House of the Dragon finale: Why the Battle of the Gullet didn’t happen, future plans revealed

The Nightly

2 Min Read

06 Aug 2024

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen in House Of The Dragon. Right: Engravings of the Wars of the Roses and Henry I. Below, right: Ema D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen in the series. Credit: Theo Whiteman

The promised civil war between rival Targaryen factions didn’t start but it will have to at some point because House of the Dragon is already halfway through its run.

The series’ showrunner Ryan Condal revealed the series will end after its fourth season, and that the team has mapped out the story that takes it to the end.

At a virtual press conference following the season two finale yesterday, Condal was asked if the show will run five seasons, to which he replied, “No, I think it’s four”.

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The Game of Thrones spin-off is a prequel that adapts George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood, set about 170 years before GoT. It follows the story of Daenerys Targaryen’s ancestors at the peak of their power and influence, and how the House of Targaryen lost that through a bruising war of succession within their bloodline.

The series debuted in 2022 with 10 episodes and a cast that includes Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy and Rhys Ifans and returned for its second season this June.

Condal said the third season will go into production early next year.

The second season finale raised the ire of some fans when it ended, once again, on the promise of war rather than actual war. It was also criticised for wasting its shorter eight-episode run on a lot of talking rather than epic dragon fights.

In particular, fans who were familiar with the book were anticipating “The Battle of the Gullet”, a signature conflict in Martin’s tale and one of the most brutal fights in the fictional history of Westeros.

Condal addressed why it didn’t happen in season two, which he put down to the challenge of balancing resources. He said, “We are building to that event that will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling, and it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off.

“We just wanted to have the time and the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans in the way it’s deserved. We also wanted to build some anticipation toward it.

“So, we apologise for the wait, but with the team that we have together, we’re going to pull off a hell of a win with ‘The Battle of the Gullet’.”

Just not this season, it seems.