House Of The Dragon Season 2: HBO Reveals Runtimes For Final 3 Episodes, Finale Is Longest Yet

This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 5.

Summary

HBO has revealed the runtimes for the final three episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 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 fromHouse of the Dragonseason 2 episode 4were revealed.

As perHBO, the runtimes of the final three episodes ofHouse of the Dragonhave 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 ofHouse of the Dragonhave 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 theHouse of the Dragonteam 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. TheHouse of the Dragonseason 2finale, 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 theGame of Thronesprequelthus 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 Dragonseason 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 Dragonseason 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 theHouse of the Dragonteam 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 ifAegon were to succumb to his injuries. These plot elements suggest a balance of whatHouse of the Dragondoes best: working with high interpersonal drama and intense action.