‘House of the Dragon’: There Are No Time Jumps in Season 2
House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. The series follows Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), a Targaryen king who names his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock as a teen, Emma D’Arcy as an adult), as heir.
Viserys’ choice and its repercussions set off a chain of events that mark the end of the reign of the House of Targaryen. Season 2 of the series is already in the works, and fans should know there are no time jumps.
‘House of the Dragon’ chronicles the downfall of House Targaryen
For 300 years, the House of Targaryen ruled over the Seven Kingdoms in Westeros. However, some 100-plus years into their rule, everything began to fall apart. Ambition, greed, misogyny, and a lust for war upended decades of peace and prosperity.
“Here’s the story you’ve always heard about,” creator showrunner Ryan Condal told Shadow and Act. “The Targaryens, at the height of their power with 17 dragons and great wealth and power and influence. They’re unchallengeable. This is that time. So I think it’s a fascinating place to drop in because they’ve just started to turn and decline, but they don’t realize that until it’s too late.”
So far, House of the Dragon fans has watched the years leading up to the war, with massive time jumps across the first season. However, season 2 will be different.
There are no time jumps in season 2
In the first season of House of the Dragon, two significant characters were portrayed by multiple actors. Princess Rhaenyra was portrayed by Milly Alcock as a teen and later by Emma D’Arcy as an adult. Moreover, Alicent Hightower was portrayed by Emily Carey and later Olivia Cooke.
However, Condal has assured fans that there will be no further time jumps in the forthcoming second season of the series.
“I will say, as a reward to our wonderful audience for following us through all the time jumps and recasts, they are done,” Condal told Deadline after the Season 1 finale. “We tell the story in real-time from here forward. The actors are playing these characters until the end. We’re not recasting anybody. We’re not making any huge jumps forward in time. We are now in the Dance of the Dragons, and we’re going to tell that story.”
Inside the ‘Dance of Dragons’ on ‘House of the Dragon’
So what exactly is the Dance of Dragons? Hardcore fans might know that House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, which is an account of the Targaryen kings.
The Dance of Dragons refers to the civil war between Princess Rhaenyra and her brother, Prince Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). Though their father King Viserys, named Rhaeneyra his heir, Aegon, and his mother, Alicent, stole the Iron Throne from her.
The rest of House of the Dragon will unpack that war, and the series is rumored to be slated for four seasons.
