Why House Of The Dragon's Shorter Season 2 Could Be Exactly What HBO Needs To Avoid A Game Of Thrones Ending

House of the Dragon brought the world of Westeros back to HBO in 2022 with a ten-episode first season that set up a Targaryen civil war that took place centuries before the action of Game of Thrones. HBO wasted no time in renewing the first Game of Thrones spinoff for a second season after just one episode had aired. Details were scarce at the time, but now it appears that Season 2 will have fewer episodes than Season 1, and that actually bodes well for House of the Dragon sticking the landing more than Game of Thrones did with its divisive final season and deadly series finale.

Season 2 Is Getting Fewer Episodes

The second season of House of the Dragon will run for eight episodes instead of the ten episodes for Season 1, according to Deadline, which further states that the cut is part of planning ahead for the long term and a potential early green light for Season 3. The outlet states HBO that confirmed that eight episodes as opposed to ten is for story reasons rather than budget reasons. A major battle has reportedly been cut from Season 2 and will be held for a third.

Showrunner Ryan Condal, who originally shared the job with Miguel Sapochnik before he departed the series, is said to have stepped back from a micro focus on Season 2 to map out the big picture for the rest of the series, expected to run for three or four seasons. This would involve where to place the big story beats from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, including key battles.