In addition to having fewer episodes and the same political drama that made Game of Thrones such a hit in the first place, it appears that House of the Dragon Season 2 is going to be more like the mainline series in more ways.
According to showrunner, Ryan Condal, House of the Dragon Season 2 will “pick up where [Season 1] left off.”
While in attendance at the Deadline Contenders TV panel, Condal wanted to reassure fans who are worried about the time jumps that plagued Season 1. Condal adds that Season 2 will “fall into the more traditional rhythms of storytelling and Game of Thrones.”
Condal shares that he’s “really excited to tell the next chapter, to see what happens now that Viserys is gone and no longer keeping a lid on things.”
If we believe Condal, this means House of the Dragon Season 2 will continue from the shocking ending of Season 1, which saw Elliot Grihault’s character, Lucerys Targaryen, and his dragon, both die a cruel death following an aerial battle against Ewan Mitchell’s fan-favorite portrayal of Aemond Targaryen.
The death of Luke is what ultimately led to the infamous Dance of the Dragons, a civil war that very nearly extinguished the Targaryen bloodline from the face of Westeros.
After a successful first season, which saw it threaten the best seasons of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon Season 2 will be welcomed with more open arms sometime in 2024, especially after the failure that was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
While generally regarded as a strong return to form for Game of Thrones following its relatively lackluster final two seasons, House of the Dragon suffered from trying to squeeze too much story in one season. The constant time jumps made it hard for audiences to follow who was who until the final episodes. But, with Condal’s statement, it’s safe to say that the timeline of House of the Dragon Season 2 will be more normal, at least in TV terms.
Now that House of the Dragon Season 2 can settle into its current time period, the show can double down on what made Game of Thrones so successful – a linear and slow progression that built tension by chronicling the messy and the dramatic nature of politics, as well as the natural consequences of having different people of opposing personalities in positions of power.
It remains unclear if this is a mere attempt to save face following the backlash to the shortened follow-up season to House of the Dragon.
We’ll have to wait until House of the Dragon Season 2 arrives a little over a year from now to find out.
For now, audiences can look forward to everything HBO has planned for audiences in the next few years, which includes a Harry Potter TV show reboot and a live-action adaptation of The Tales of Dunk and Egg.
