House Of The Dragon Co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal finally opened up about the ongoing rift with the creator George R.R Martin about the show’s changes. The controversy started on September 4, when Martin shared a now-deleted lengthy blog on his website pointing out his disappointment over the changes the second season made. He also noted that the show, which is based on Martin’s novel ‘Fire & Blood’ is less strong in terms of storyline. However, Martin’s post was deleted within an hour after which HBO released a statement defending Condal.
The statement noted: “There are few greater fans of George R.R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO. Commonly, when adapting a book for the 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 Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.”
Let’s check out Condal’s response to Martin’s comment.
Ryan Condal addressed the rift in the show’s podcast
The showrunner indirectly opened up the issue in the season’s final episode of the Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon.
“The writing that we do on the show is always available to [Martin],” Condal noted. “The things that we create and do, we show casting tapes and cuts, and when there are art department presentations we put together before the start of a season, everything is made available to him. And I’ve always taken aboard his feedback wherever possible. There are, of course, places where we have not agreed and and departed. And some of those things are just things that are a specific condition in the making the show.”
He also explained that it’s not possible to do “17 set pieces across the making of the show.”
Moreover, he also pointed out the difference between book and television as he shared, “The demands of television are great and heavy, and sometimes it’s beyond even the showrunner to be able to change the nature of a thing in order to jam [something] into place on TV.”
Also Read: George R.R. Martin Details Problems in ‘House of the Dragon’ Changes