George R.R. Martin Casually Spoiled a Major ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Character Death in Now Deleted Blog Post Criticizing the HBO Show

UPDATE: The original blog post cited in this article has since been deleted by the author.

Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin finally made good on his promise to detail his personal problems with HBO‘s House of the Dragon today — before taking the blog post down. In a long blog post on his “Not a Blog,” originally titled “Beware the Butterflies,” Martin went deep on how the show’s decision to cut Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena’s (Phia Saban) youngest son, Maelor, from the storyline has troubling storytelling implications down the line. While most fans are simply amused that Martin’s gripes are so seemingly mundane, what’s truly shocking about the post is that the author seems to spoil a major character’s death that is currently planned for House of the Dragon Season 3! As in, he straight up cited House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal‘s current working outline for the third season as his source!

**BIG SPOILERS for George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood and (potentially) House of the Dragon Season 3 ahead!!**

After issuing his own spoiler-warning to readers, Martin explained how by excising little Maelor from the show for budgetary reasons will have repercussions in Season 3. To make a long story short, Maelor and his sister Jaehaera are spirited out of King’s Landing for their safety after Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) triumphantly conquers the city. While Jaehaera winds up safe and sound (and ready to play a key role) at Storms End, little Maelor is literally ripped apart by Rhaenyra supporters hoping to get a reward for the kiddo’s death.

Martin notes that in his book, news of Maelor’s death is what pushes Helaena to die by suicide. In his version of “Blood and Cheese,” Helaena was forced to choose which son to die, Jaehaerys or Maelor. She chooses the younger boy, but the assassins kill the older one instead, and taunt Maelor that Helaena wanted him dead. When Maelor finally does die, she can’t take it.

That’s what happens in the book, but Martin reveals that in “Ryan’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.”

If Martin is correct, this means that not only will Helaena’s death happen in House of the Dragon Season 3, but close readers of the books can now figure out some other major events that need to happen in the lead up and aftermath. You know, like Rhaenyra successfully taking King’s Landing…and then having to flee when the Smallfolk blame her for Helaena’s death and rise up against Team Black. The riots in the city ultimately lead to the destruction of the dragon and the deaths of the dragons therein. Rhaenyra flees the capital and returns to Dragonstone where — well, let’s just say there’s a surprise waiting for her there.

Rather ominously, Martin ends his post teasing, “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…” Thus suggesting that he’s fully aware of what Condal and his team’s plans are for the future of the HBO series…and that he’s not a fan.

Whether or not Ryan Condal should have kept Maelor in House of the Dragon Season 2 is a subject obviously up for debate, but whether or not George R.R. Martin should have let it slip that it’s Condal’s plan to kill Helaena off in Season 3 seems even more potentially polarizing.