The second season of House of the Dragon is less than two weeks away, and fans across the world are champing at the bit to revisit the sprawling fantasy universe established by the show’s massively successful predecessor, Game of Thrones.
The initial 10-episode run of the prequel series, released in 2022, exceeded nearly all expectations of fans and critics. According to co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal, the show achieved that by honouring what came before it without leaning too heavily on Thrones.
Condal tells The National: “Following the original series is like following the Beatles. It's the biggest television series of all time, by many metrics. How do you follow it? You can't. You just have to try to create something that stands on its own two feet.”
Part of what made the story's beginning feel distinct was its Succession-like structure – jumping from major event to major event. Following members of the dragon-riding Targaryen family 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, the first season of House of the Dragon covered a 24-year span, with sizeable time jumps between each of the first eight episodes, in particular.
“In season one, at least the first eight episodes, they were eight discrete chapters in the story and followed discrete timelines of their own,” Condal explains. “So it felt fast-paced to go from episode to episode, because you were suddenly jumping ahead either months or years at a time. So it could feel jarring, and there were different peaks and valleys.”
According to reported comments in 2022 by the series’ other co-creator, author George R R Martin, the span of the entire series will cover roughly 28 years in total – meaning that this season and upcoming seasons of House of the Dragon will no longer feature those significant time jumps.
Because of that, season two's pacing will feel much more familiar to legacy fans of the franchise, Condal tells The National.
“I think this season will feel much more in line with a traditional season of Game of Thrones, structurally,” he says.
“We’re in real time now. From my point of view, it will feel even faster paced because we’re not jumping from event to event. Now it feels like a snowball is falling down the hill.”
Condal is now the show’s solo showrunner, and expects that will continue for the planned third season, following the August 2022 departure of his partner in season one, Miguel Sapochnik.
“I know the job very well, I was running a writer’s room for my previous series, Colony, albeit on a smaller scale. On this show, I fully embraced it,” says Condal.
“I have a great team around me too, to help, lift the heavy weight of this thing on to our back and carry it up the hill. And we'll do that again, hopefully, in season three.”
While season one of the series showed a family in crisis, season two finds the Targaryens firmly divided into two camps, referred to as the “blacks” and the “greens”.
Condal says the new season will feel like a cold war between the two sides, particularly because the dragons that both wield are effectively weapons of mass destruction. Consequently, the story plays on the same threat of mutually assured destruction that humanity has endured in the nuclear era.
“Our characters are highly aware of the fact that there are nuclear weapons on either side of the conflict,” says Condal. “And they have to be very careful as to how they deploy them.
“As a result, there is a highly strategised approach to war. That’s why the second Aegon usurped the throne, it hasn't immediately turned to armies running at each other on a field.
“It doesn't work that way now. We want to be realistic about how this sort of march to war looks and happens.”
That does not mean, of course, that this season’s cold war will never turn hot, Condal promises.
“There's going to be battle. Oh, yes, there is. There's plenty of action to come. Don't worry.”
House of the Dragon premieres on June 17 on OSN+ in the Middle East
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Transmission: Eight-speed auto
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
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Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
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Cyber warfare - Shaped by geopolitical tension, hostile actors seek to infiltrate and compromise national infrastructure, using one country’s systems as a springboard to launch attacks on others.
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
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Picture of Joumblatt and Hariri breaking bread sets Twitter alight
Mr Joumblatt’s pessimism regarding the Lebanese political situation didn’t stop him from enjoying a cheerful dinner on Tuesday with several politicians including Mr Hariri.
Caretaker Culture Minister Ghattas Khoury tweeted a picture of the group sitting around a table at a discrete fish restaurant in Beirut’s upscale Sodeco area.
Mr Joumblatt told The National that the fish served at Kelly’s Fish lounge had been very good.
“They really enjoyed their time”, remembers the restaurant owner. “Mr Hariri was taking selfies with everybody”.
Mr Hariri and Mr Joumblatt often have dinner together to discuss recent political developments.
Mr Joumblatt was a close ally of Mr Hariri’s assassinated father, former prime minister Rafik Hariri. The pair were leading figures in the political grouping against the 15-year Syrian occupation of Lebanon that ended after mass protests in 2005 in the wake of Rafik Hariri’s murder. After the younger Hariri took over his father’s mantle in 2004, the relationship with Mr Joumblatt endured.
However, the pair have not always been so close. In the run-up to the election last year, Messrs Hariri and Joumblatt went months without speaking over an argument regarding the new proportional electoral law to be used for the first time. Mr Joumblatt worried that a proportional system, which Mr Hariri backed, would see the influence of his small sect diminished.
With so much of Lebanese politics agreed in late-night meetings behind closed doors, the media and pundits put significant weight on how regularly, where and with who senior politicians meet.
In the picture, alongside Messrs Khoury and Hariri were Mr Joumbatt and his wife Nora, PSP politician Wael Abou Faour and Egyptian ambassador to Lebanon Nazih el Nagari.
The picture of the dinner led to a flurry of excitement on Twitter that it signified an imminent government formation. “God willing, white smoke will rise soon and Walid Beik [a nickname for Walid Joumblatt] will accept to give up the minister of industry”, one user replied to the tweet. “Blessings to you…We would like you to form a cabinet”, wrote another.
The next few days will be crucial in determining whether these wishes come true.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
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Expert advice
“Join in with a group like Cycle Safe Dubai or TrainYAS, where you’ll meet like-minded people and always have support on hand.”
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“When you sweat a lot, you lose a lot of salt and other electrolytes from your body. If your electrolytes drop enough, you will be at risk of cramping. To prevent salt deficiency, simply add an electrolyte mix to your water.”
Cornelia Gloor, head of RAK Hospital’s Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy Centre
“Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can ride as fast or as far during the summer as you do in cooler weather. The heat will make you expend more energy to maintain a speed that might normally be comfortable, so pace yourself when riding during the hotter parts of the day.”
Chandrashekar Nandi, physiotherapist at Burjeel Hospital in Dubai
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Specs
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BMW M5 specs
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TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
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Our family matters legal consultant
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Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
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