House of the Dragon director explains why season 2 is shorter

House of the Dragon season 2 will continue telling the blood-soaked history of the Targaryen’s, but that story will be a little shorter this time around. Instead of 10 episodes, House of the Dragon season 2 will consist of just 8 episodes and director Clare Kilner explained to THR why that’s for the best.

“There are eight wonderful episodes with so much happening in every episode, and we have trouble, at times, bringing them down to one hour,” Clare Kilner said. “Ryan’s decision was to give it a good opening and a good ending, and they’re jam-packed with emotional and visually exciting events.” So while the second season will be two episodes shorter, it sounds like each one will be packed to the brim with all the dragons and family drama one could want.

While the House of the Dragon cast were able to work in a “pre-release bubble” for the first season, the new season has been shooting after the series has been unveiled to the world. Clare Kilner said that they “more settled” going into the second season. “They’ve come in this season more relaxed, and there’s a sense of family,” Kilner said. “Everybody knows one another and wants to do good work, and they know their characters so much better.“

One of the biggest additions to the series this season has been Alan Taylor, who directed many stand-out episodes of Game of Thrones. As Clare Kilner explains, Taylor’s presence has led to all the other director’s upping their game. “It’s very inspiring because there are five directors and they’re all different, and we’re all watching the dailies and commenting on one another’s work,” Kilner said. “We can’t help it, we’re all a bit competitive. So, Alan helps us up our game. He’s such an accomplished director, and I really love the way he uses depth of field and focus in his storytelling to bring viewers’ attention to certain elements in the frame. I’ve been watching that and going, ‘How can I evolve in that direction?’“

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, a Targaryen history book which chronicles the history of House Targaryen, starting off with “Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and [going on] to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold the throne, all the way up to the civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, that nearly tore their dynasty apart.”