“A little fun”: Ryan Condal teases an unconventional episode in House of the Dragon Season 3

House of the Dragon season 3 is the highly awaited next installment of HBO’s hit Game of Thrones spin-off. The season is expected to feature some explosive moments as the Targaryen Civil War finally kicks off.

Showrunner Ryan Condal has now talked about the upcoming season, revealing that amid all the action, there is going to be an unconventional episode. He said in an interview with Gold Derby:

“What I'm most excited about from a dramatic perspective is that we got to have a little fun this season, and there's a conceptual episode.”

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Ryan Condal talks about a conceptual episode in House of the Dragon Season 3

Ryan Condal said one particular episode in House of the Dragon season 3 would be very different from the rest of the show. He said it will have a character-driven narrative and won’t be as verbose as other episodes of the series:

“It isn't in the traditional vernacular of what we've laid out as the structure of a House of the Dragon episode. It's very character-driven, and I think it's really great and I'm really excited to see it rendered.”

House of the Dragon season 3 is expected to feature eight episodes, and it remains to be seen which one turns out to be conventional. Meanwhile, in the same interview, Condal also teased how season 3 would be more action-packed than season 2 and feature four major events from George R. R. Martin’s book, Fire & Blood:

“Season 2 is huge. Season 3 is huger, in many ways. There are, by my quick count on stage, four major events from the book that we get to adapt and realize in three dimensions in this season. That's really exciting on a scope-and-scale perspective, and I think it's the thing the show does really well.”

The release date of House of the Dragon season 3 has not been announced yet, but it is expected to premiere on HBO and Max sometime in 2026. Filming for the new season will commence in the next few weeks.

The previous chapter of the fantasy drama ended on a relatively calmer note as Rhaenyra and Alicent had a secret meeting. While the latter had a change of heart and wanted to avoid war, Rhaenyra reiterated that there was no other choice left.

The two sides of the Targaryen family – the Greens and Blacks – have rallied their armies and are ready to fight for the Iron Throne, which forms the premise of the next season.

House of the Dragon season 3 stars Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, and Phia Saban in pivotal roles.

The first two seasons of House of the Dragon are streaming on Max.