House of the Dragon is the latest GOT prequel which focuses on the great Targaryen Civil War that was known to be the Dance of the Dragons. The war between Princess Rhaenyra and Prince Aegon II that destroyed that Targaryen house from within and the might of the house was never the same. The war that rendered all the dragons extinct. Season 1 is laying the foundation for the civil war and episode 8 has taken the biggest step towards the war. So if the show is only going to cover the Civil war then how many seasons will it require for it? Well, I can’t answer that but thankfully the man who is responsible for this entire universe to exist has given us an answer. Let’s hear it from the man himself.
How Many Seasons will House of the Dragon Run For?
After episode 8 released when the show seemingly took its last major or huge time jump, Martin wrote in a blog post addressing the “time jumps,” stating, “I think [co-showrunner] Ryan [Condal] has handled the ‘jumps’ very well,” he wrote, “and I love love love both the younger Alicent and Rhaenyra and the adult versions and the actresses who play them. Do I wish we’d had more time to explore the relationship between Rhaenyra and Ser Hardin, the marriage of Daemon and Lana and their time in Pentos, the birth of various and sundry children…and everything else we had to skip? Sure.”
However, Martin also noted that if House of the Dragon had 13 episodes per season, viewers would find the show “too ‘slow’ that ‘nothing happened.'” He continued, “As it is, I am thrilled that we still have 10 hours every season to tell our tales, it is going to take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish.” So HOTD would at least go on for 4 seasons just to wrap up the current Targaryen storyline. However, if the show becomes as big as Game of Thrones itself I see these 4 seasons turning into 6 seasons.
There is also the possibility that the show might cover the Dance of the Dragons but still continue to go on and explore other storlines in the Targaryen lineage. Co-showrunner Ryan Condal had previously mentioned the possibility that the show isn’t called Dance of the Dragons but House of the Dragon, hinting that the show’s scope is beyond this current storyline. He further stated that it would be interesting to see how the Targaryens continue to intimidate their enemies and maintain their monopoly in Westeros even after they’ve lost all their dragons.
I agree that this sounds interesting but I’m worried the new storylines would constantly change protagonists and make the viewers lose interest in the show resulting in a drop in ratings. However, many people made the same argument about the time jumps in the first seasons of House of the Dragon but that worked, so what do I know. I’m simply excited that we’re getting this A+ show set in the GOT universe. Let’s see how the show progresses and which direction it takes. For now we know that HOTD would go on for at least 4 seasons.
Co-showrunner talkes about the rivalry between House of the Dragon and LOTR: Rings of Power. He said, “I think the need for more well-made expensive science-fiction/fantasy on television is what all of us nerds want. I see one feeds the other, and I think the more good quality genre entertainment on television, the more it’s gonna draw in the general public who might not be so predisposed to watching this.”
House of the Dragon has an incredible ensemble cast that includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Along with the main cast, the supporting cast of the show includes- Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, Savannah Steyn, and more.
The first eight episodes of HOTD are currently streaming on HBO Max or Disney+. New episodes will debut on every Sunday or Monday on HBO and HBO Max or Disney+ Hotstar depending on the region you live in, at 9 pm or 6.30 am.
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