Ryan Condal reveals why Maelor wasn’t in the Blood and Cheese scene

The second season premiere of House of the Dragon lived up to expectations (mostly). Many of the intriguing and shocking storylines of this season are inspired by the Targaryen Civil War found in George R.R. Martin‘s Fire and Blood. Among these, the tale of Blood and Cheese, the mercenaries employed by Prince Daemon Targaryen, stands out as the most dreadful. A revelation that many viewers found disappointing occurred at the end of House of the Dragon’s second season premiere.

Ryan Condal reveals why Maelor was absent in House of the Dragon Season 2

There are many characters from Fire & Blood that are yet to make an appearance in House of the Dragon. However, there was one whose presence was absolutely necessary in the Blood and Cheese storyline – Helaena’s second son Maelor. Condal explained why the character was left out in an interview with EW, “Maelor does not yet exist on this timeline because 30 years is compressed into 20 years.”

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He added, “We knew that we would be challenged to get performances out of children that young — as a person who has kids around these ages, I’m intimately familiar with all of that. Then there are things that you can and cannot expose children to on a movie set.

If you were to try to perform a faithful rendering of that story, you’d be challenged from all angles in terms of getting a performance out of a child. A lot of times it seems like the kid is going through that, but you’re using clever cutaways and insert shots.”

Cheese and his dog| Max

Cheese’s dog actor is more famous than you think!

Fans were really enraged when Cheese kicked off his dog before entering the royal chambers. Many fans might not have realized, that the dog actor used in the scene is the same dog who played the main pup in Disney’s Cruella. Mark Stobbart, who played Cheese in House of the Dragon, remarked, “We were nothing compared to this dog!”

Read Next: Biggest moments from House of The Dragon Season 2 Premiere

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