Spoiler Alert: Spoilers for House of the Dragon Episode 10, ‘The Black Queen’ Ahead

Audiences were treated to a ton of dragon-riding action in the season finale of HBO’s House of the Dragon. With a colossal budget, the series created an excellent scene depicting the first dance between Aemond Targaryen’s (Ewan Mitchell) Vhagar and Lucerys “Luke” Velaryon’s (Elliot Grihault) Arrax. Unfortunately, the “eye for an eye” fight between the two had detrimental consequences that were undoubtedly the last blow to the Targaryen’s before the inevitable war.

Showrunner Ryan Condal sat down with Variety following the finale’s conclusion, discussing the final scenes and how he planned it out years in advance. Of course, the plot is based on the events depicted in George R.R. Martin’s 2018 book, Fire & Blood, though some creative liberties have been taken in the first season thus far. Speaking on the finale of Season 1, Condal says he didn’t explore many options outside the death of Lucerys.

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

If usurping the throne by Queen Alicent and King Aegon II weren’t enough, the death of her child would certainly push Rhaenyra over the edge. The following seasons of House of the Dragon are sure to heat up as the bloodshed continues to spill between the noble houses of Westeros.

“Maybe, at some point? But no, I looked back at the original bible that I wrote for the series back in May of 2019, and that was in there as the endpoint. It just felt like the one-two punch of Viserys dying, the Greens seizing the throne and telling that story from Alicent’s team’s perspective, Rhaenyra’s team finding out and putting in place the engines of war and then setting the dragons off and having this horrible thing happened over Storm’s End — the story is called the Dance of the Dragons. To kick off the war/end the first act of our story with the first dragons dancing seemed to be the right dramatic place to leave everybody off.”

Ryan Condal Has Promised More Action in Season 2

     HBO

Now that the players and stakes are set, House of the Dragon Season 2 should offer plenty of action. Condal has said they needed to earn their spectacle moments, which didn’t occur till the middle seasons of Game of Thrones. “Series two will hit rhythms people came to expect from the middle run of Game of Thrones, but it will have been earned, and viewers will feel the tragedies because we put the work in,” Condal told Deadline ahead of the season finale.

The follow-up season should offer plenty of Aemond and Aegon Targaryen, who have proven to be up-and-coming villains alongside the rest of the Greens. Rhaenyra is ready to wage war for her right to the throne, which will provide the basis for the next 2-3 seasons of House of the Dragon. For now, fans will have to wait until late 2023 or early 2024 to see the Targaryen dynasty return to the small screen on HBO and HBO Max.