And now, some of that information has finally surfaced from HBO executive Francesca Orsi. The HBO Head Of Drama spoke with Deadline for a considerable amount of time and covered a wide range of topics, including Succession, The Last Of Us, Perry Mason, and other shows. When the topic of House of the Dragon came up during the conversation, she discussed how the series had locked all of its scripts before the writer’s strike and was presently filming.
Why did HBO decide to shorten Season 2 of House of the Dragon?
During her interview, Orsi explained how during the middle of the second season, the writers felt that they were struggling with the narrative. So they believed that shortening Season 2 of House of the Dragon would help give the characters a better emotional arch.
Read her full quote below:
“There was some question about the narrative shape of Season 2. We were developing it with Ryan Condal and Sara Hess, and we realized that we were sort of treading water narratively in the middle of the season. So it just felt (like a) a much more rigorous, more urgent emotional arc for our characters if we compressed the season. And then that also dictated how we would kick off Season 3.”
What does that mean for Season 3 of House of the Dragon?
Some story aspects, including a significant fight that was originally planned for Season 2, are referenced in the remark made about how Season 3 will begin. They are being shifted to Season 3’s opening, presumably to prolong the show. In the talk, Orsi claimed that House Of The Dragon wouldn’t last “any less than four (seasons).” That’s fantastic news for fans who were worried that they would compress The Dance Of The Dragon into three quickly passing seasons, and honestly speaking, its safe to say that the fans are okay with this story taking five seasons since it’s encouraging to see that the show is willing to go deeper.
Previously The creative team of House of the Dragon had also stated that going ahead, the series is probably going to follow a more conventional pace of storytelling and might not use the time jumps that were crucial to developing the backstory for Dance of the Dragons in Season 1.
Showrunner Ryan Condal told The Times:
“We will get to the spectacle. But you have to understand these people’s complexities before they’re thrown into war. Series two will hit the rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of Game of Thrones, but it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in.”
Filming for Season 2 of House of the Dragon had reportedly begun in April this year since the producers are aiming for an early release in 2024.
