“Nice to see HBO isn’t learning from their past mistakes”: Fans Are Afraid HBO is Making the Same Game of Thrones Mistake With House of the Dragon Season 2
Fans can’t wait for House of the Dragon season 2 to premiere. After that thrilling, edge-of-the-seat season 1 finale episode, everyone is wondering how this battle for the Iron Throne is going to pan out especially when both the factions have so much to gain but even more to lose.
The HBO show dives into the past of Westeros and King’s Landing when the Targaryens were the only ruling elite, holding all the dragons, hence wielding all the power. Season 2 is going to be a bigger, better visualization of pain, loss, and the overarching ambition for power as Rhaenyra gets her revenge after her son’s death.
Is House of the Dragon making the same mistake as Game of Thrones?
The original HBO series Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin’s expansive work as penned in A Song of Ice and Fire. The author was increasingly involved in the making of the show which further allowed the first few seasons to be insanely accurate and mapped as per the books. However, given the time it takes to conjure such intricate storylines and ensure all characters get their due, Martin was not finished with the story as quickly as the showrunners hoped.
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Ultimately, the last few seasons of the show had to be made in order to wrap up the show. The only problem? The source material was missing. Martin had an idea as to how he wanted to end this majestic saga, but he did not pen the story by the time Game of Thrones reached its finale. As a result, fans were not happy with the hastened finale season of the show and criticized the showrunners for giving a glorious show such a poor ending.
This also meant that seasons 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones featured less than the otherwise 10-episode mandate. Season 7 had 7 episodes and season 8 only had 6. Fans believed this to be the other reason why the ending felt so rushed. Had the showrunners paced out the story and followed the 10 episodes per season mandate, the show could have had a better ending.
It seems like House of the Dragon is also making the same mistake as season 2 features only 8 episodes rather than 10 as seen in season 1. In a conversation with Entertainment Weekly, which featured House of the Dragon on the cover of their upcoming issue, the producers refused to comment on the episode shift other than claiming that it was not their choice. If history were to repeat itself, we would think this is not a good sign for HBO as it will be curtailing one of its flagship projects.
Fans React to House of the Dragon Season 2 Having Less Episodes
When the news broke out of House of the Dragon season 2 having only eight episodes, fans weren’t too happy. They foresee the same blunder HBO made with Game of Thrones and believe that the show is trying to fit too many storylines into one without giving each the proper spotlight. Martin’s expansive world deserves to be told at a gradual pace where each character and plot point gets the attention it deserves. Fans are disappointed that after such a long wait, they will only be getting 8 episodes of the story.
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People forget when shows were 20+ episodes long per season. 8 is ridiculous
— Krazy (@thekrazymaN_) May 14, 2024
Yea, because forcibly reducing the number of episodes to tell the story you want them to tell really worked wonders for Game of Thrones.
Nice to see HBO isn't learning from their past mistakes though.
— Reverse Truth🦅🇬🇧👑 (@Bidal4Life) May 14, 2024
This whole, “less episodes” thing has never messed up Game of Thrones before has it? 🤔
— Mike McFadden (@MUTGuru) May 14, 2024
Who's choice was it then? Waiting for years just to watch 8 episodes common man 🤦🏽♂️🤦🏽♂️💔
— Big 𓆩♱𓆪 Mayor (@Big_Mayorr) May 14, 2024
Probably too expensive. Either that or maybe they were dragging certain plot points too thin over more episodes. Just guessing.
— PromptlyAI (@PromptlyAI_YT) May 14, 2024
On the other hand, having fewer episodes can also mean that the show will only feature the important aspects of the battle between Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower. There would be no need for filler episodes that are boring and begging to be skipped. Fans can binge the entire season in one night and get the thrill they have been waiting for. In historical pieces like these, stories can often feel dragged and lengthy. It might be so that the showrunners don’t want meaningless arcs to crowd the episode list.
House of the Dragon season 2 premieres on June 16 on HBO Max.
