House of the Dragon showrunner on the Gullet battle and a dragonless era

House of the Dragon season 3 arrives midway through the Dance of the Dragons, with the Targaryen civil war still to deliver its bloodiest clashes. Showrunner Ryan Condal says the season opens with the Battle of the Gullet — an episode he calls one of the craziest ever made — and the opening episodes suggest the series is off to a strong start.

Condal described planning the Gullet by working from big to small: defining the story first, then figuring out how to execute it. He leaned on physical producer Kevin de la Noy, considered whether to shoot at sea or build a tank, studied Black Sails’ approach and tried to marry naval warfare, dragons and medieval close-quarters combat.

That combination, he says, made staging a single television episode an unprecedented production challenge. The season also shifts Rhaenyra into a more active phase.

targaryen, rhaenyra, ryan condal, season 3, gullet, naval warfare, black sails, dragons, close quarters, production