Season 3 of 'House of the Dragon' Can be Skipped After Rhaenyra's Revelations: Martin Would Not Be Pleased

Today, we find ourselves in the midst of yet another controversy surrounding House of the Dragon, and honestly, it’s starting to feel quite absurd. When George R.R. Martin himself is voicing opposition, yet the show continues unabated — well, that’s a situation that’s hard to ignore.

The latest storm brewing involves Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen. In a recent interview with Awards Radar, she openly supported diverging from the source material — despite the creator of the book universe, Martin himself, expressing clear dissatisfaction.

D’Arcy stated that the series will forge its own path, even if it means straying from Fire & Blood. She argued that historical documents are inherently subjective (which is true — after all, the book is presented as a history of the Seven Kingdoms), and that the show needs to give viewers context.

What’s more telling is her blunt admission: they don’t intend to return to Martin’s books until the very end of the series. So not only is the plot drifting away from the original narrative, but even the spirit of Martin’s storytelling seems to be taking a backseat.

And let’s not forget: George R.R. Martin has been quite vocal about his concerns. He previously posted (and later deleted) a blog entry warning that such liberties had already once destroyed the ending of his beloved Game of Thrones.

He hinted that changes made in Season 2 of House of the Dragon undermine logical conflict development, and warned that by Season 3, these issues could become irreversible. Sadly, his warnings appear to have been ignored — or dismissed outright.

So what can we expect from Season 3? Insiders suggest there will be further character transformations for Rhaenyra and Alicent. Their storylines will become more dramatic but also more heavily altered from what’s in the books. Expect new scenes not found in Martin’s texts and perhaps alternative resolutions to key events.

We’ve seen this before: Game of Thrones’ writers once started taking liberties with George’s story based on hints rather than solid source material — and it led to a spectacular decline in quality. Now HBO seems to be betting again on spectacle over fidelity.

Emma D’Arcy has become a figure at the centre of this controversy; loyal to HBO but seemingly dismissive of Martin’s concerns — which she made clear publicly. The result? A brewing scandal that could impact the future of this project. The second season was widely panned; many fans called it one of the worst adaptations of Martin’s work ever produced.

So, as fans and critics alike watch closely, one thing remains certain: when creative visions clash so starkly with their source material, it often spells trouble for both storytelling integrity and audience trust.