"House of Dragon Showrunner Responds to George R.R. Martin's Criticisms"

Ryan Condal, the showrunner for House of the Dragon, has expressed disappointment over George R.R. Martin's critique of the show's second season. The drama unfolded after Martin vowed to address "everything that's gone wrong with House of the Dragon" in an August 2024 post, where he criticized specific plot elements involving Aegon and Helaena's children. Although Martin's post was later removed from his website without explanation, it had already garnered significant attention from fans and HBO.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Condal shared his feelings about the strained relationship with the Game of Thrones creator. He stated, "It was disappointing. I will simply say I've been a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire for almost 25 years now, and working on the show has been truly one of the great privileges of, not only my career as a writer, but my life as a fan of science-fiction and fantasy. George himself is a monument, a literary icon in addition to a personal hero of mine, and was heavily influential on me coming up as a writer."

Condal acknowledged the challenges of adapting the source material, Fire & Blood, for television, noting that the historical narrative requires significant interpretation and invention. He emphasized his efforts to include Martin in the adaptation process, saying, "I made every effort to include George in the adaptation process. I really did. Over years and years. And we really enjoyed a mutually fruitful, I thought, really strong collaboration for a long time. But at some point, as we got deeper down the road, he just became unwilling to acknowledge the practical issues at hand in a reasonable way."

He further explained the dual responsibilities he faces as a showrunner, stating, "And I think as a showrunner, I have to keep my practical producer hat on and my creative writer, lover-of-the-material hat on at the same time. At the end of the day, I just have to keep marching not only the writing process forward, but also the practical parts of the process forward for the sake of the crew, the cast, and for HBO, because that's my job. So I can only hope that George and I can rediscover that harmony someday."

Condal highlighted that creative decisions take "many months, if not years" to finalize, and he ensures that every choice passes through him before reaching the audience. His goal is to cater to both Game of Thrones readers and a broader television audience.

Despite the tensions, HBO and Martin have several upcoming projects in development, including A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which Martin has praised as a "faithful adaptation," and potentially another Targaryen-centered spinoff. Meanwhile, House of the Dragon has started production on its third season, following a second season that received a 7/10 rating in our review.