The day after "House of the Dragon" season 2 came to an end and the wait for season 3 began, we finally got confirmation of how many more seasons are in the works.
At a press conference discussing the Max show's season 2 finale, showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal revealed that "House of the Dragon" season 3 would enter production in 'earlyish 2025', and confirmed the "Game of Thrones" prequel would conclude with season 4.
This is more or less exactly how long writer George R.R. Martin said it would take to adapt "Fire & Blood". In 2022, he wrote on his 'Not a Blog' site that you would need 'four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons, from start to finish".
While you might be dismayed to learn one of the best shows on Max isn't going to be around much longer, I'm convinced that this decision to stick to that plan could be a big boon for the show's remaining instalments.
Why I'm happy 'House of the Dragon' is ending after season 4
Don't worry, I'm not about to start complaining at length about "House of the Dragon" season 2. I'm a big fantasy nerd at the best of times, and I've loved having the first of the "Game of Thrones" spinoffs back on my screen.
The Dance of the Dragons has been a brilliant vehicle for drama and all the things that made its predecessor such a compelling watch in the first place. However, I'd be lying if I said this was a perfect season, for one major reason: pacing.
The first season benefitted from telling almost a contained story: across ten episodes, we experienced King Viserys' troubled reign and watched as the two factions in the ensuing battle formed, with Lucerys' death functioning as a catalyst to fully pull Rhaenyra into the fray.
Comparatively, I feel like the show has been spinning its wheels a little in season 2. While it has contained some amazing highlights — the Battle of Rook's Rest or Hugh Hammer's claiming of Vermithor spring to mind — I couldn't help but feel somewhat cheated by that season 2 finale, and where it left us. It brought us so close to one of the best brawls in the entire campaign but decided to cut things off just before the Battle of the Gullet, instead.
Considered as a whole, I feel like the season lacked a little forward momentum. Yes, it has boasted plenty of character-led, engrossing drama, but has also felt a bit too much like build-up play. I get the notion of wanting to build up anticipation, but for a show all about the bloody chapter in House Targaryen's history... I'd like to see a bit more blood.
With just two seasons left, though, I'm convinced that this won't be an issue going forward. We've already gotten to know a lot of our key players now, and that season finale was still a big statement of intent. The Seven Kingdoms are ready for war, and it's coming no matter what.
If you look further down the timeline, you'll see that some of the fiercest battles and the darkest days of the Dance of the Dragons are still to come. One of the coolest moments was namechecked by Helaena in her prophecy to Aemond; if you know what happens above the God's Eye, I'm sure you can't wait to see it, either.
Revolts, betrayals, and plenty more dragon action are now within our reach. And if we're getting a similar amount of episodes for the remaining two seasons, those anticipated moments are going to have to start coming our way a little more frequently than they have done so far.
