Director lineup for House of the Dragon season 2 confirmed

Photograph by Ollie Upton / HBO
Photograph by Ollie Upton / HBO

HBO is officially finished filming the second season of House of the Dragon, its Game of Thrones prequel show. And we know that because cast and crew members posted images and video from the wrap party, which looks like it was a blast. I want this dragon ice sculpture to be at every birthday party and family gathering I attend until I die:

Actor Steve Toussaint, who plays Corlys Velaryon, was quite the shutterbug. He took a picture of this clapboard that cataloged how many days each production unit spent shooting, and which directors were helming each of the season’s eight episodes:

If you think something seems off about that episode count, you’re on the something. The first season of House of the Dragon had 10 episodes, but this upcoming season will only have eight, reportedly because of reasons related to the story rather than the budget or anything.

But let’s look at those directors. Here’s who’s directing every episode of House of the Dragon season 2, from back to front:

  • Episode 1: Alan Taylor
  • Episode 2: Clare Kilner
  • Episode 3: Geeta Patel
  • Episode 4: Alan Taylor
  • Episode 5: Clare Kilner
  • Episode 6: Andrij Parekh
  • Episode 7: Loni Peristere
  • Episode 8: Geeta Patel

For the record, this matches the list that Redanian Intelligence provided back in July, but it’s good to have it confirmed by a real HBO prop.

House of the Dragon season 2 director breakdown

Who are these folk? Let’s run down the list:

  • Alan Taylor has directed movies like Thor: The Dark World, but is best known to Game of Thrones fans as the man who chopped off Ned Stark’s head in the season 1 episode “Baelor,” in addition to directing several other episodes of the show. Taylor won’t just be a director on House of the Dragon season 2; after the exit of co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik, he will help remaining showrunner Ryan Condal with some high-level strategic stuff.
  • Clare Kilner director the fourth, fifth and ninth episodes of the first season of House of the Dragon: “King of the Narrow Sea,” “We Light The Way” and “The Green Council.” Kilner has previously confirmed that she is indeed directing Episodes 2 and 5 of season 2. “I’m doing Episodes 2 and 5, really interesting episodes,” she said.
  • Geeta Patel directed what in my opinion was easily the best episode of House of the Dragon season 1: Episode 8, “The Lord of the Tides,” aka the one where King Viserys makes his long walk to the Iron Throne. She’s directing two episodes of season 2, including the finale. Considering how good her first outing was, I’m excited about that.
  • Andrij Parekh has directed episodes of Succession and Watchmen, two excellent HBO series. He’s on Episode 6.
  • Loni Peristere has directed episodes of The Witcher (Netflix) and Warrior (Max). Warrior, for my money, is one of the best dramas of the past several years, and definitely the most under-appreciated. Seriously, more people need to watch this show; it’s so good.

The second season of House of the Dragon will premiere on HBO and Max in the summer of 2024.

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