The Big Promise House of the Dragon Boss Made to George RR Martin

Summary

• House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has made a remarkable promise to George R. R. Martin.
• Condal considers himself a huge fan of Martin's work.
• If events continue to be faithful, the Season 2 finale will highlight one of the greatest battles.

House of the Dragon, now in its second season, continues to delight fans of George R.R. Martin's work. This is in stark contrast to the last few seasons of Game of Thrones. Based on Martin's profound, intricate, and multifaceted narratives, HBO's Game of Thrones has failed to grasp the very essence of A Song of Ice and Fire. Sure, the adaptation was technically impressive and story-wise engaging for most of the run, but the last two seasons have turned out to be a massive disappointment for fans, leaving the story in a less than satisfying conclusion.

Now, however, the prequel spinoff House of the Dragon has reignited fans' interest in the history of Westeros and Essos by being far more faithful to its source material, the book Fire & Blood, which was written as a historical chronicle of House Targaryen. The show's success was due not only to George R.R. Martin's greater involvement in the writing process, but also to an important promise made to him by series co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal.

The Show's Creator Made a Promise to Martin on Behalf of All Fans

In October 2022, on the night of the final episode of House of the Dragon Season 1, Ryan Condal spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the important promise he made to Martin as a fan of the world of A Song of Ice and Fire:

'I was going to render a faithful adaptation of his books and make a series that I would wanna see as a fan. And I feel like I've done that.'

Fire & Blood is stylistically a pseudo-historical chronicle written by various individuals who were not always witnesses to the events they describe. Therefore, many aspects of the plot presented in the first-person accounts of the Dance of the Dragons may differ significantly from the events described in the chronicle. So far, however, the plot has largely followed the book, and the high ratings on review aggregators prove that Condal is indeed delivering on his promise:

'I've done a lot of work, hopefully successful work, to try to show them that I am one of them. I come to this show as a massive, longtime fan of the books: I read the books multiple times, I've listened to all the audio books, I've now read Fire and Blood probably more times than any volume of the Song of Ice and Fire, I communicate with George regularly. I am as in it as you can be.

'I am still going to make choices that not all of you are going to like, but, on the whole, I am really looking after the sanctity and wellbeing of George's work. I care about it immensely as both a fan and as the steward and the showrunner. As long as I can lay my head on the pillow at night knowing that I have brought that kind of love and fidelity to his work, then I feel like I've done my job.'

What Can We Expect from the Upcoming HOTD Events?

If the script is that faithful, most likely, the main event of the remaining two episodes of House of the Dragon Season 2 will be Battle of the Gullet, as Condal himself promised 'two of the largest sequences that we've ever filmed on House of the Dragon,' and one of them, as we know, took place in Episode 4.

Meanwhile, the seventh episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 will be released on July 28, 2024.

Source: EW, Den of Geek.