Finally, the Real Reason Why House of the Dragon Season 2 Was So Bad After All
The hit show’s second season was met with a series of backlash last year, and HBO’s decisions are to blame.
Some of House of the Dragon’s fans might have moved on from a disappointing second season after Ryan Condal’s recent promises to return with big news about the upcoming war between the Targaryens.
Others, however, still fear the show will likely find different ways to betray George Martin ’s Fire & Blood, but what’s certain is that the main issue the previous instalment had to go through won’t be the matter anyway.
Not long before the second season’s premiere back in 2024, it was reported that HBO had decided to cut the number of episodes for each of House of the Dragon’s future installments to 8 instead of 10.
The outcome was the audiences’ negative reaction and, despite this never being confirmed until only now, the studio’s change of mind was exactly what cursed House of the Dragon’s season 2.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Was Supposed to Feature the Battle of the Gullet
HBO’s decision to trim the series down to 8 episodes only significantly thwarted its creators’ initial plans which, interestingly enough, included some of the events fans have been desperate to see in season 2.
In a recent interview with Gold Derby, House of the Dragon’s director Alan Taylor, who helmed the second season’s episode 4, revealed he was originally supposed to direct the ninth episode that would see both the Greens and the Blacks entering the long-awaited Battle of the Gullet.
“It was a funny kerfuffle at the beginning, because we were going to originally do 10 episodes, and we cut it down to eight episodes. I was going to do Episode 9, so I had to jump around and find a new chair to sit in, and I wound up getting 204, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” which came early in the season, but wound up being one of the bigger production numbers”, Taylor said, also adding that, despite the major changes, he was glad to have helmed the episode that made the most impression on divided fans.
The episode “The Red Dragon and the Gold” follows Battle of Rook’s Rest, one of the first major battles between the Targaryens that witnesses Aegon’s downfall and Rhaenys’ tragic death alongside her dragon.
The Battle of the Gullet Has Moved to One of Season 3’s First Episodes
Despite not being able to include the event in the second season as it was planned, House of the Dragon’s creators might be already planning an epic return with the Battle of the Gullet as one of the first major fights featured in the next third season.
This would make much sense since the show’s cut second season left right ahead of the imminent war which, in its turn, was supposed to start in the scrapped episode 9.
House of the Dragon’s season 3 will air on Max sometime in 2026.
