Ryan Condal has been given the monumental task of being the sole showrunner for House of the Dragons second season. Miguel Sapochnik, who served as co-showrunner for the series, left the show after its August debut. Managing a series as big as HBO’s latest hit seems pretty tricky, with countless hours spent writing scripts, set design, makeup, costumes, and everything else that needs to be arranged for. House of the Dragon.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Condal wanted to leave the show after realizing his massive undertaking. However, during an interview with westeros.org, the showrunner/writer/creator says he would like to see more of the Targaryen family in the future. Plus, he teases the opportunity to explore different eras in the show, citing Aegon’s Conquest as one of them.
“I love Westeros, I love George’s world. I’d love to be involved as long as he and HBO want me. It’s hard not to think about where it could go. The show is called House of the Dragonit’s not called The Dance of the Dragons. It’s about the Targaryen dynasty in all its forms, it’s really about the Targaryen house, and I think there are many fascinating periods of history to tell. You know there is for sure [Aegon’s] conquest. I think we are now telling the story of this great civil war that takes place when both sides have dragons, and I think it would be fascinating to explore a time when Targaryens are still in power but have no dragons as well. How then do they threaten their enemies and how would the whole war strategy change. There are many places to go. I would definitely like to be involved.”
Aegon’s Conquest refers to Aegon Targaryen, who, with his sisters, Visenya and Rhaenys, and their dragons successfully subdued six of the seven kingdoms of Westeros. The time period is often mentioned everywhere Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon and has long been a war that the public wanted to see on screen.
Could House of the Dragon Turn it into an anthology series?
The story of House of the Dragon focuses entirely on the events leading up to the Dance of the Dragons through its first six episodes. Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik have laid the groundwork for what’s to come, and Targaryen’s depiction of civil war will take at least a few seasons.
But even Condal admits that there are plenty of other events in Targaryen’s history in Westeros and beyond that can be explored. Aside from Aegon’s Conquest, the showrunner says it would be an interesting twist to watch the family without the power of their dragons. We’ve hardly seen a Targaryen without dragons as Daenerys welcomed her three children at the end of this year Game of Thrones season one. The magnificent winged creatures have been largely present in House of the Dragonmeaning the Targaryens have some form of power constantly throughout both shows.
It would be interesting for House of the Dragon to do a few seasons focusing on one point in Targaryen’s family history before moving from timeline to another. This allows the show to be anthology style with the same House of the Dragon title as casts and crews adapt to the new plot. Of course, we are many years away from the end of the current project, but the idea is exciting nonetheless. Fans can see Rhaenyra, Daemon, Criston Cole, Alicent Hightower and many more as we make our way to the famous dance in House of the Dragon, Premieres on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET