{"id":5546,"date":"2026-06-22T11:59:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T10:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=5546"},"modified":"2026-06-22T13:09:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T12:09:48","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-season-3-george-rr-martin-sheepstealer-rant-new-meaning-nettles-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/06\/22\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-george-rr-martin-sheepstealer-rant-new-meaning-nettles-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"George RR Martin\u2019s Sheepstealer rant takes on new meaning after HotD kills Nettles for good"},"content":{"rendered":"

*Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1*<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Rhaena Targaryen tames Sheepstealer in the House of the Dragon season three premiere, completing her takeover of the book character Nettles. And some fans think George RR Martin<\/a> \u2018definitely\u2019 criticised this move after complaining about Sheepstealer.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no secret that Martin isn\u2019t pleased with where House of The Dragon<\/a> showrunner Ryan Condal has taken the storyline, and how it\u2019s been impacted by deviations to the books.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When asked about their relationship by <\/span>The Hollywood Reporter<\/span><\/a> earlier this year, Martin said, \u201cIt\u2019s worse than rocky. It\u2019s abysmal.\u201d He went on to say that they had a good working relationship throughout season one, with Martin giving Condal notes on the early script drafts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThen we got into season two, and he basically stopped listening to me,\u201d he said. \u201cI would give notes, and nothing would happen. Sometimes he would explain why he wasn\u2019t doing it. Other times, he would tell me, \u2018Oh, OK, yeah, I\u2019ll think about that.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt got worse and worse, and I began to get more and more annoyed.\u201d This culminated in the author publishing a blog post in 2024, when season two was airing, detailing his issues with the story.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was meant to be part one of six posts delving further into his criticism, but an HBO<\/a> executive reached out and convinced him to take it down. Now, another 2024 blog post has resurfaced that\u2019s led some fans to believe Martin isn\u2019t happy with how Nettles has been replaced.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Why House of the Dragon fans think George RR Martin was talking about Nettles<\/h2>\n
\"Rhaena
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The theory stems from a blog <\/span>post<\/span><\/a> Martin published in July 2024, during the height of debate surrounding House of the Dragon season two.<\/span><\/p>\n

While praising the episode \u2018The Red Dragon and the Gold\u2019, Martin went on a lengthy discussion about dragon lore and the rules governing the beasts in A Song of Ice and Fire.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One section in particular appears to directly speak about how Sheepstealer is portrayed in the HBO series. In the second chapter, Sheepstealer is introduced as a wild dragon living in the Vale, where Rhaena repeatedly tracks and encounters him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Martin’s version of the story, however, Sheepstealer is one of three wild dragons that make their lairs on Dragonstone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Explaining their behaviour in his books, Martin wrote: \u201cMy dragons are creatures of the sky. They fly, and can cross mountains and plains, cover hundreds of miles\u2026 but they don\u2019t, unless their riders take them there. They are not nomadic.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He argued that if dragons naturally wandered across continents, the history of Westeros would look very different.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSimilarly, the dragons of Westeros seldom wander far from Dragonstone,\u201d Martin wrote. \u201cElsewise, after three hundred years, we would have dragons all over the realm and every noble house would have a few.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Sheepstealer
Credit: HBO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moving Sheepstealer to the Vale is what ultimately allowed Rhaena to inherit much of Nettles\u2019 storyline in House of the Dragon, and Martin\u2019s post alongside other comments he\u2019s made has some fans convinced he isn\u2019t happy with this change.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

One <\/span>Redditor<\/span><\/a> wrote at the time, \u201cI\u2019ve been thinking a lot about George R.R. Martin\u2019s latest blog post, and in my opinion I\u2019m convinced it\u2019s about his disappointment over Nettles not being included in HoTD.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As for why, they noted his criticism to have Sheepstealer in the Vale, writing, \u201cThis seems like a diplomatic way of expressing his frustration with how the show has handled certain elements of his lore.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Redditor also pointed to the author’s long-standing regret over the portrayal of Melantha Jhirl from his novella Nightflyers, arguing that seeing Nettles removed from House of the Dragon may have struck a similar nerve.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNettles being cut likely opens an old wound for him because, given his contract with HBO, he has no control over his characters, especially his canon Black characters,\u201d they continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSeeing Nettles\u2019 plot parcelled out for others must be gut-wrenching and takes him back to his failure with Melantha Jhirl\u2019s portrayal in Nightflyers.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

GRRM\u2019s Latest Post is Definitely About Nettles<\/a>
byu\/AdvantageHappy1080<\/a> inHouseOfTheDragon<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n