House of the Dragon carved George R.R. Martin's face into the weirwood tree at Harrenhal

George R.R. Martin is the author behind the Song of Ice and Fire series, which HBO adapted as Game of Thrones. He also wrote the book Fire & Blood, which HBO is currently adapting as House of the Dragon. Although he has visited the set, Martin doesn't actually make a cameo in the show itself...or does he?

Kinda-sorta. Although Martin himself never appears onscreen, we learn in the latest episode of The House That Dragons Built — a documentary series HBO airs about each new episode — that we do see his face. If you look closely at the weirwood tree in the Harrenhal godswood, you'll see Martin's visage carved into the bark:

Weirwood trees are sacred to the Children of the Forest, as well as to the First Men who populated Westeros in the ancient past. It's unknown exactly why the Children carved faces into these trees, but they're an important part of the religion of the Old Gods, which still hold some sway in the Riverlands where the castle of Harrenhal is located. Why not hide George R.R. Martin's face on one?

According to production designer Jim Clay, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal wanted this to be "a bit of a tribute" to the author. "The brief was to make it feel enough like him but you're never really sure. The idea is that you don't look at it straightaway and say, 'That's George R.R. Martin.' You do a second take, you say, 'Ooh. Is that...?'" explains supervising art director Dominic Masters.

We can even see Martin's reaction in The House That Dragons Built episode on YouTube, around the 7:38 mark. "This is really cool, guys," he says. "Thank you."

If I'm being honest, I don't think Martin sounds super-impressed with his tribute. But who knows how long he was on set? There's probably nothing to it, although I'm entertained by the idea he was too upset over the show not having the proper number of dragon legs on its banners and couldn't summon much enthusiasm over seeing his face carved in fake bark.

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