House of the Dragon has enjoyed tremendous success since its debut in late August. According to a Variety report, the series of averages 29 million viewers in the US alone, a tripling of the audience Game of Thrones achieved during its first season. Fortunately for fans, the HBO spinoff series has a clear beginning and end, as the story is outlined in author George RR Martin’s historical novel. Fire & Blood.
Martin recently discussed the series on his personal blog as the show wrapped up its eighth episode titled Lord of the Tides. In his post, he talks about the 10-episode run and how he’s thankful he has 10 hours each season to tell his story. However, given the show’s stone-cut approach, the author predicts: House of the Dragon will need at least four seasons to properly tell the Dance of the Dragon storyline.
“As it is now, I’m very happy that we still have 10 hours each season to tell our story,” explains Martin. “(Rings of Power only has 8, as you may have noticed, and my AMC show dark winds does 6 episodes seasons). I hope it stays that way.” He continues, “It will take four full seasons of 10 episodes each to do justice to the Dance of the Dragons from start to finish.”
A complaint about: Game of Thrones were the differing opinions on the length of the show, as showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss wanted an eight-season run. At the same time, Martin believed that the story should have at least 10 episodes, with 13 being ideal. Fortunately, Martin has stated that he has quite a bit of input House of the Dragonso fans shouldn’t expect the series to be cut short.
George RR Martin prefers Paddy Considine’s Viserys over his own
Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 8 ‘Lord of the Tides’ Ahead During his blog post, Martin reflected on the performances through House of the Dragon so far and praised Paddy Considine’s interpretation. The actor played King Viserys Targaryen for eight episodes of the series before his character met a heartbreaking demise in the final scene.
Considine recently revealed a text Martin sent him after his time on the show, and now Martin has shared his love for the actor in his own words. Kudos to Eileen Shim, the screenwriter, to Geeta Patel, the director, to our incredible cast… and especially to Paddy Considine for his portrayal of King Viserys, the first of his name,” writes Martin. “The character he created (with Ryan and Sara and Ti and the rest of our writers) for the show is so much more powerful and tragic and complete than my own version in Fire & Blood that I’m half tempted to go back and tear up those chapters and rewrite the entire history of his reign.” Martin continues, “Paddy deserves an Emmy for this episode alone. If he doesn’t get one, there’s no justice.”
The Game of Thrones spin-off series is coming with its last two episodes of the season, which is sure to thrill audiences. House of the Dragon premieres every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max, with the first eight episodes available now.