Warning! Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 2 and Fire & Blood, the show’s source material.
George RR Martin explains how Maelor’s absence in House of the Dragon Will create a big butterfly effect problem. Based on Martin Fire & BloodThe HBO Game of Thrones Spinoff show premiered in 2022, chronicling the beginning of the Targaryen civil war more than 100 years before the time of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). House of the Dragon Season 2 introduces a number of new characters from the source material, but one notable absence is Maelor, the third child of King Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban).
In a new post on his Not a blog, Martin Explains at length how the decision not to include Maelor will have consequences for the House of the Dragon History moving forward. The author reveals that showrunner Ryan Condall made the decision due to changes in the show’s timeline compared to the book, as well as for practical production and budgetary reasons. He warns, however, that Maelor not existing in the show means that some key events from his novel, particularly events in Bitterbridge, cannot be included, which will have a flattering effect. Read Martin’s blog excerpt below:
Several times between the initial decision to remove Mellor, a major 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 younger son of Aegon and Helaena would never appear.
Maelor is a two-year-old toddler in Fire & Blood, but like our butterfly, he has an impact on the story all out of proportion to his size. Readers among you may remember that when it appears that Rhenira and her blacks are about to capture King’s Landing, Queen Alicent becomes concerned for the safety of Helena’s remaining children, and takes steps to save them by smuggling them out of the city. The work is given [to] Two knights of the kingguard. Ser Willis Fell is ordered to deliver Princess Jaehaera to the Baratheons at Storm’s End, while Maelor is handed over to Ser Rickard Thorne to be escorted across the Maunder to the protection of the Hightower army on its way to King’s Landing.
Willis Fell delivers Jaehaera safely to the Baratheons at Storm’s End, but Ser Ricard fares less well. He and Maelor get to Bitterbridge, where he is revealed as a kingsward at an inn called the Hog’s Head. Once discovered, Sir Rickard fights bravely to protect his young charge and bring him to safety, but he doesn’t even make it across the bridge before several crossbows bring him down, Prince Maelor is torn from his arms.. and then, unfortunately, ripped To pieces of the crowd fighting over the boy and the huge reward that Rhaenira had offered for his capture and return.
Will any of this appear on the show? Maybe… but I don’t see how. The butterflies would seem to forbid it. You could perhaps make Ser Rickard’s ward be Jaehaera instead of Maelor, but Jaehaera can’t be killed, she has a huge role to play as Aegon’s next heir. Could maybe make Maelor a newborn instead of a two year old, but that would push the timeline, which is already a bit of a mess. I have no idea what Rian has planned – if he really has anything planned – but given Maelor’s absence from episode 2, the simplest way to proceed is to just drop him completely, lose the bit where Alicent tries to send the Kids to safety, drop Rickard Thorne or send him with Willis Fell so Jaehaera has two guards.
From what I know, that seems to be what Ryan is doing here. It’s simpler, yes, and can make sense in terms of budgets and shooting schedules. But simpler is not better. The Bitterbridge scene has tension, suspense, action, bloodshed, a bit of heroism and a lot of tragedy. Rickard Thorne 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 loved giving him his brief moment of heroism, a taste of the Courage and loyalty of the Kingsguard, regardless of whether they are black or green.
Painter by itself means little. He is 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 Mellor weakened the end of the blood and cheese sequence, but it also cost us the Bitterbridge scene with all its horror and heroism, it undercut the motivation for Helena’s suicide, and that in turn sent thousands into the streets and alleys, screaming. for justice. For their “murdered” queen. None of this is essential, I guess… but all of it serves a purpose, it all helps to tie the story lines together, so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing manner.
What will we offer the fans instead, once we’ve killed the butterflies? I have no idea. I don’t remember Ryan and I ever discussing this, back when he first told me they were pushing back on Aegon’s second son. Maelor himself isn’t essential… but if losing him means we also lose Bitterbridge, Helena’s suicide, and the riots, well… that’s a considerable loss.
What Maelor’s absence means for House of the Dragon season 3
Ryan Condal has a major choice to make
House of the Dragon Season 3 is now confirmed to be the penultimate outing for the show, with a season 4 to wrap up the adaptation of Fire & Blood At some point in the future. Season 3 is expected to enter production in early 2025, although it is unclear at this time how many episodes it will consist of. Maelor’s absence may have a negative impact on parts of season 2, especially the Blood and Cheese scene, but, as Martin says, it’s set to have bigger consequences ahead.
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The history of House of the Dragon Was simplified to hone in Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). This will seemingly continue to be the case in season 3, however Maelor’s death affects the dynamic immediately, as it precipitates Helaena’s suicide, which in turn precipitates an angry mob in King’s Landing. Condal, therefore, has the task of creating a new motivation for the same events to happen or completely exclude them, further deviating from the source material.
Our take on Maelor not in the House of the Dragon
Why the omission could be a blow to the HBO show
Any adaptation will require changes from the source material for narrative and practical reasons, and the positive reviews for House of the Dragon So far suggest the show is making some strong decisions as it chooses which details to pull from Martin’s Fire & Blood. The HBO series is obviously in good hands, but Maelor Is Not Present and Not Dying eliminates a degree of complexity, brutality and heartbreak that Game of Thrones Excellent in her earlier years.
It’s certainly worth giving Condall the benefit of the doubt in terms of how he solves the problem, and simplicity could end up working in the show’s favor. Martin’s own concern about the Maelor butterfly effect, however, is reason enough to worry about how future seasons of House of the Dragon Adapt the events of Fire & Blood.
Source: George RR Martin