Here at last: the finale of the first season of HBO’s House of the Dragon has aired and it offered both an exciting and tragic feel for what is to come next for Westeros. Amongst all the anger, fiery speeches, and desire for Green heads on spikes, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) has remained stout and resolute, determined not to plunge the realm into war. However, her stance will certainly be shifted with the dragon dance over Storm’s End between princes Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), which resulted in Aemond’s bigger dragon Vhagar ripping into the smaller Arrax and its rider, Lucerys. There is no turning back now, the Targaryen civil war is about to begin.
Showrunner Ryan Condal spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the episode, its key moments, and what to expect when we return once again to a war-torn Westeros. First, the elephant in the room, when quizzed about the death of Lucerys, Condal remarks that “Aemond is definitely not blameless” but that the young prince had been bullied as a kid. Condal explained that the chase was probably “more in play” than Aemond “trying to become a kinslayer.” When asked about the fate of Jacaerys (Harry Collett) at the Eyrie, Condal replies laughing, “Hopefully better.”
Condal went on to speak about the lessons he and the entire team had learned from the first season that would be incorporated in the second to make it even better. “There’s a million little things you learn in the process of making any first season,” Condal said. “We made 10 episodes. They were extraordinarily difficult. I intend to put all those lessons into use on season 2.” The showrunner expanded on the excitement of going into a new season, its peak being the cast of the show. “The wonder of going into season two – for any show, but for this one in particular – is we have such an embarrassment of riches in terms of the great cast that we put together,” he said. “The writing is so much easier because you’re now writing for this great cast [who we have now seen] embody these roles.”
For a drawn-out period during the first season, viewers complained of the episodes being too dark. Firstly, in episode seven but at other points, the series had been labelled “unwatchable” and “gloomy” by some viewers. Quizzed as to if this will be a permanent feature going forward, Condal replies, “It’s our job to take all that into account. These are one of the things that you learn in the making of a show – you take that knowledge into account when making season two and say, “How can we do better?” The feedback was certainly heard,” the showrunner said. “I get it. And we want the show to be a great viewing experience for everybody."
House of the Dragon is at an end for now. You can stream the first season on HBO Max.