If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, you probably started watching House of the Dragon with absolute trepidation.
The show came out in the aftermath of GOT’s contested final season and was set to go up against Rings of Power, which seemed a surefire slam dunk.
When HOTD ended up being an absolute banger, I think everyone was completely shocked.
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Conversely, with the second season finale now out, at the very least, HOTD fans were prepared for a rubbish finale episode because, according to most, that’s what we just got.
This week’s episode - the eighth and final of the season - continued the ongoing burgeoning civil war between Team Black and Team Green, the split various factions within the ruling Targaryen family.
Whilst the second season has been mostly well reviewed, the finale episode, which will be released tonight – has not seen the same reception, and seen some fans pointing to issues with the season overall.
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On the subreddit r/HouseoftheDragon’s official episode discussion thread, the consensus on the finale was far less than positive.
One fan commented: “I’m honestly really upset that this is the finale we get before waiting 2 years.”
The show has not yet confirmed the release date for season three, however, production is expected to begin in early 2025.
Another said: “How does the finale not include 1 battle lol. Now we gotta wait 2-3 years?”
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One post on the subreddit was titled: “That was…bad, right?”
They went on to say: “Woof, what a let down. Why did they end it here? It’s a two year wait and the build up itself was drawn out and boring.
“Also, why are all these main characters just floating in and out of KL and Dragonstone like it’s nothing? Starting to think Davos wasn’t all that impressive at all, every character is a ninja apparently.”
Another viewer commented on this to say: “Just checked my copy of Fire and Blood.
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“This season started on page 412 (Hardcover version) and ended about 2/3 of the way through page 445.
"Just barely over 30 pages for a whole season.
“Season 1 picked up towards the end of page 352 and goes all the way though page 412.
"That’s nearly twice the page count season 2 got through. S1 also had the benefit of having 25 years or so of gaps to fill in that the show runners could utilize. Season 2 happens over just a few weeks.
“I liked most of what actually happens in season 2, but damn there was no f**king reason to stretch so little of the source material out so damn long.”
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When trying to figure out what happened quality-wise, there was one presiding theory as to how it possibly happened to.
One comment on Reddit said: “I saw another comment that may have hit it. The writers strike didn't affect the scripts, but rewrites and revisions were absolutely affected.
“Unfinished/unrevised scripts may have gone ahead, and corporate decision making may have directly affected production.”
According to George RR Martin, the writer strikes did not affect the scripts as they were written 'long before the strike began', as per Digital Spy.
He wrote in a 2023 blog post: ""Every episode has gone through four or five drafts and numerous rounds of revisions, to address HBO notes, my notes, budget concerns, etc.
"There will be no further revisions."
Topics: House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, TV and Film, TV
Michael Slavin