House of the Dragon season 2 is making some key changes, and with that comes a risk of repeating a mistake that really hurt Game of Thrones season 8. House of the Dragon season 1 already had to come back from the damage done by Game of Thrones’ final few episodes. The controversy surrounding it left a bad taste with sections of the audience, and so it had to win some of them back and prove that this could not only work in its own right, but that it wouldn’t repeat those problems and that the world of Westeros was a viable franchise for HBO.
Although it wasn’t perfect, House of the Dragon season 1 did most things right, earning critical acclaim and huge ratings. House of the Dragon season 2, which was renewed shortly after the season 1 premiere, will look to continue that as the Dance of the Dragons begins in earnest. For the most part there’s cause for excitement, because House of the Dragon season 1’s ending left things on the precipice of war and with Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) poised for revenge. However, one update does cause some concern about what it’s doing and what the show’s future will look like, largely because of Game of Thrones‘ ending.
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Will Be Shorter (Which Hurt Game Of Thrones)
House of the Dragon season 2’s episode count will reportedly be eight episodes, down from the 10 that made up season 1 (and was assumed to be the case for its follow-up). Although the change is said to be story-driven – despite some initial concern that it was due to cost-cutting at Warner Bros. Discovery – it does nonetheless send alarm bells ringing. The reason for that is simple: Game of Thrones season 8 (and, for that matter, season 7). Those two seasons both reduced the regular episode count from 10 down to seven for season 7 and then six for season 8, a similar move to House of the Dragon season 2.
Game of Thrones season 8 made several controversial decisions, but many of the problems can be traced back to the episode count. In both seasons 7 and 8, that meant multiple storylines and character arcs ended up being rushed, and it was arguably the biggest factor in its issues. That House of the Dragon season 2 is reducing its own episode count, then, means there’s a real risk of deviating from the formula that made it a success and rushing through important developments. Game of Thrones season 8 itself was, after all, said to be shorter because the showrunners claimed it was best for the story, so the justification for House of the Dragon doesn’t assuage concerns.
There is also the George R.R. Martin factor to consider in this. The author previously said that House of the Dragon‘s ideal number of seasons was four, each consisting of 10 episodes; season 2 plans obviously do not align with that. The same – on a more drastic scale – was true of Game of Thrones, with Martin at various points suggesting it could and arguably should have anywhere from 10 to 13 seasons in order to properly tell its story. Martin may not be telling this story, but it is notable that once again it isn’t exactly what he hoped for.
Why House Of The Dragon Season 2 Can Avoid Game Of Thrones Season 8’s Problems
Although House of the Dragon season 2’s episode count is worrying because of the issues that plagued Game of Thrones season 7 and 8, it does not mean the show is doomed to repeating those mistakes – and there is some cause for optimism on that front. These are, after all, different shows with different creative teams, and likely different factors (creative or otherwise) that have led to this decision. Showrunner Ryan Condal (and former co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik) got a lot right in House of the Dragon season 1, and so – despite the risks here – deserves some faith as well.
House of the Dragon also has a major story advantage compared to Game of Thrones‘ ending, and that is also linked to Martin: it has an ending. Fire & Blood may only be a historical account of Targaryen history, and so there’s a lot of character detail to be fleshed out, but ultimately the story of the Dance of the Dragons is done and so the show has a very clear blueprint to work from. That’s a stark contrast to Game of Thrones, which had long since overtaken the books by the time it reached its endpoint, and only had an outline from Martin to go off in that regard so was largely invention from the showrunners.
With that, there is also the fact that House of the Dragon‘s story is less sprawling than Game of Thrones. The latter kept on expanding for years, adding new characters and stories spread across Westeros and Essos before having to then quickly spring back in its final seasons as events started to coalesce. House of the Dragon is already a little more contained and intimate: it covers all of Westeros, but its focus remains on House Targaryen. And now that the major time jumps are done, House of the Dragon‘s timeline is more straightfoward (the civil war spans around two years in the book), which also means season 2 may not lose as much with fewer episodes.
