As the season 2 finale of House of the Dragon just aired on Max, showrunner Ryan Condal has just delivered some bad news to at a press conference.
House of the Dragon: Ryan Condal's plans for the sequel
After two years of waiting, the fantasy series House of the Dragon made its big comeback between June 16 and August 4, 2024 on HBO. While the season 1 finale hinted at a dramatic start to the conflict, showrunner Ryan Condal favored a “false calm”, where Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower's temperance was shattered by the Princes' desire for violence.
Adopting a slow-burn rhythm typical of the first seasons of Game of Thrones, without forgetting certain grandiose sequences (the Siege of Rook's Rest and the Red Seeding), season 2 of House of the Dragonfinally closed with a divisive episode 8. Considered a good episode overall, it would not have the makings of a finale episode for its detractors, and would rather resemble a long teaser for season 3, which should arrive in 2026.
Following the broadcast of the finale, Ryan Condal organized a press conference, where the American press was invited. The opportunity for the co-creator of the series with George R.R. Martin to reveal his plans for the future. Rest assured,Season 2 was a transitional season, a calm before the storm, and Season 3 should break with this atmosphere, since it “will be about total war” to use Condal's expression. It must be said that the number of exceptional battles in the Dance of the Dragons should ensure an absolutely spectacular season.
However, Ryan Condal has assured that the series House of the Dragon should end with its 4th season. While George R.R. Martin had announced from the outset that four seasons would be necessary to tell the story of the Dance of the Dragons, some wondered whether or not to include season 1, which served as an introduction to the civil war that broke out in season 2. Furthermore, while season 3 will be more epic and more warlike, the showrunner hopes to continue at this pace of 8 episodes per season until the final season.
Statements that have something to question us. Indeed, as readers of Fire & Blood know, the Dance of the Dragons includes a large number of battles that the series will not be able to ignore. Considering that the Battle of the Gullet – which Ryan Condal has affirmed that he wanted to give her the place she deserves in remarks reported by Variety – should arrive as early as episode 1 of season 3, we can imagine that season 3 will end with the Butcher's Ball or the First Battle of Tumbleburg.
Did this article interest you? Then don't hesitate to discover the first teaser for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the next spin-off of Game of Thrones, unveiled yesterday.