George R.R. Martin is a proud papa.
The prolific author gave the season 2 launch of House of the Dragon an enthusiastic review on his blog that he doesn’t like to call a blog. He wrote that he stopped by England’s Leavesden Studios to tour the drama’s sets that he described as “spectacular.”
“I have visited real castles that did not look half as imposing as the Red Keep and Dragonstone did. And they were HUGE,” he wrote. “I also got a sneak peak at the first two episodes of season 2. What a great way to start the season. The directing was superb. Game of Thrones veteran Alan Taylor directed the first episode, and Clare Kilner the second. Both of them did a magnificent job. And I cannot say enough about the acting. Emma d’Arcy has only one line in “A Son for a Son,” but they do so much with their eyes and their face that they absolutely dominate the episode; her grief for her slain son is palpable. Tom Glynn-Carney brings Aegon alive in ways we have not seen before; he’s more than a villain here, he shows us the king’s rage, his pain, his fears and doubts. His humanity.”
His high praise didn’t stop there. “Rhys Ifans has been splendid as Otto Hightower every time he has been on screen, but he exceeded himself in ‘Rhaenyra the Cruel.”’ His scene with King Aegon and Criston Cole after the ratcatchers are hanged just crackles with wit, tension, drama, a performance that cries out for awards attention. Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Eve Best, and the other regulars were wonderful as well. The Tittensor twins were terrific as the Kingsuard twins, and their climactic swordfight is right up there with the Mountain and the Red Viper of Dorne, and Brienne’s fight with Jaime Lannister.”
He’s also quite pleased that Ryan Condal added a dog to action. “I am… ahem… not usually a fan of screenwriters adding characters to the source material when adapting a story. Especially not when the source material is mine. But that dog was brilliant … I wish I’d thought of that dog. I didn’t, but someone else did. I am glad of that.”
With Condal, Martin is a creator and executive on House of the Dragon. The next original episode of the Game of Thrones prequel is set for this Sunday.