George RR Martin recently made a big reveal but assured followers of the series that it won’t have too much of an impact on their viewing experience. However, for book readers, this could be disappointing. Whether it’s Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, the creators have taken liberties in changing some of the stories from their respective source material.
In a now-deleted blog post, Martin confirmed that one of the major characters in Fire and Blood — Aegon and Helaena’s youngest son, Maelor Targaryen — would not be included in the series adaptation. “If you’ve never read Fire and Blood, it probably doesn’t matter, because I’m going to ‘spoil’ all sorts of things here that will probably never happen in the series,” the author wrote.
Book readers were surprised to see Maelor missing, but hoped they would see him in future seasons. But now Martin has dashed those hopes, confirming he may “never” appear on the show. “The prince’s birth was no longer going to be confined to Season 3. He was never going to be born. Aegon and Helena’s young son would never appear,” he said.
In the books, Maelor plays a key role, especially during the infamous Blood and Cheese incident. When the former butcher and a rat-catcher enter Queen Helena’s room, they ask her which son she wants to spare, Maelor or Jaehaerys. She chooses the latter but they kill the other son and tell Maelor that his mother would have wanted him dead.
The character also played a key role in Helena’s tragic fate and descent into madness in the books. Even if Maelor appeared in the upcoming season, his gruesome death would have been difficult to portray on screen.
When Rhaenyra *BOOK SPOILER ALERT* When the 4th Earl attacks King’s Landing and takes the throne, Maelor is sent to Oldtown with Rickard Thorne while Helaena’s daughter Jehra is entrusted to Willis Fell, who takes her to the Baratheons. Jehra reaches Storm’s End safely but Rickard Throne is found to be the Kingsword at an inn called the Hog’s Head.
Despite fighting valiantly, he is unable to advance beyond Bitterbridge. After Thorne’s death “Prince Maelor is torn from his arms … and then, tragically, torn to pieces by a mob fighting for the hefty reward offered by Guy and Rhaenyra for his capture and return,” Martin writes in the book.
House of the Dragon Season 1 and 2 are now streaming on Jio Cinema.
