House of the Dragonfans have found a lot to love about the latest season of dragons, dynasties, and death, which is theGame of Thronesuniverse. However, many have voiced the same complaint about the Season 2 finale – the lack of a huge battle. Many seemingly expected the sophomore season of the show to culminate in the Battle of the Gullet, but instead the show went out with a whimper, disappointing those expecting to see fire rain down on Westeros. Showrunner Ryan Condal addressed whySeason 2’s ending was more about building expectationsthan delivering another brutal, visual piece of eye candy.
House of the Dragon
Taking place about 172 years before the events ofGame of Thrones,House of the Dragontells 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.
During a virtual Q&A (viaIGN), Condal explained that he did not want to rush into the pivotal battle, and wanted to verify it had the “time and the space that it deserves.” He said:
“I mean, one of the challenges of making television at any scale, even this scale, whichseemsto be one of infinite time and resources, it’s just never the case. Nobody has infinite time and resources. As a showrunner, you’re always in the position of having to balance storytelling and the resources you have available to tell that story, and you’re also starting to think about — and one of the things that came into play in Season 2 — is, what is the final destination of this series and where are we going? And I think it was a combination of factors that led us to rebalance the story, knowing where we’re going and where that endpoint is, to rebalance the story in such a way that we had three great seasons of television [after Season 1]… to round out and tell this story.
That event (the Battle of the Gullet) will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling in House of the Dragon. And it should be, 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 and the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans in the way it deserves. And we also wanted to build some anticipation towards it.”
House of the Dragon is Following a Game of Thrones Trend
For those who have followed theGame of Thronesfranchise from the beginning, there is one rule that seems to have been unofficially followed throughout the entire saga. The biggest episodes happen prior to the season finale. Almost every season ofGame of Thronesfeatures a huge battle or brutal massacre, but frequently these occur in the penultimate episode of a season, leaving the finale to set up the next.
This is something that has now been carried forward intoHouse of the Dragon, and with good reason, as there are many storylines that need to be expanded on before The Battle of the Gullet can realistically take place. The relationship between Corlys and Alyn needed some attention during the Season 2 finale, as without their difficult conversation, their alliance would have been done a disservice, and be far too rushed to have made any sense in the grand scheme of things.
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.
On the other side of the battle, the Greens needed to spend time during the finale building their alliance with the Triarchy, another important piece of storytelling that could not be rushed through in a couple of throwaway lines. Then there were alsoseveral individual character storylinesthat needed to be resolved, including Rhaenyra Targaryen’s complicated relationships with Alicent and Daemon.
While some fans expected more from the finale, the majority knew exactly what to expect. A teasing build-up to what will be an eventful Season 3 - and a long wait to see it pay off. Season 2 took almost two years to come to fruition after the conclusion of Season 1, and fans should set themselves up for a similar wait to see the show’s biggest battle play out in all its glory.
Season 1 & 2 ofGame of Thronesare available to stream on Max.
