“Stop thinking you’re talented enough to change the original work”: Ryan Condal Takes the Top Spot from Game of Thrones Creators as Westeros’ Most Hated Man After His Latest Antic
House of the Dragon recently concluded its second season, with the fantasy drama series receiving mostly positive reviews. However, it was also criticized for making unnecessary changes to the source material. Author George R.R. Martin himself recently criticized showrunner Ryan Condal for changing the infamous Blood & Cheese incident from book to screen.
House of the Dragon loosely adapted the Blood & Cheese incident in Season 2 (Credit: HBO).
During a recent interview, Condal defended his decision to change the incident while adapting it for television. Condal also explained why such changes were necessary and what drove him to make them. However, fans did not react kindly to Condal’s comments, making him one of the most hated creators in Westeros.
Ryan Condal Defended Changing Blood & Cheese Incident in House of the Dragon Season 2
Ryan Condal serves as the showrunner for HBO’s House of the Dragon, an adaptation of author George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood book from his series of epic fantasy novels set in Westeros. In a recent blog post, Martin spoke critically of Condal’s decision to omit Prince Maelor from the infamous Blood & Cheese incident from the book.
House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal defended the changes to Blood & Cheese (Credit: HBO).
In the season 2 premiere, the incident is loosely adapted with two mercenaries, Blood and Cheese, sent to kill Prince Aemond but eventually killed Aegon’s heir. The sequence was much darker in the book with Queen Helaena originally offering her youngest son, Maelor, to the killers.
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Condal had earlier justified this change by citing the problem of working with young actors. In a recent episode of the official HOTD podcast, Condal further defended the changes made to source material in the show’s second season. He said:
Rendering an adaptation that remains very faithful to it (Fire & Blood) and respectful to it, and sometimes will not do exactly the thing that the audience expects or has read in the text.
Condal’s comments coming on the heels of Martin’s criticism strongly suggest that the showrunner is firm in his stance to omit the character of Maelor from the infamous and bloody incident in the books. Nonetheless, as Martin pointed out, the changes weakened the overall scene and its impact on several characters.
Fans Unhappy With Ryan Condal Needlesly Altering the Source Material For House of the Dragon
Fans of House of the Dragon are hating Ryan Condal’s unwarranted change to the source material (Credit: HBO)
Following Ryan Condal‘s justification of the changes and alterations to the source material, fans quickly shared their reactions on social media. House of the Dragon fans, especially those who had read the books were critical of Condal’s choices, and here is what they had to say on X.
Dear writers, stop thinking you're talented enough to change the original work, you're not. Thanks.— Guyver II (@Oswald_A_Lisker) September 6, 2024
Good we know who to blame 😆— Zombie Ape 🟠 🍌 (@DarthJotaro) September 6, 2024
Welp maybe we need to prepare to have again the treatment of the season 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones…— Agentlo | #FreePalestine 🇵🇸🍉 (@KonoAhriDa) September 6, 2024
Seeing Blood & Cheese and having no idea what that means is pretty funny— Ice Cold Football (@icecoldfootball) September 6, 2024
When you don't respect the author, you have no place directing the show.— Bailey (@BaileyCallis) September 6, 2024
Show runners who think they know better than the actual writer of the source material <<<<<— . (@_MIKL0_) September 6, 2024
As the tweets indicate, fans threw plenty of shade at Condal for making changes to the source material, against Martin’s advice. Moreover, fans of the book were left unhappy with the dilution of the Blood & Cheese incident and the justification Condal gave for the same.
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Fans also compared the scenario to seasons 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones, where showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss took the story in a different direction. However, the duo were at a disadvantage since Martin hadn’t completed the core book series. In contrast, Condal is altering an already finished story, which has earned him the ire of the fans.
House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
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