Even though Game of Thrones concluded five years ago with a catastrophic ending, it seems people can’t shake it off. Now, with a new spin-off namely House of the Dragon in the market, concerns naturally arise about history repeating itself.
However, showrunners appear to have taken heed of past mistakes and are proceeding with caution this time. Assuring fans in a recent interview, creator Ryan J. Condal emphasized that they’ve got things firmly in hand this time around.
Will House of the Dragon Face the Same Fate as Game of Thrones?
House of the Dragon has just premiered its highly anticipated second season, receiving glowing reviews from critics. However, lingering in the minds of fans is the haunting memory of Game of Thrones‘ infamous finale, which left many disappointed and frustrated. According to Deadline, the current plan is for House of the Dragon to span three or four seasons, as the ending draws near, people are naturally concerned that history might repeat itself.
The disappointing conclusion of Game of Thrones has been attributed to several factors, including the divergence from George R.R. Martin‘s original vision due to minimal involvement from Martin himself towards the end of the series. This departure from the source material left many fans feeling disconnected from the story they had invested in for years.
In light of these concerns, Ryan J. Condal, the creator of House of the Dragon, has been actively addressing the fears of a similar outcome. In a recent interview with Jonathan Bloomberg from MovieZine, Condal explained,
We know where the ending is now. I think the writing team and I, and when I say the ending it’s really just where the curtain drops on this particular period of Targaryen history. Because of course, after the Dance of the Dragons is over, there is still another, you know, hundred and fifty years of history before Mad King is overthrown by Robert Baratheon, which is really the end of the Targaryen dynasty and leads us to the original series.
He continued,
So yes, we have talked about it and I do want to honor as much of what is there in the books, but we also have to find a satisfying conclusion to this story that wraps things up in an adept and unexpected way for a giant TV audience. So you’re always balancing up kind of the right history and the what making a TV show.
Condal’s promises show he’s taking a careful approach to storytelling, learning from Game of Thrones’ slip-ups. By sticking close to Martin’s books, House of the Dragon aims to win back wary fans. The show’s current success suggests they’re on the right track, though only time will tell how successful their efforts will be.
George R.R. Martin Wanted Game of Thrones to Be Longer!
Apart from the global audience, celebrities like Emilia Clarke and George R.R. Martin weren’t exactly fans of how Game of Thrones wrapped up. Martin, the mastermind behind the books inspiring both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, had his own reservations about the show’s creative decisions in its final seasons.
According to The Wall Street Journal Magazine, HBO urged the producers to stretch out Game of Thrones even more. And interestingly, George R.R. Martin was in HBO’s corner on this one. After season 5, the TV series went beyond Martin’s published work, charting its own course in storytelling. In his WSJ interview, Martin spilled the beans,
I was saying it needs to be 10 seasons at least and maybe 12,13,–I lost that one.
However, this time around things seem a bit hopeful,
I had no contribution to the later seasons except, you know, inventing the world, the story and all the characters,–I believe I have more influence now (House of the Dragon) than I did on the original show.
When David Benioff and D.B. Weiss revealed their decision to conclude the original series with two shorter seasons, season 7 with seven episodes and season 8 with six, it left fans reeling. After enduring so much in the past, the bar set to satisfy the fans is literally at its lowest at this point. Yet, there’s a glimmer of hope this time around, as fans eagerly await what lies ahead.
House of the Dragon is streaming on Max.
