George R. R. Martin has seen the first two episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 – and he was absolutely floored.
"The highlight of the trip [to the House of the Dragon set], though, had to be the sneak preview that Ryan gave me of the first two episodes of HOUSE OF THE DRAGON, season two. (Rough cuts, of course). Of course, I am hardly objective when talking about anything based on my own work… but I have to say, I thought both episodes were just great," Martin wrote on his Not a Blog. "(And they are not even finished yet). Dark, mind you. Very dark. They may make you cry. (I did not cry myself, but one of my friends did). Powerful, emotional, gut-wrenching, heart-rending. Just the sort of thing I like. (What can I say? I was weaned on Shakespeare, and love the tragedies and history plays best of all)."
House of the Dragon is based on Martin's book Fire & Blood, which tells the story of House Targaryen. Set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the series follows the civil war between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and her former childhood best friend-turned-stepmother Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) that became known as the 'Dance of the Dragons.'
Martin also wrote that he "spent two days locked in a room with Ryan Condal and his writing staff (Sara Hess, Ti Mikkel, David Hancock, and Philippa Goslett)" talking about seasons 3 and 4. "They were lively, fun discussions, and we got some good work done… though two days was not nearly enough," Martin said. "There is so much ground to cover that I am not sure twenty days would have been enough."
The season 2 cast includes Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
House of the Dragon season 2 does not yet have an exact release date, but will premiere in the summer of 2024. For more, check out our list of the best new TV shows coming in 2024 and beyond.
