It sounds like George R.R. Martin may have some issues with the second season of House of the Dragon.
The Game of Thrones author, who is also listed as co-creator and executive producer on House of the Dragon, took to his “Not a Blog” over the weekend to hint at some significant grievances with the recent sophomore season of HBO's GOT prequel series.
Martin began by admitting that he’s had “a pretty wretched year,” before revealing that he is planning to list off his problems with the show in an upcoming blog post.
"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. I am glad I took that trip, though. My stress levels beforehand were off the charts, so much so that I was seriously considering cancelling my plans and staying at home. I am glad I didn’t, though. It was so so good to get away for a little, to put all the conflict aside for a time. I began to feel better the moment the plane set down in Belfast, and we all headed off to Ashford Meadow to see the tournament. We had five great days in Belfast and environs, and that made me feel so much better. The rest of the trip was fun as well, a splendid combination of business and pleasure that included visits to Belfast, Amsterdam, London, Oxford, and Glasgow. I look forward to telling you all about our adventures… though it may take a while. I had a thousand emails waiting for me on my return, and then I went and brought a case of covid back with me from worldcon, so I am way way behind.
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. Not today, though. TODAY is Zozobra’s day, when we turn away from gloom."
While season 2 of House of the Dragon did prove to be somewhat divisive (the finale, in particular), the writer's comments came as a bit of a surprise since he has previously been very supportive of the show, and was actually full of praise for the first couple of S2 episodes. However, he did later indicate that he wasn't quite so keen on how the Blood and Cheese scenes were handled in the premiere, "A Son for a Son."
“Well, there’s a lot of be said about that, but this is not the place for me to say it. The issues are too complicated. Somewhere down the line, I will do a separate post about all the issues raised by Blood and Cheese… and Maelor the Missing. There’s a lot to say.”
As you might expect, Martin's post has been met with a flurry of backlash, with many fans urging him to forget about throwing shade at House of the Dragon and get back to work on the penultimate A Song of Ice and Fire novel, "The Winds of Winter."
"The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires—real and imagined—crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm."
House of the Dragon season 2 sees Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans reprise their respective roles. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
The directors for the new season are Alan Taylor (Episodes 1 & 4), Clare Kilner (Episodes 2 & 5), Geeta Patel (Episodes 3 & 8), Andrij Parekh (Episode 6), and Loni Peristere (Episode 7).