The hectic behind the scenes disasters that meant House of the Dragon became a trainwreck

Season two was supposed to have 10 episodes but at the last minute two were cut

4 months ago

In the nicest way possible, season two of House of the Dragon was a bit of a flop. From boring episodes to strange character arcs, it definitely seemed to lose its way as the season went on.

But, it turns out there was a lot going on behind the scenes that led to season two of House of the Dragon being a bit of a trainwreck. So, let’s break down exactly what went wrong throughout the production process.

Season one showrunner unexpectedly left

Via HBO

Miguel Sapochnik decided to unexpectedly leave the House of the Dragon team, with sources telling Entertainment Weekly that he decided to leave because of his fatigue from being involved with the franchise for so long.

He said in a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly: “Working within the GOT universe for the past few years has been an honour and a privilege, especially spending the last two with the amazing cast and crew of House of the Dragon. I am so proud of what we accomplished with season 1 and overjoyed by the enthusiastic reaction of our viewers. It was incredibly tough to decide to move on, but I know that it is the right choice for me, personally and professionally.

“As I do so, though, I am deeply comforted to know that Alan will be joining the series. He’s someone I’ve known and respected for a long time, and I believe this precious series could not be in safer hands. I am so glad to remain a part of the HBO and House of the Dragon family and, of course, I wish Ryan and his team success and all the best with season two and beyond.”

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Steve Toussaint who plays Lord Corlys Verlayron told Entertainment Weekly he was “disappointed” the showrunner hadn’t stayed for season two. He explained: “While personally I’m disappointed, because I think he has a great artistic vision, I understand, for the good of his health, he’s got to take a long break and recharge himself and decide what else he wants to do next to that. I think the world’s his oyster, because he’s so incredibly talented.”

The season was cut from 10 to eight episodes

Via HBO

According to Deadline, the original plans for season two of House of the Dragon was for there to be 10 episodes, but this was cut down to eight at the last minute.

Apparently, it was a result of budget cuts at Warner Bros. Discovery, however, an HBO spokesperson commented: “Of course, House of the Dragon is a large, complex production, and various other factors such as time and production difficulties will be accounted for as well, so that’s not to say [budget] was the sole reason.”

Just before season two premieres, director Sarah Hess commented that it “wasn’t really our decision” to reduce the episode count.

A portion of the plot for season two was moved to season three

Via HBO

Deadline also reported that “a portion of the plot originally intended for season two, including a major battle,” would be moved to season three instead. Whilst not confirmed it seems that the Battle of the Gullet was the “major battle” that was moved.

In a virtual press conference, showrunner Ryan Condal explained why he decided to move the Battle of the Gullet into next season. He revealed: “One of the challenges of making television at any scale [is] nobody has infinite time and resources. When you’re as a showrunner, you’re always in the position of having to balance storytelling and the resources that you have available to tell that story. One of the things that came into play in season two is: What is the final destination of the series and where are we going? It was a combination of factors that led us to rebalance the season knowing now where we’re going.

“We wanted to rebalance the story in such a way that we had three great seasons of television [after season one] to round out and tell this story. When you’re trying to mount the show, which requires a tremendous amount of resources, construction, armor, costumes, visual effects… we are trying to give The Gullet – which is arguably the second most anticipated action event of Fire & Blood – trying to give it the time and the space that it deserves .

“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 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 I apologize 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.”

Season two is the lowest rated season in House of the Dragon universe so far

IMDb scores for every episode so far of #HouseOfTheDragon 🐉 pic.twitter.com/2OCNrvhWln

— Culture Crave 🍿 (@CultureCrave) August 8, 2024

Season two of House of the Dragon contained two exceptionally low rated episodes, the finale scoring 6.3 on IMBd and 76 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes compared to 84 per cent for season one.

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