Game Of Thrones was considered the pinnacle of friction TV until the last season was aired. It caused a lot of controversy surrounding its disappointing ending. Will the House of the Dragon Season 2 lead up to something similar?
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is an adaptation of the first two books of the book series called A Song of Ice and Fire (1996) by George Raymond Richard Martin. It was adapted into a TV series by David Benioff and D. B. Weis for HBO. It premiered on April 17, 2011, on HBO and run for 8 years with 73 episodes across 8 seasons and concluded on May 19, 2019.
The series was a huge hit among audiences worldwide, so much so that it was also one of the most pirated series of all time. The show’s actors received praise for their performance throughout the show and won many Emmy and Golden Globe awards. The first 6 seasons of the show received critical acclaim, with some critics calling the series the best HBO show of all time.
However, the last two seasons failed to acquire similar reception and received a lot of criticism instead. They are also the seasons where they move away from the source material entirely. Many fans were dissatisfied with the show’s ending, with some claiming it failed to show justice to the characters and the plot.
Game of Thrones is dope but let’s not forget that season 7 and 8 is one of the worst seasons ever in the history of tv
— RaVeN-KaY (@tweetkayc) January 21, 2023
The final season was hated by fans so much that some fans petitioned on change.org to remake the final season with different writers. The hate for the final season prompted the writer George RR Martin to change the ending in the book A song of Ice and Fire.
House of The Dragon
House of The Dragon is an American fantasy drama TV series. It is meant to be a spinoff and a prequel to the acclaimed Game of Thrones (2011-2019). The series is written by George RR Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO and is the second TV series in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise after The Game of Thrones. It is based on the book Fire and Blood (2018) by George RR Martin. The series was in development from Sept 2019 and was ordered straight to series by HBO in the next month.
The creators of Game of Thrones, David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, decided not to participate in the franchise anymore. They wanted to move on from the projects and refused to get involved. As a result, Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik were chosen to serve as the showrunners for the House of the Dragon series.
The series begins during the reign of King Viserys I Targaryen. It takes place 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series is meant to show the events that led to the Targaryen civil war called the Dance of Dragons and the subsequent fall of the House of Targaryen.
Reception
The show aired on August 21, 2022, on HBO Max and Disney+ around the globe. Despite the failure of the final season of its predecessor, House of The Dragon premiered with 9.99 million viewers across the US. This was the most extensive single-day viewership in the history of the streaming service and kept increasing weekly.
A large number of viewers led to the HBOs streaming service crashing for some users. The series averaged a viewership of 9-9.5 million views for every episode. The final episode premiered with 9.3 million viewers. It was the largest viewership for a finale after The Game of Thrones. The popularity of the show also led to it being pirated extensively. House of Dragons was the most pirated show of 2022 according to TorrentFreak. It is a blog dedicated to sharing news and the latest updates in the BitTorrent protocol.
The season was greatly appreciated by critics and audiences alike. Rotten Tomatoes gave it an approval rating of 93%. It was praised for its visual effects, casting, performance by actors, and plot. After the first episode’s release, the show’s creators were given a renewal for a second season citing the show’s popularity.
House of the Dragon is stunning pic.twitter.com/w21Feiv4VH
— Otto Hightower (@OttoHightower) January 26, 2023
What can we expect from House of the Dragon season 2?
The first season set up the plot for the civil war to begin. Princess Rhaenyra and her father’s second wife and her ex-best friend Alicent are at the forefront of this war. Like the previous series related to the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise, one can expect more violence and gore. Death and destruction are expected, with some of the main characters speculating to die.
The second season will follow Rhaenyra and her quenching for revenge. She will primarily strive to gain support from houses such as Houses Tully, Baratheon, and Stark. One of the producers of the show Sara Hess, stated that the revenge plot will be “dark even by Martin’s bleaker-than-bleak standards.”
Speaking to Variety, the creator of the show Ryan Condal said,
“The show definitely has to expand its scope in the second season, I think those will continue to be the home bases for the show. But a war is coming that requires allegiances from different kingdoms and armies all over the map of Westeros. I don’t think we’re going to get quite as vast as the original Game of Thrones did in its final analysis,” he continued, “Rest assured, plenty of scopes to come.”
Preproduction on House of the Dragon season 2 has begun! pic.twitter.com/9mDewoIDxH
— Winter is Coming (@WiCnet) January 26, 2023
When will the second season be aired?
As of now, HBO has not confirmed the release date of the House of the Dragon season 2. The main cast of season 1 is set to return with some speculating new characters played by Henry Cavill, and Elizabeth Olsen might be a possibility.
ELIZABETH OLSEN & HENRY CAVILL ARE JOINING HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SEASON 2?!?!?
I haven’t even seen a single episode. Lmao. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/mpiwedPDTk
— LAZY OLSEN (@guywithfoureyes) September 5, 2022
Olsen replied to the rumors, saying, “I’m up to date on ‘House of the Dragon.’ Also, how random. Why him? Why me? … I don’t even know that guy, either!”. Henry Cavill responded in a podcast called Happy Sad Confused, with Josh Horowitz denying the rumors.
💫 Henry Cavill about The Rings of Power and House of The Dragon and about the rumors of him being in HOTD and Loki. pic.twitter.com/Jql5uy65gz
— Henry Cavill Updates (@updatesofHC) October 27, 2022
The filming for the second season has begun. A local Spanish newspaper reported that the HBO production would return to Cáceres to film the show in early 2023. The showrunner Condal confirmed that the filming would begin in early 2023, and the series might air in 2024. Although a release in 2023 has not been denied as impossible as it may seem.
