George R.R. Martin Thinks “House of the Dragon” Should Have Started Earlier

George R.R. Martin Thinks “House of the Dragon” Should Have Started Earlier

Web Desk
October 29, 2022

George R.R. Martin Thinks “House of the Dragon” Should Have Started Earlier

HBO’s House of the Dragon had multiple starting points. George R.R. Martin chose the Great Council of 101 as the first place the show should start.
The season finale broke records for a most-watched TV show on HBO.
The time jumps were a part of production that worried HBO, however, they pulled it off masterfully.

The first season of HBO’s House of the Dragon is over, and what a lovely journey to Westeros it was. We are starting to understand more about the creative work that eventually led to the series now that the season finale broke records. George R.R. Martin, the program’s creator, recently discussed the discussions that went into deciding where the show should start and which fantasy novel Fire & Blood served as the inspiration.

The Great Council of 101, where King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter) had to choose his successor, is where House of the Dragon had its start. He had a choice between Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine), the son of his second son, Baelon, and Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best), the daughter of his eldest son, Aemon. He ultimately settles on Viserys, and there is where things start. There was plenty of room for starting point recommendations given that this comes approximately halfway through the source text.

“One of the writers wanted to begin it later, with Aemma dying. Skip the Great Council, skip the tournament, a scream sounds out, Aemma is dead, that’s where you begin. That was one possibility,” Martin says in a new interview. “Another of the writers wanted to begin even later than that, with Viserys dying. But what happens there? Then you have to present all that material in flashbacks or dialogue, that becomes challenging too. But we discussed all these possibilities.”

Martin for his own part had a different plan in mind. The author’s preferred starting point would’ve been “40 years earlier”, though he concedes it’s a plan “no one liked except for me.” His thoughts were:

“I would’ve begun it like 40 years earlier, with an episode I would’ve called ‘The Heir and the Spare. Jaehaerys’ two sons, Aemon and Baelon, are alive, and we see the friendship but also the rivalry between the two sides of the great house. Then Aemon dies accidentally when a Myrish crossbowman shoots him by accident on Tarth, then Jaehaerys has to decide who becomes the new heir. Is it the daughter of the son who’s just died, or the second son who has children of his own and is a man where she’s a teenager? You could’ve presented all that stuff, but then you would’ve had 40 more years, and even more time jumps and recastings. I was the only one who was really enthused about that.”

In the end, the series began where it did and it turned out quite nicely. “There are many ways you can approach these things,” Martin says, “and if you do it well, it can work.” And it did. The time jumps Martin alluded to were a part of production that worried HBO, however, they pulled it off masterfully. While fans wait for the return of House of the Dragon, they can equally anticipate Martin’s new book, The Winds of Winter which is still in the works.

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