House of the Dragonhas faced some backlash over its changes to the source material, and an update from George R.R. Martin casts it in an even harsher light. Although theGame of Thronesprequel has largely been well-received, its handling ofFire & Bloodhas drawn some negative comments from fans of the book - and it didn’t end there. EvenMartin himself criticizedHouse of the Dragon’s changes, especially for the butterfly effect they would have on later seasons of the show (this came in a now-deleted blog post).
Much of the ire centered aroundBlood and Cheese killing Prince Jaehaerys Targaryen, a horrific event in both book and show, but with some notable changes in the latter. That includes cutting Prince Maelor Targaryen entirely - thus removing one of King Aegon II Targaryen’s heirs - which will have an impact later on in the series. As the wait forHouse of the Dragonseason 3goes on, and HBO prepares to debut anotherGame of Thronesspinoff later this year, those are tricky waters it’ll have to continue trying to navigate, but it’s a problem it was always going to struggle with.
House Of The Dragon Was Always Going To Struggle To Be Faithful To The Book
Fire & Blood Is Not A Straightforward Book To Adapt
One of the advantages of makingHouse of the Dragonis that it has a great story, and one that very much evokesGame of Throneswhile being different enough.The Dance of the Dragonsis an epic civil war that features lots of political machinations, feuding families, huge battles, and, of course, dragons. In a sense, it was a no-brainer for HBO to make it the first spinoff for its Westeros-based franchise. On the other hand, though, is that while there is a great story, it’s technically not a very long or fleshed-out narrative for making a TV show.
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Ending Explained: What Happens Next?
House of the Dragon season 2’s finale brings with it some major reveals and moments, and sets up even bigger things to come in season 3.
Fire & Bloodis a weighty tome, and only part one of Martin’s planned two-parthistory of House Targaryen. But the Dance of the Dragons portion, even if you start from Viserys becoming king and going through to the clean-up after the war ends, isn’t even 300 pages. Or,if you were to listen to the audiobook, it wouldn’t even be 10 hours, which is shorter thanHouse of the Dragonseason 1. Compare that toGame of Thrones, where the first book alone runs over 30 hours in audiobook form.
That’s not to downplay Martin’s book in any way, which is a great read, but it’s presented as an in-universe history book that draws on multiple historical accounts, most of whom weren’t around at the time stuff happened. The discrepancies help make it fascinating, but also mean the characters and events can lack detail: there aren’t true arcs the way you’d get in a novel, and it’s difficult to adapt that format to the screen against a more definitive version of events.
Generally speaking, the show requires a lot of invention, which then also means things are going to have to be changed…
That doesn’t excuseHouse of the Dragonall of its problems. Indeed,when it comes to Blood and Cheese, that actually seemed like one of the easiest sequences to adapt because it’s so good as-writtenand didn’t require much being changed or expanded. But generally speaking, the show requires a lot of invention, which then also means things are going to have to be changed, and so faithfulness was always likely to be a struggle.
Why A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Is Easier To Get Right
GRRM’s Novellas Have An Advantage
Martin gave a review ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the nextGame of Thronesspinoff, having now seen early cuts of all six episodes. The author was glowing in his praise, but what stands out in particular, given the context of his criticisms regardingHouse of the Dragonand how it has adaptedFire & Blood, is that he specifically calls out its faithfulness. He wrote:
“I’ve seen all six episodes now (the last two in rough cuts, admittedly), and I loved them. Dunk and Egg have always been favorites of mine, and the actors we found to portray them are just incredible. The rest of the cast are terrific as well. Wait until you guys meet the Laughing Storm. and Tanselle Too-Tall.
“A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS is an adaptation of “The Hedge Knight,” the first of the novellas I wrote about them.It’s as faithful as adaptation as a reasonable man could hope for(and you all know how increedibly [sic] reasonable I am on that particular subject).”
Although Martin has praisedHouse of the Dragonin the past too,that he is so directly commenting upon the faithfulness ofA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, after his remarks about the other prequel, feels significant. Clearly, there are no changes with potentially harmful butterfly effects here, and that bodes well for the series, though it does reflect that this is a slightly easier book to adapt.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight is set in a time when the Targaryen dynasty rules Westeros.
The Hedge Knight, which is the Dunk & Egg story that will make upA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsseason 1, is a relatively light and breezy read, especially byA Song of Ice & Firestandards. Nonetheless, it is a straightforward novel, with very clear character actions and story progression, unlikeFire & Blood. While this does still require some expansion - it’s 160 pages, and around 3 hours in audiobook, for what will become a six-episode season, so there’s some work to be done - it’s an easier, more traditional starting point than adaptingFire & Blood.
A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Could Still Face Its Own Adaptation Struggles
HBO Still Needs To Make Sure To Get The Hedge Knight (& Beyond) Right
It sounds as thoughA Knight of the Seven Kingdomsis on track to avoidHouse of the Dragon’s problems, though that doesn’t mean it will all be plain sailing when it comes to adapting the books. There are, of course, the aforementioned expansions required. Assuming HBO is aiming for around 50-60 minute long episodes, then it needs to flesh out some characters and scenes more than the book. But those should be relatively minor additions per episode, rather than having to invent too much to stretch something out across multiple seasons.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' release dateis TBC, but Martin thinks it will be"late"2025.
The bigger potential book problem forA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, and a stark contrast toHouse of the Dragon, is that they’re not finished.Martin plans on writing several more Dunk & Egg novellas, and while their ultimate fates are known, the finer details of happens to them after the third and most recent book,The Mystery Knight, are not.
Status
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
An adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s The Tales of Dunk & Egg novellas
Season 1 releasing in 2025 on HBO and Max
House of the Dragon
Ongoing Game of Thrones prequel, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war, the Dance of the Dragons
Season 3 expected in 2026; season 4 will be the last
Aegon’s Conquest
The story of King Aegon I Targaryen and the conquest of Westeros with his sister-wives, Rhaenys and Visenya
In-development
10,000 Ships
A spinoff about Princess Nymeria, who led her people the Rhoynar to Dorne after a war with the Valyrian Freehold
Nine Voyages
An animated show about Corlys Velaryon’s Great Voyages, where he sailed around the Known World
The Golden Empire(unofficial)
An animated show set in empire of Yi Ti, which is in the far East of Essos
Another live-action Game of Thrones spinoff
Another animated Game of Thrones spinoff
A Game of Thrones movie
There’s probably enough to avoidGame of Thrones-sized issues after overtaking the books, especially as it’s so much more contained, but that’s a bigger worry than fidelity to the source material. Nonetheless, as it stands,A Knight of the Seven Kingdomsis incredibly exciting, especially after Martin’s approval.
