House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal has promised that the show’s second season will contain even more political intrigue, escalating stakes, and good laughs. This promise comes after the first season concluded a record-setting run, with the producers deciding to use a slower pace than many expected.
Based on parts of the literary work Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin and serving as a precursor to the critically acclaimed Game of Thrones series that also featured on HBO, House of the Dragon tells the tale of the House Targaryen two centuries before the events of A Game of Thrones, which are likewise based on Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. House of the Dragon details the intrigues of the titular house leading up to a war of succession that left it weakened and spelled the beginning of the end of its rule. The show was an instant hit, with the premier episode marking HBO's highest-viewed ever.
The rest of the season was equally successful and House of the Dragon was renewed for a second season early on in its run in August. Speaking to The Times in London (via Deadline), House of the Dragon showrunner Condal spoke about his aspirations for the upcoming second season and addressed the pacing of the series going forward. “Series two will hit the rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of Game of Thrones,” he said, discussing the escalated stakes that fans can expect. “But it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in.”
Speaking on the work that was put in, Condal clarified, stating, “We will get to the spectacle, but you have to understand these people’s complexities before they’re thrown into war.” This was in relation to the first season’s slower pace, which many fans compared and contrasted with recent memories of Game of Thrones' later events. However, while some fans found themselves perplexed by the pacing, most agree that House of the Dragon is easier to follow than its predecessor specifically because of this decision.
House of the Dragon has been insanely popular, with its popularity eclipsing interest in Amazon Prime Video's The Rings of Power, a show based on an even more popular franchise in Tolkein's Lord of the Rings. Condal commented on this, saying, “It is a challenging series because we live in a world where people are torn between multiple screens and channels, and we are requiring you to pay attention through crazy timeline shifting and actor recasting, but it’s made an impact.”
While the show is incredibly popular and the showrunners are enthusiastic about the second season, some fans still have sore memories surrounding the precursor to House of the Dragon. Game of Thrones started off with similar success and captivated fans right up until it delivered one of the most controversial and least-enjoyed endings of any major project in recent memory. Of course, some conclude that Game of Thrones was destined to end badly. Whether or not House of the Dragon will fall prey to a similar fate remains firmly in the hands of the showrunners, while fans can only hope for better.
House of the Dragon season 1 is streaming now on HBO Max.
Source: The Times (via Deadline)