House of the Dragon boss condemns vitriolic attacks on episode writer

House of the Dragon season 1 may have come to a close, but the discourse goes on. After last week’s episode, “The Green Council,” the Internet was afire with fans raging about various things they didn’t like. Some of that translated into personal attacks against episode writer Sara Hess. Those attacks only increased when Hess gave some interviews and expressed confusion over why Daemon Targaryen had become the world’s new “Internet Boyfriend,” since he’s a very gray character who does good and horrific things by turns.

The backlash has been difficult to stomach, with some fans even going so far as to make a petition to have Hess removed from the House of the Dragon writing team. Now showrunner Ryan Condal is responding to the vitriol. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, he condemned the “completely unacceptable” personal attacks.

Get a grip, people: don’t attack writers over a TV show!

“I was actually pretty horrified at the way Sara has been treated,” Condal told THR. “She was horribly attacked in a way that’s completely unacceptable. She’s my right hand in this. We wrote the first season together – 85 percent of the writing in the first season is Sara and I. Nothing that was put on screen did not pass through my filter – or hers, for that matter. Nothing is done in a silo, it all comes across my desk, that’s my job, that’s how it works. And the idea that just because you don’t agree with something that happens in a fictional television show you can go and attack real people online remains a bizarre, alien and, frankly, horrifying concept to me. It’s why I don’t exist on social media.”

One week fans are praising the show, including Hess’ contributions to it, and the next they’re calling for her to be pilloried in the digital town square; it’s understandable why writers might avoid social media.

As far as Condal is concerned, the reactions to Hess’ comments about Daemon are way overblown. “I read what Sara said. She’s one of the funniest people I know,” he said. “She cuts right to the heart of the matter and will say anything to anybody. She was maybe being overly glib when answering a serious question. She wasn’t taking herself seriously in the way she was answering it. But I think she made some valid points in there.”

"People are looking to put white hats and black hats on characters. They’re looking for good guys and bad guys. They’re looking for the Dark Side and the Light Side of The Force. And this is simply not that kind of show. Daemon is a compelling character. He’s incredibly charismatic. He’s played by a very handsome actor in Matt Smith. I understand why he has a super fandom built up around him. I totally get it. But that doesn’t mean that Daemon is unimpeachably heroic. Daemon has done some really horrendous things. He will continue to do really horrendous things. He will also do heroic things – and that’s what makes Daemon really interesting and, I think, why everybody’s gravitated to him. Honestly, it’s Matt Smith’s virtuosic performance that’s conspired to make this really iconic television character. But that doesn’t mean you can project what you want onto this character and it’s going to be satisfied. It just doesn’t work that way. So disagree with us. And if you’re on social media, have a reasonable discussion. But don’t attack people."

Hear hear. It’s fun to enjoy TV. There really is no need to muddy the waters by bringing personal attacks into things.

More, acting like one or two people associated with a production are the sole reasons why some beat plot you didn’t like happened or a scene you liked was cut ignores the fact that enormous shows like House of the Dragon are the product of huge teams. Like the show itself, there are no clear cut villains or heroes here, just people trying to make TV.

Hess responded to the harassment herself in a recent interview with Vanity Fair, saying that “the themes of our show are very relevant IRL,” in regards to the misogyny of how she’s been treated. “I mean, I’m a woman writing a fantasy show, so I’m well aware of the special ways People Online choose to express what is basically, ‘You and I have different opinions,’” she said. “I mean, obviously I was being a bit glib. And I’m not at all shocked by Daemon’s popularity…he’s an iconic, fascinating character, and I love writing him, and in Matt’s hands he’s charming and charismatic and riveting to watch.”

House of the Dragon season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max. Remember, the next time you watch, that Sara Hess had a hand in writing more than three quarters of it.

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