Spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 1!
Adapted from George R.R. Martin's popular fantasy novel Fire & Blood, the new series centers on the history of the House Targaryen. Set 172 before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the show will primarily focus on the drama that leads to the Dance of the Dragons, a civil war among the silver-haired dragon-riding family.
House of the Dragon season 1 will run for 10-episodes and will cover nearly 30 years of Westeros history. Due to the massive amount of lore to pull from, the series' showrunners have flirted with the idea of an anthology structure to cover different aspects of the Targaryen dynasty. Although the show will be extensive, Condal previously revealed that he and his co-showrunner and director, Miguel Sapochnik, already know how House of the Dragon will end.
In a recent interview with Collider, Condal teased plans for the potential future of House of the Dragon. The showrunner explained that they already have a plan set for season 2 and beyond. Condal shares that there's "300 years of Targaryen history to explore" which is ripe for storytelling opportunities, whether it features within House of the Dragon or not. Read what the showrunner said below.
"I think we have a fairly good plan laid out. Plans like that always have to be fairly broad, yet you have an idea of landmarks, and places that you want to go, and a sense of an end point, which I think is really important, particularly with this story. There’s 170 years of history in front of us, so you have to figure out, at what point do you do lower the curtain on this particular story? We’ve always had a good sense of that. I think we have a good plan for Season 2, if HBO is willing and eager to continue telling the story with us. There is really 300 years of Targaryen history to explore, and there are many stories within there that are really fascinating. There’s the story of the conquest, the story before the conquest, the Targaryens leaving Old Valyria. You have a tale like this, where the Targaryens have dragons and are in power. And then, there are also stories where the Targaryens no longer have dragons, but are still in power. What changes there, and how is that different? It’s a very rich tapestry. It’s a rich landscape. I think the fan base is willing and eager. There’s a lot of storytelling left in this world, if people want it."
Condal understands that there is wealth of material to pull from for the future of the show. Fire & Blood is only one volume of two to completely detail the vast history of the Targaryen family. The Dance of the Dragons only constituted a portion of the book, however, Martin has previously stated that the series will primarily focus on that conflict. Condal appears to recognize the vast potential in Martin's expansive source material, both before and after the Targaryen civil war.
Unlike Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon's story has been completely finished and published by Martin. Where the Game of Thrones writers had to fill in the blanks left by Martin's unfinished works, Condal has definitive answers and details regarding the story he wants to tell. With much of the controversy surrounding the final season of Game of Thrones centered on unfinished storylines and a rushed conclusion, Fire & Blood offers a more structured and defined path. Going forward, the series will center on the Dance of the Dragons but also has the possibilities to touch on the different eras of the Targaryen lineage throughout the ages. With House of the Dragon so far receiving a positive reception from critics and fans alike, the show is shaping up to be a worthy successor to Game of Thrones.
Source: Collider