Following House of the Dragon season 2, A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin has said he’ll share more about what’s “gone wrong” with the HBO show.
In a new post on his Not a Blog page, Martin shared that this year has been “pretty wretched” for him, full of “stress, anger, conflict, and defeat.”
“I need to talk about some of that, and I will, I will… I was away from my computer traveling from July 15 to August 15, so a lot of things that needed saying did not get said,” he continued, before writing about a trip that boosted his spirits.
“I do not look forward to other posts I need to write, about everything that’s gone wrong with HOUSE OF THE DRAGON… but I need to do that too, and I will,” he added, though with the caveat of “not today.”
House of the Dragon season 2 certainly received a mixed reception, with episodes like the fourth and seventh – which featured the explosive Rook’s Rest battle and the dragonseeds claiming their mounts, respectively – garnering rave reviews, while the finale was deemed a frustrating disappointment. Our own House of the Dragon season 2, episode 8 review reads: “Despite some excellent sequences, House of the Dragon season 2, episode 8 is plagued by the same issues as the rest of the season, focusing on looking ahead rather than offering a satisfying conclusion.”
Martin shared some thoughts on canon in a previous blog post, where he emphasized that dragons are not nomadic and wouldn’t be found in the Vale – perhaps in reference to a change eventually made on House of the Dragon, which saw Sheepstealer roaming the Vale, soon to be claimed by Rhaena in a change from the source material (the dragon was claimed by Nettles in Fire and Blood, who does not appear to exist in the show). “Fantasy needs to be grounded. It is not simply a license to do anything you like. Smaug and Toothless may both be dragons, but they should never be confused. Ignore canon, and the world you’ve created comes apart like tissue paper,” he wrote. Though, of course, we’re just speculating here.
House of the Dragon season 3 has already been confirmed, though it doesn’t have a release date just yet. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming TV shows to get excited about this year.
