Last night’s new episode of House of the Dragon, “The Princess and the Queen,” jumped ahead 10 years in time, the biggest time jump yet on a show full of them. HBO is trusting that fans will go along for the ride.
If you’re interested in seeing how the cast and crew approached this huge turning point, HBO released a 25-minute behind-the-scene mini-documentary all about it. Watch below:
There’s also the normal Inside the Episode feature. Between these two videos, they cover these changes from pretty much every angle:
Most networks “would not have had the patience and boldness” to make House of the Dragon this way
Meanwhile, showrunner Ryan Condal talked to The Hollywood Reporter about these big shifts. “I’m excited about the pace and the structure of the story that we’re telling in the first season,” he said. “It’s very complex. It happens over a long period of time because children need to get married off and then grow up themselves and then have children of their own who grow up in order to tell the story of this generational war that is fought. HBO gave [co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik] the creative latitude to tell this incredibly complex story in a really patient and character-driven way that sets up a first season so that it launches you into one of the most famous and bloody conflicts in the history of Westeros — if not the most.”
It’s what makes this premium HBO content versus the thing we would have been forced to make at a different outlet. Most other places would not have had the patience and boldness to allow us to tell the story we’re telling. But this is how you tell this story correctly. We’re telling a story of a generational war. We set everything up so by the time that first sword stroke falls, you understand all the players — where they are and why they are. All the history is there instead of being told to you in exposition. This way you get to see it all happen.
I’m here for the House of the Dragon showrunners lightly throwing shade at other networks, although there’s at least one other streaming service who is doing something like this: The Crown on Netflix also regularly jumps forward in time, and it’s been a big hit.
But point taken: there are probably a lot of networks that wouldn’t approve anything this risky; not even The Crown switches actors partway through a season. “No one ever said to us, ‘When’s the drama going to start?’” Sapochnik said. “There’s a real advantage to taking the time to get to know the characters because the investment is worthwhile. House of the Dragon season 1 is a slow burn. And it’s worth it because there’s enough in there to keep everybody interested, but we have purposely tried to move away from doing spectacle so that when we return to the spectacle we can do it properly.”
So there you have it. If the show hasn’t been entertaining enough already, spectacle is coming. Tune in to new episodes every Sunday on HBO and HBO Max to see it.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.
Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels
