House of the Dragon will officially call it quits after four seasons. That’s great news for the Game of Thrones prequel, which – unlike its predecessor – seems to understand it’s better to leave the party early, while everyone’s (probably?) still having a great time, instead of hanging around to watch all the guests slowly get bored and leave. Good for them.
During a press conference to discuss the Season 2 finale (via Variety), House of the Dragon showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal confirmed that the series will end with Season 4. According to Condal, the writers are currently at work on scripts for Season 3, which is expected to begin production “earlyish” in 2025. Asked if viewers can expect another eight-episode order for Season 3, 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.”
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How Might House of the Dragon End if It Follows the Book?
The series has a vested interest in following the books while avoiding the same reception received by later Game of Thrones seasons.
Season 2 concluded on Aug. 4 with the premiere of the eighth episode, “The Queen Who Ever Was,” which ended on a cliffhanger that left some fans pretty cranky – specifically because the season didn’t include the Battle of the Gullet, a major event in Fire & Blood, George R.R. Martin’s novel about the Targaryen dynasty on which House of the Dragon is based. Condal also addressed the absence of that battle, explaining:
“We 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 deserves. Obviously, as anybody that’s seen the finale, we’re building to that event. That event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon. Based on what we know now, it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off, and we just wanted to have the time, the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans and in the way it’s deserved.”
House of the Dragon
Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
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House of the Dragon Isn’t Interested in Wearing Out Its Welcome
In its final seasons, Game of Thrones outpaced Martin’s source material, losing its own sense of pacing in the process. The series, which premiered in 2011, concluded in 2019 with Season 8 split into two parts – an increasingly popular move at the time for studios and networks looking to prolong their franchises for as long as possible.
The split season didn’t help the series, which had already grown divisive among fans, in large part because the final seasons felt incredibly rushed in comparison to the more sprawling earlier seasons, leaving little room for silly concerns like character development – e.g., Daenerys’ heel turn would have been more plausible if didn’t seem like she just woke up one day and chose fascism. No amount of fire-breathing CGI dragons can distract from – how do you say? – bad writing.
In any case, House of the Dragon won’t be repeating the same mistakes – at least not that mistake. With production starting in 2025, we’ll probably be waiting until 2026 for Season 3 to premiere.
Seasons 1 and 2 of
House of the Dragon
are available to stream on Max.