HBO showrunners have often made major changes while adapting from George R.R. Martin’s works while making ‘Game of Thrones‘ and ‘House of the Dragon‘. These changes are not always welcomed by the audience or its creator. Eliminating Helaena Targaryen’s son, Mealor from the ‘House Of The Dragon’ is one such instance.
Maelor Targaryen was the third child of Helaena and Aegon II Targaryen. In the ‘Fire And Blood’ series, Mealor is second in line to the throne after the Green Council crowned Aegon King. However, Jaehaerys, Maelor’s elder brother, was killed by Blood and Cheese, making the young boy Aegon’s heir. Author George R.R. Martin believes that the omission of this young character will have rippling effects in the third and fourth seasons of ‘Game Of Thrones’ prequel. Here’s what he said.
Ryan Condal Didn’t Want To Cast Another Child Actor
In his ‘Not a Blog‘, George R.R. Martin explained how erasing Maelor from ‘House Of The Dragon‘ will have repercussions in the final two seasons. GRRM stated that showrunner, Ryan Condal had fair reasons to not cast another young actor.
He wrote, “They did not want to deal with casting another child, especially a two-year-old toddler. Kids that young will inevitably slow down production, and there would be budget implications. Budget was already an issue on HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, it made sense to save money wherever we could.”
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Mealor would have been a young prince sans any dialogues. Martin wrote that the character “does nothing of consequence but die… but where and when and how, that does matter.” ‘Helaena’s Choice’ in her son’s death was more complex in ‘Fire And Blood’. Blood and Cheese pose a choice to Helaena which of her sons she wished to see die.
Maelor was two years old and Helaena figured he would not understand what was happening. However, Cheese tricks Helaena and says to Maelor, “You hear that, little boy? Your Momma wants you dead,” and then kills Jaehaerys instead.
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The ‘Game Of Thrones’ writer claims that excluding Jaehaerys weakens ‘Helaena’s Choice’. GRRM wrote in the now-deleted blog, “It undercut the motivation for Helaena’s suicide, and that in turn sent thousands into the streets and alleys, screaming for justice for their ‘murdered’ queen. None 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 manner.”
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Helaena, in the books, is ridden with guilt that Maelor knew that she chose him to die. Her guilt drives her to commit suicide by jumping from the window of Maegor’s Holdfast in the Red Keep. This consequently leads to the Bitterbridge massacre by Daeron Targaryen, Maelor’s uncle. George predicts that with the absence of this subplot, the final two seasons would be less motivated.
However, Martin loves the ‘Blood And Cheese’ episode and agrees that there is no harm and foul if Condal chooses to follow a completely different take on the plot. He wrote, “Only the book readers would even notice its absence; viewers who had never read FIRE & BLOOD would still find the scenes heart-rending.”
