It's been almost a year since the release of House of the Dragon season 2, and many fans have once again begun to believe in the best after Ryan Condal's recent promises to show the key events of Fire and Blood in the next season. Others, on the contrary, are still expecting a catch from the series, but this time there will definitely be no such surprises.
Shortly before the premiere of the second season last year, news broke that HBO had decided to shorten all upcoming seasons of House of the Dragon from 10 episodes to 8, and although this has not been confirmed until today, it was this decision by the studio that, to some extent, signed the death warrant for the second season.
House of the Dragon season 2 was supposed to show the Battle of the Gullet
As it turns out, the failed second part of the series was supposed to feature at least one key event of the upcoming war between the Targaryens. In one of his recent interviews, Alan Taylor, who directed the fourth episode of the second season of House of the Dragon, admitted that he was originally supposed to direct the ninth episode, which would have shown the long-awaited Battle of the Gullet.

According to the director, HBO's decision to shorten the season to 8 episodes disrupted the creators' original plans, so they had to navigate as it is,in the end, Taylor got to film the most epic, fourth episode of the season. The episode shows the Battle of Rooks' Rest, one of the early clashes between the Targaryens, during which Rhaenys Targaryen dies and Aegon receives serious wounds.
Now the Battle of the Gullet will be shown in one of the first episodes of the third season
And although the creators of the series never managed to show the most important battle in the second season, they are still saving it for the third, according to the latest rumors, the Battle of the Gullet will be the main event in the first or second episode of the upcoming third season. The third part itself is supposedly planned for release in the summer of 2026.