House of the Dragon
admonition : incorporate SPOILERS for House of the Dragon ’s season 2 finale .
Summary
House of the Dragonseason 2 only had eight episodes , causing some pacing issues , but the original design may have been a bit unlike . House of the Dragonseason 2 ’s ending , in peculiar , has faced criticism when it add up to the storytelling decisions of the show , as so much of it find like setup for the futurity . " The faggot Who Ever Was " is presently the secondly - low instalment of the entire show on IMDb , behind time of year 2 , episode 6 , " Smallfolk , " and behind onlyGame of Thrones ' series conclusion , " The Iron Throne , " as the lowest - rated season finale of the dealership .
Daemon Targaryen has more vision at Harrenhal in House of the Dragon ’s season 2 conclusion , connecting to his story , Rhaenyra , and even Game of Thrones .
House Of The Dragon Originally Had 10 Episodes: When Did It Change & Why?
The Shorter Episode Count Was Revealed In March 2023
House of the Dragonseason 2 was renewed shortly after the season 1 premiere . At the fourth dimension , no episode tally was kick in , but it was take up it would be another 10 - instalment instalment , since that ’s what time of year 1 had and what had been the norm for most ofGame of Thrones ' run ( plus , shorter episode counts hurt that show too , as seen with the response toGame of Thronesseason 8) .
Episode Counts Of GOT & HOTD Seasons
time of year
Of Episodes
Game of Thrones season 1
10
Game of Thrones time of year 2
Game of Thrones season 3
Game of Thrones season 4
Image via Max
Game of Thrones season 5
Game of Thrones time of year 6
Game of Thrones season 7
7
Game of Thrones season 8
6
House of the Dragon season 1
House of the Dragon time of year 2
8
However , in March 2023,Deadlinereported that time of year 2 would consist of eight episode , and that the feeling is the original plan had been for 10 . This itself came just two months after the hand for season 2 were finish up , agree to writer and executive producer Sara Hess [ viaEW ] . AsDeadline ’s reputation note , this came amid other cost - cutting standard at Warner Bros. Discovery ( which has continued into 2024 , as perBloomberg ) . However , they also abduce an HBO interpreter who said it was for story reasons .
Of of course , House of the Dragon is a large , complex output , and various other factors such as time and output difficulties will be accounted for as well , so that ’s not to say [ budget ] was the sole reasonableness .
In an interview out front of time of year 2 ’s liberation , Hess toldEWthat"it was n’t really our choice"to have a reduced instalment numeration . Though she did not divulge any more details , it ’s possible that means the reason was budgetary . Of course , House of the Dragonis a large , complex product , and various other factors such as time , scheduling , and production difficulties will be account for as well , so that ’s not to say it was the sole rationality . It ’s also of import to observe the WGA Strike was looming at that dot , albeit not confirmed ( it began May 2023 , four calendar month after the scripts were finished , two months after the short episode count was let on ) .
Image via Max
Martin himself also commented on the strike and how it touch toHouse of the Dragonseason 2 ’s scripts . On hisNot A Blogsite , shortly after the WGA strike was formally foretell , he spell :
" The scripts for the eight s2 episode were all finished month ago , long before the strike begin . Every sequence has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions , to plow HBO preeminence , my notes , budget business organisation , etc . "
This would run along up with Hess revealing the script were done in January 2023 , four months before the smash . Martin notes that the handwriting for the eight episode were finished , but what ’s not 100 % clear is whether that already included any adjustments for the reduced episode count , or if that come after .
Fire & line of descent explores the upgrade and fall of the Targaryen . Here is how every main House of the Dragon character dies accord to Westerosi account .
The Battle Of The Gullet Was Seemingly Delayed To House Of The Dragon Season 3
This Could Have Been Planned For House Of The Dragon Season 2, Episode 9 Or 10
Deadline ’s report from March 2023 also take down that"a portion of the plot of land originally intended for Season 2 , include a major battle,“would be motivate to season 3instead . Though not confirm , the level of George R.R. Martin’sFire & Bloodindicated even at the meter that this was the Battle of the Gullet , a major sea battle that involve the Velaryon fleet facing off against the Triarchy . Or , in other words , the precise battle that time of year 2 ’s closing curtain flat set up .
House of the Dragon season 2 ’s conclusion teases a major naval battle for the Velaryon fleet in time of year 3 , with the Battle of the Gullet on the celestial horizon .
In a virtual pressure conference discussing the time of year 2 finis [ viaTHR ] , Condal himself discuss the Battle of the Gullet , and the factors that went into it being keep for season 3 instead of taking place in time of year 2 ( though he did not confirm at what point that decision was made ) . He say :
“ One of the challenge of making television at any scale [ is ] nobody has innumerable time and resources . When you ’re as a showrunner , you ’re always in the status of having to balance storytelling and the resources that you have available to say that story . One of the affair that come into frolic in season two is : What is the net destination of the serial and where are we going ? It was a combination of component that led us to rebalance the season jazz now where we ’re become .
" We wanted to rebalance the floor in such a way that we had three great seasons of television [ after time of year one ] to round out and secern this story . When you ’re judge to mount the show , which requires a frightful amount of resource , building , armor , costume , ocular effects … we are endeavor to give The Gullet - which is arguably the second most expect action event of Fire & Blood - sample to give it the meter and the space that it deserve .
