On Sunday, the second season of House of the Dragon came to a shocking finale in a way that had fans curious about the Battle of the Gullet.
Throughout the season, the looming Battle of the Gullet was teased as inevitable. The battle is one of the most important narratives in George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. However, the conflict that turned the course of the war for House Targaryen— often considered the most influential event in the Dance of the Dragons war— was presumed to have happened during the finale of the show’s second season. However, the battle had only just begun to prepare itself when the credits cut to black during the season finale, leaving that major event for Season 3.
Why Battle of the Gullet Was Not Featured In House of the Dragon Season 2?
Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen. Image Credit: HBO
The House of the Dragon delaying the Battle of the Gullet was surprising for fans as the series has teased the unavoidable battle throughout the season. The second season ended with the preparation of the battle and season 3 will feature the event but that’s likely two years away considering the painstaking process of filming war scenes.
The delay in pushing the narrative to another season, however, was purely intentional with creative decisions to make the show even more engaging. House of the Dragon co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal recently discussed the reason behind the major decision during a post-season press conference. Condal said that the team wanted to give the Battle of the Gullet the time and space it deserves—considering it one of the most anticipated action events in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood.
“We were trying to give the Gullet, which is arguably the most anticipated — well, I would say maybe the second-most-anticipated action event of Fire & Blood, trying to give it the time and the space that it deserves,” Condal said at the press conference (via Variety). “Obviously, as anybody that’s seen the finale, we’re building to that event. That event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon. Based on what we know now, it should be the biggest thing to date that we’ve pulled off, and we just wanted to have the time, the space to do that at a level that is going to excite and satisfy the fans and in the way it’s deserved.”
Understandable, season 3 of the HBO flagship show will have the ultimate space for a long battle with dragons spewing fire while the political ploys would garnish the narrative with added twists. Still, it is possible that the very first episode of the third season may not feature the bugle call right away.
Ryan Condal Apologizes For The Delay Of The Battle of the Gullet
Matt Smith as Daemon Targaryen and Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen. Image Credit: HBO
Condal acknowledged the fact that fans have awaited for the battle to commence in the House of the Dragon season finale. But he justified his bold move stating that writers wish to pay off all that anticipation for the Battle of the Gullet, hopefully building it by holding off until the third season. Also, the complexity of the show is another factor at play as he compared each season to making multiple feature films. In his words, “I know everybody wants this to come out every summer.”
“It’s just that the show is so complex that we’re really making multiple feature films every season. So I apologize for the wait, but I will just say if Rook’s Rest and the Red Sowing are any indication, we’re gonna pull off a hell of a win with the Battle the Gullet in the future.”
But on a positive note, the series creator confirmed that the third season is already being written. As planned, they will do the preparation for the filming in the fall and finally move to production in “earlyish 2025.” However, the number of episodes has not been locked as of yet.
“I haven’t had discussions with HBO about it. I would just anticipate the cadence of the show, from a dramatic storytelling perspective, will continue to be the same from Season 2 on.”
The forthcoming season of House of the Dragon has created intense hype among the fans of the series, particularly for the epic battle that is scheduled for the third season.
Matt Smith plays Prince Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon, alongside Olivia Cooke’s Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon, Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole, Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen, Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen, Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, and Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower with several other exciting characters.
Both seasons of House of the Dragon are now streaming on Max.
