House of the Dragon: how close should casting stick to the books? (no spoilers pls)

Keeping this spoiler free, just want to talk casting in general. Some of the choices across the whole run pulled me right out of it, the people on screen just don't line up with how Martin describes them on the page.


Not trying to start a fight, more a genuine question for the book readers here: how much do you think an adaptation owes to the source descriptions? Is it fair to recast a character's whole look if the performance is strong, or does that break the world for you?

For me it's been a recurring thing since season 1, not a one off. Curious if I'm alone on this or if others feel the same. Keep it civil and no spoilers for the new episodes.

I think the state of society currently plays a part in casting. When the books were written, the social/political climate was different.

Also, there's always gonna be people disagreeing. And if enough people show dislike, the show will get cancelled just like what happened with Witcher

Isn't that the show with a whole load of incest?