The first season of House of the Dragon was released to great success. Thus, it’s a no-brainer that it was renewed for another season, though with a reduced episode count. Now, the show's producers share their plans for House of the Dragon Season 3 in case HBO renews the show.
Compared to the 10-episode first season, House of the Dragon Season 2 will only have eight episodes.
Of course, many expected it to be as long as the first one, but the producers revealed they had no control over the reduced episode count.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the series’ executive producer, Sara Hess, claimed this move wasn’t a creative call. Though she couldn’t say anything about it, she stressed it “wasn’t really our choice.”
But despite this change, plans for the hit HBO series are already sealed. In fact, despite not having a third-season renewal yet, the show’s co-creator Ryan Condal shared his plans for a potential House of the Dragon Season 3.
“That there's not another once-in-a-generation event looming over the show and that we can just happily make a season without external influences slowing us down,” he said.
Back in March, Hess revealed that she had a conversation with Condal about planning a third season.
Fast-forward to today, Condal confirmed they were “deep into writing” a third season in case HBO ordered it.
He explained that they had to plan in advance to maintain a one-new-season release every other year.
“You certainly don't want to rush to get to an end, but you also don't want to overstay your welcome,” he continued. “You want to find this very satisfying place to go out that ties up enough loose ends and leaves others intentionally open because, as we know, this history marches on for another 150 years to Daenerys.”
What to Expect from House of the Dragon Season 2?
House of the Dragon Season 2 will still focus on the rivalry between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
However, its source material, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, mentions them less and less.
The first season finale ended with the shocking death of Rhaenyra’s child, Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grinhault).
With this major turn of events, D’Arcy claimed that the second season would “absolutely hit the ground running.”
With her plans for revenge and an inheritance to fight for, the show would start to “live.”
And though book readers know what may happen here, Hess revealed they should “expect very little.”
The HBO series’ point of view would stay with the Targaryens and be divided between King’s Landing, Dragonstone, and Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) journey to Harrenhal.
Compared to Rhaenyra, who starts House of the Dragon Season 2 in a position of great weakness after her son’s death and losing the throne, Alicent enjoys the great power she has.
However, Hess teased that the second outing’s story would see them “change places.”
“Who can she trust? There's no one around her,” Cooke elaborated. “Everyone, it seems, has been spying on her. It's this sense of peak paranoia within her own home.”
That said, fans have much to expect when House of the Dragon Season 2 finally releases on Jun 16 on HBO and Max.
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House of the Dragon