Thrones.
This prequel is based on the book Fire and Blood, a fictional history of the Targaryen family.
Unlike a novel that presents characters’ perspectives and motivations directly to the readers, this book provides various historical accounts of the events of the Dance of the Dragons, which the series explores.
This form of adaptation offers writers more flexibility in developing characters, as the ‘historical accounts’ are shown to be flawed or biased.
For instance, some accounts favor the Greens, while others support Rhaenyra and the Blacks. While the general events are known, the specifics are not as clear as they are in Game of Thrones.
As for the issues Martin mentioned, they remain to be seen, but he has also previously commended some writing choices in the show.
He remarked: “The show added a brand new character as well. The dog. I am… ahem… not usually a fan of screenwriters adding characters to the source material when adapting a story. Especially not when the source material is mine. But that dog was brilliant.”