HBO has revealed the runtimes for the final three episodes of House of the Dragon season 2. The show has aired five episodes of its current run thus far, with each installment raising the stakes from the previous entry. The most recent episode of the series saw King Aegon’s future lying in the balance after the full extent of his injuries from House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4 were revealed.
As per HBO, the runtimes of the final three episodes of House of the Dragon have been revealed. Episodes 206, 207, and 208 will be 70 minutes, 67 minutes, and 73 minutes long, respectively. As per the HBO schedule, they will air on July 21, July 28, and August 4. The titles for these upcoming episodes of House of the Dragon have not yet been revealed.
Why Are the Upcoming Episodes Of House of the Dragon So Long?
House Of The Dragon Might Be Making Up For Lost Time
If the House of the Dragon team has played their cards right, they can use this additional run time in their favor and pack a lot of high-stakes drama into these last three episodes.
The new runtimes will make the season’s ending lengthy. The House of the Dragon season 2 finale, at 1 hour, 13 minutes long, will be the longest episode of the season by 1 minute, topping episode 2, “Rhaenyra the Cruel.” The season 2 finale’s length also makes it the longest of any episode of the Game of Thrones prequel thus far. Even the next episode is fairly long, at 1 hour and 10 minutes long, tying the length of episode 3, “The Burning Mill.”
The extended length of the final episodes could be due in part to the truncation of the second season. House of the Dragon season 1 had 10 episodes, whereas season 2 was only awarded 8. Of the first 10 episodes, the longest entries in season 1 were episodes 6 and 8, both of which ran 67 minutes. House of the Dragon season 2’s episodes match or exceed this runtime in all but 2 cases, making up for the minutes lost by having two fewer episodes.
If the House of the Dragon team has played their cards right, they can use this additional run time in their favor and pack a lot of high-stakes drama into these last three episodes. Episode 5 set up many key elements for the rest of the season, including the possibility of new dragon riders and the need to select a new heir if Aegon were to succumb to his injuries. These plot elements suggest a balance of what House of the Dragon does best: working with high interpersonal drama and intense action.