House of the Dragon
Updated 08/07/24. See updates below.
We finally have confirmation from HBO that House of the Dragon has a set end-point, though thankfully it’s not coming any time soon.
After last night’s incredibly underwhelming finale, a lot of fans have told me they’re not even interested in a Season 3. I am the opposite. I’m just annoyed I have to wait likely two more years to get it.
In a press conference Monday, House of the Dragon showrunner, Ryan Condal, announced that the series will come to an end with Season 4. Season 3 is currently being written, Condal revealed, with plans to go into production in early 2025.
One of the big problems with Season 2 appears to be budgetary: HBO slashed the 10 episodes of Season 1 down to just 8 in Season 2, and the big battle so many fans anticipated was shoved off into the next season. Asked whether the next seasons will also be 8 episodes, Condal said:
“I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it. I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from a dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from Season 2 on.”
Writer Sara Hess said the decision to scale back to 8 “wasn’t really our choice” which certainly suggests Warner Bros. needed to tighten its Westerosi belt.
When Season 1 released as a big hit, George R.R. Martin wrote that “It is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish.” Clearly, that is not going to happen.
Martin has been oddly silent this season, after heaping much praise on Season 1, and some of his rather vague statements even seem to cast shade at the show and its writers.
For my part, I’m glad we’re getting two more seasons even if they are truncated. With the proper planning, Condal and his team should be able to fit everything in without issue. The trouble is striking a balance between character-driven moments and action, though as I pointed out in my review of the finale, some of the best character development in Game Of Thrones took place during its big battles.
Update 8/7
Showrunner Ryan Condal held a press conference after the Season 2 finale in which he addressed concerns over the lack of a season-ending battle.
“We were trying to give the Gullet, which is arguably the most anticipated — well, I would say maybe the second most anticipated action event of “Fire & Blood,” trying to give it the time and the space that it deserved,” Condal said.
“I know everybody wants this to come out every summer,” he added. “It’s just that the show is so complex that we’re really making multiple feature films every season. So I apologize for the wait, but I will just say if Rooks Rest and the Red Sowing were good then the team that we have together … we’re gonna pull off a hell of a win The Battle of the Gullet.”
This fits into what Condal says about Season 3 in the post-finale featurette. “While this season was very much about the fits and starts of an early medieval war, season three is clearly going to be about total war,” Condal said.
I do think a big battle like the the Gullet (which I won’t spoil here, but which we know involves the Triarchy and the Sea Snake) deserves time and space, and I’m comforted to hear that next season will be “about total war” I’m just uncertain what to expect given the first 18 episodes have been such the opposite. Will we get half the episodes devoted to war and battle or just 2 out of 8? It’s impossible to know.
In the end, I wish the “time and space” had been devoted to a 10-episode second season, but that was not a choice the show’s creators made, but one handed down from HBO, likely due to budgetary constraints.
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