As Deadline reported in March, House of the Dragon was given a shorter season this year — two fewer than season one — as part of a long-term plan for the drama. That meant a major battle was going to be postponed until season 3, and for fans of George R.R. Martin’s books, that obviously meant the bloody Battle of the Gullet between the Blacks and Greens.
In talking with reporters Monday, Showrunner Ryan Condal didn’t straight-up address how the reduction of episodes led to a relatively low-energy finale on Sunday, or why the decision was made not to go out with a bang. But Condal did remind fans that the drama is not exactly rich with infinite time and resources to stage a battle at every turn.
“As a showrunner you are always in a position of having to balance storytelling and resources you have available to tell that story,” said Condal. “We are also starting to think about, what is the final destination of this series and where are we going? A combination of factors led to that re-balance. There is a tremendous amount of resources, construction, armor, costumes and visual affects needed to give the Gullet, which is arguably the second most anticipated action even to Fire and Blood, the time and the space it deserved. We are building to that event. It will happen very shortly in terms of storytelling. It will be the biggest thing to date we have pulled off. We want to have the time and space to do that at a level that will excite the fans.”
Condal was relatively coy about sharing key plot points from season 3 other than confirming that HOTD will run for four seasons (there was talk of either three or four) and production will resume in early 2025. He wouldn’t say how many episodes the new season will have, nor would he say whether to expect more dragons. He also wouldn’t tease what to expect from Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), who unexpectedly appeared behind bars at the end of season two other than hinting “the tale has not yet come to an end.”
“There are so many great events that we are already writing in season 3 as it is,” he said. “This war really comes to a big head at this point in the storytelling. I mean, if you look at season 2, it’s largely a metaphor for a nuclear conflict … There’s gonna be giant moments of spectacle but real moments of surprise and character nuance that we’re very much looking forward to. Some of my favorite moments of in the book, as a reader, I’m excited to adapt as a dramatist.”
Condal once again brought up the challenge of creating a show for audience members who haven’t read Martin’s books. House of the Dragon is set 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen.
“I invite anybody to take the off season to purchase and read Fire and Blood so you can be armed with lots of information going into season 3,” said Condal, who has already begun writing season 3. “It’s a very tricky position in my seat, Sara Hess and I are custodians of this world. We have to render an exciting TV adaptation of this story, knowing there will be a percentage of the gigantic TV audience that has not read the book. We are constantly trying to serve both worlds.”
