They’re not literal butterflies. Martin was talking about the butterfly effect, as made famous by Ray Bradbury’s 1952 short story âA Sound of Thunderâ, then made really famous by that Simpsons skit where Homer accidentally invented a time-travelling toaster. You know: you hop in a time machine, sneeze on a T-Rex, and when you return to the present, everyone has forked tongues or the world is made of marshmallow or Donald Trump is the President of the United States.
âThe lesson being that change begets change, and even small and seemingly insignificant alterations to a timelineâor a storyâcan have a profound effect on all that follows,â Martin wrote.
And so emerged Martin’s main source of frustration. Though he alleges that he was told Maelor would be introduced (read: born) in season three, the decision was made at some point afterwards to remove the young prince altogether.
Maelor was the principle âbutterflyâ in Martin’s metaphor, then, as he argued that key events down the line rely on Maelor’s existence to come to pass. Chiefly the tragic suicide of Helaena, who is pushed over the edge by Maelor’s death when he is torn apart by a mob while trying to escape King’s Landing, which by this point in the story is under siege by Rhaenyra’s army. Further, Helaena’s suicide provokes a riot among the smallfolk which is âthe beginning of the end for Rhaenyra’s ruleâ soon after the city is captured.
âNone of that is essential, I suppose⦠but all of it does serve a purpose, it all helps to tie the storylines together, so one thing follows another in a logical and convincing matter,â Martin argued. âWhat will we offer the fans instead, once we’ve killed these butterflies? I have no idea.â
Oh, and Martin spoiled at least one of the major plot points allegedly planned for next season. âIn Ryan [Condal]’s outline for season 3, Helaena still kills herself⦠for no particular reason. There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm the fragile young queen,â he wrote. Suffice to say, he must’ve felt strongly to drop such a massive spoiler with the show’s next season at least a year and a half away from air.
âAnd there are larger and more toxic butterflies to come, if House of the Dragon goes ahead with some of the changes being contemplated for seasons 3 and 4,â the blog ominously closed.
Soon after Martin took down his blog, HBO responded with a statement.
âThere are few greater fans of George R. R. Martin and his book Fire & Blood than the creative team on House of the Dragon, both in production and at HBO,â a spokesperson said. âCommonly, when adapting a book for the screen, with its own format and limitations, the showrunner ultimately is required to make difficult choices about the characters and stories the audience will follow. We believe that Ryan Condal and his team have done an extraordinary job and the millions of fans the series has amassed over the first two seasons will continue to enjoy it.â
Hopefully this is one civil war that doesn’t end in bloodshed.
This story originally appeared in British GQ.
