A week after House of the Dragon aired its first season finale, George RR Martin has revealed the one thing he would have changed in the Game of Thrones spinoff.
Inspired by the author's Fire & Blood, the prequel is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, setting up the table for the Targaryen succession war.
The series kicks off with a flashback to a young Prince Viserys (Paddy Considine), who's named king by the Great Council over his elder cousin Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best).
The series then jumps to nine years later, with King Viserys I awaiting the birth of a male heir before naming his daughter Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock/Emma D'Arcy) as his successor.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Martin explained he would've loved to have the series start 40 years before that first flashback, focusing on Viserys' and Rhaenys' fathers.
"I would've begun it like 40 years earlier, with an episode I would've called 'The Heir and the Spare,'" Martin said.
"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."
He continued: "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."
House of the Dragon season 1 already featured numerous time jumps and several recast roles, while some characters were played by the same actors throughout the season.
Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).