“ We are build to that event that will go on very shortly in term of the storytelling , and it should be the heavy matter to date that we ’ve we ’ve pulled off . We just wanted to have the time and the space to do that at a degree that is blend to excite and satisfy the devotee in the way it ’s merit . We also wanted to make some anticipation toward it . So I justify for the waiting , but … with the squad that we have together , we ’re going to pull off a blaze of a profits with The Battle of the Gullet . ”
The Battle of the Gullet is an epic action successiveness : in the book it involves some 90 Triarchy warships , the Velaryon fleet , and multiple dragons . That it ’s at sea seduce it even more complex to film than a land fight , as it would in all probability demand the use of a water armoured combat vehicle alongside all-encompassing CGI even before you lend in the dragons . If this had been in time of year 2 , this could have taken up a enceinte portion , if not the entirety , of episode 9 or 10 , with some time give to further setting it up and expanding upon other key plot point .
Another full point that had been speculated as perhaps take place in time of year 2 was the fall of King ’s Landing , which is also localise up by the finale ( with Alicent offering to open up the gates , and even agreeing Rhaenyra must kill Aegon ) . I imagine if we were go the Gullet - which is likely the case - then this would ’ve been unlikely to have fall out quite so quickly after since it ’s another vast plot point , but it might have added to the setup or had more of a cliffhanger for it , allow this to be the event that begin time of year 3 .
Alicent Hightower makes some fabulously shocking conclusion regarding Rhaenyra & Aegon ’s circumstances in House of the Dragon ’s season 2 last .
House Of The Dragon Season 2’s Reduced Episode Count Hurt The Ending
The Season 2 Finale Is A Lot Of Setup
Whatever the real grounds forHouse of the Dragonseason 2 ’s reduced instalment count , it did have a minus impact on the show . That ’s cleared in the response to it , but also by watching it . Again , I liked the finale a lot , believe the author did a in force job ( especially if the slice were due to budget restraint ) , and think it will work even better with the full opinion of the serial on rewatches . Still , you may feel a sense of the variant of retread and repositioning matter , give just how much the close set up time of year 3 .
What ’s most notable in the reduced episode count is the timing . The report fromDeadlinecame just two months before the author ' strike(though the conclusion could have been made internally before then ) . Though the ten-strike engagement was n’t confirmed at that point , it was already looking likely , so it would have been passing difficult to completely change everything to go into eight episodes instead of 10 .
At a guess , it ’s probably much of it rest , and then the finale was rework , such as the ending montage , for lead into season 3 , when a pile of it very well could have been episode eight or nine of a 10 - episode season . At the same prison term , there were several complaints along the lines of"nothing ’s happened"duringHouse of the Dragonseason 2 , with criticism of its slower tempo .
If the Battle of the Gullet were to be bestow in , giving it a second huge struggle succession , then the season as a whole would in all probability be viewed very otherwise ( and more positively ) .
That ca n’t be attributed quite as much to the decreased sequence count . It is also , I cerebrate , a little unjust , give we got Blood and Cheese , two secret Alicent and Rhaenyra conversation , the Battle at Rook ’s Rest , orgy in King ’s Landing , the sowing of the dragonseeds , and lots of political machinations and motion , as just a few major event . Nonetheless , if the Battle of the Gullet were to be add in , give it a 2d huge battle sequence , then the season as a whole would likely be viewed very otherwise ( and more positively ) .
Will House Of The Dragon Season 3 & 4 Have More Episodes?
Could There Be A Return To 10-Episode Seasons?
After the reduced count of season 2 , it ’s presently unconfirmed whether future season will come after suit . Condal has announcedHouse of the Dragonseason 4 will be the last one , which does , at least , fit with the idea that the entire story and how much time is needed to tell it has been mapped out ( but that itself does n’t mean budgetary business are n’t a element in that ) .
However , Condal said at the virtual press conference [ viaTHR ] thatseason 3 will likely have eight episodes . It ’s not an unreasonable supposition that season 4 will do too , in that event , which would have in mind there are 16 episodes of the show pull up stakes . Hopefully that ’s enough meter to tell the story , but there is a circumstances left to happen in theDance of the Dragons , especially with give the Battle of the Gullet on the table for season 3 .
House of the Dragon time of year 2 ’s finale watch Aegon and Larys Strong fleeing the capital . Here ’s where they ’re headed and what ’s in store for them .
To Condal ’s pointedness on wanting to do that DoJ and it being among the enceinte inFire & Blood , that is true . But there are also a luck of other battles and major sequences as well - this is a warfare , after all . It would be inauspicious to cut or condense some of those , and fitting them all in to two seasons is a grandiloquent order , particularly when factoring in the cost of such large - scale event , specially those involving a dragon or two ( or three , or four ! ) .
For the most part , I opine the writer have done a very dear ( and at times great ) problem withHouse of the Dragon , and there ’s understanding to be optimistic about its future . At the same time , if there are budgetary topic , then that is invariably a concern , because a story like this demand being told a certain way ( and that means is expensive ) . It would be a literal shame if that ended up marring the series , but only time will say if that is the case with time of year 3 and 4 .
origin : Deadline , EW , Bloomberg , EW , THR , Westeros.org , Not A Blog
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Cast
Taking position about 172 years before the event ofGame of Thrones , House of the Dragontells the story of the rise of the Targaryens , the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria . The democratic HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were put back by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke , who play the older adaptation of the characters . Also starring in the serial is Matt Smith ( Prince Daemon Targaryen ) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra ’s Fatherhood , King Viserys Targaryen .
