Includes spoilers for potential events in House of the Dragon, based on information from Fire and Blood.
Critic’s surrounded House of the Dragon After leaving Maelor Targaryen, but it is still possible to implement his character in season 3. The HBO prequel series is based on Fire & BloodA companion book to George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series, but the second season received a divisive response from its audience for its many changes from the source material. in this book, Maelor Targaryen is the third son of King Aegon II and Helaena, and his omission drastically changes the dynamic of the blood and cheese Assassination In the season 2 premiere.
George RR Martin took to his blog for a brutal assessment of House of the Dragon Season 2, addressing his concerns about the removal of Maelor Targaryen. He explains the showrunner Ryan Condal’s initial plan was to add Maelor in the 3rd season But that didn’t happen anymore. Martin expressed how this would cause a domino effect on future events, eventually weakening House of the Dragon Complete adaptation. While Maelor’s casting is unlikely, it’s worth breaking down the possibility of how it might play out if HBO changes its mind in the wake of Martin’s post.
Helaena may already be pregnant with Maelor heading into House of the Dragon season 3
It’s not too late to work Maelor into HOTD
House of the Dragon It doesn’t exactly account for how much time passes between episodes, but assuming based on the pace of armies marching, season 2 probably spanned several weeks. in the House of the Dragon time line, It wouldn’t be impossible for Maelor to be conceived sometime before the end of season 1, which could make Helaena deep into her pregnancy by season 3. It would be shocking that this wasn’t mentioned in season 1, since Jaehaerys was killed and Helaena’s baby could be the new heir, but it’s the best they got.
After sustaining injuries in the battle of Rook’s Rest and fleeing from King’s Landing in the House of the Dragon Season 2 ending, it is impossible now for Aegon to birth new heirs. So, if Maelor is to be born, either Helaena is already pregnant, or Aemond will somehow become the father. Either option is messy, but it’s the only way it can happen at this point, given how events have played out. If HBO wants to appease Martin by trying to fix the story, these are the only options.
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Maelor’s Story still works if he was born in the House of the Dragon Season 3
Maelor being born late would not damage his story
The main part of George RR Martin’s issue with Maelor’s removal is not that the character is absent from Blood & Cheese, but that his absence would create more issues down the line. After Rhaenyra takes King’s Landing in the book, Helaena’s remaining children, Jaehaera and Maelor, are spirited out of the city by knights. As a result, Maelor is taken by commoners, who tear him to shreds, driving Helena to her death by suicide.. Maelor’s part in the story is crucial to Helena’s terrible fate, and it’s better late than never to make it work.
House of the Dragon Can’t change blood and cheese, but it’s not impossible to find a way to introduce Maelor early in season 3, somehow postponing Rhaenyra’s attack long enough for Helaena to give birth. Then, Bitterbridge could happen, leading to Helaena’s suicide at the end of the season as Martin intended. The age of the baby does not really matter for this season, and the scene is almost more threatening with a newborn. However, an interesting aspect was the fact that Mellor survived Blood & Cheese after Helena chose him to die, adding to the later pain.
How likely is House of the Dragon Season 3 introducing Maelor?
Given that George RR Martin had already stated that Maelor was not happening, It is unlikely that he will make an appearance in season 3. The only option now would be for HBO to acknowledge the backlash to the show after Martin’s blog post and try to change course, but the network’s statement confirms their belief in Ryan Condall’s direction (via Term). Condal also stated that they will follow the setup established by season 2. Here’s his comment to Variety On this matter:
“I would just expect the cadence of the show, from a dramatic narrative perspective, to continue to be the same from Season 2 on.”
So, it’s not too late for House of the Dragon To make changes to his story, but it doesn’t seem like Ryan Condal intends to. The showrunner seems to have logistical reasons in mind, and pressure in budget and time constraints from Warner Bros also seem to be factors, given many of the recent interviews. House of the Dragon Might not work out the way book fans are hoping for, but some entertaining dragon action is guaranteed to come.