Showrunner Miguel Sapochnik is exiting House of the Dragon, which is bad news for season 2’s big battles. Only two weeks into House of the Dragon season 1, Sapochnik announced that he would not be returning as showrunner for season 2, but will remain an executive producer for the duration of the show. This means that writer Ryan Condal will be the sole showrunner in House of the Dragon season 2, with HBO also bringing on Game of Thrones’ Alan Taylor as another executive producer and director.

Miguel Sapochnik is quite a legendary figure in Game of Thrones; as divisive as the last few seasons of the show were, Sapochnik was reliable in directing some of the most critically acclaimed episodes of this era. Some episodes on his resume include season 5’s “The Gift” and “Hardhome,” season 6’s “Battle of the Bastards” and “The Winds of Winter,” and season 8’s “The Long Night” and “The Bells.” “Battle of the Bastards,” which is considered one of the best episodes of Game of Thrones, even won him an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.

Related: HOTD Teases The Dragon Battles Game Of Thrones Could Never Do

After spending an exhausting three years getting House of the Dragon off the ground, Sapochnik leaving so soon seems to be the right choice for him personally, but it doesn’t bode well for the upcoming conflicts in the series that would greatly benefit from his cinematic vision and expertise. House of the Dragon season 2 is when the real battles in the Dance of the Dragons are expected to begin, and these spectacles are what require Sapochnik’s eye the most. The battles are apt to still be breathtaking without Sapochnik behind the camera, but it suggests House of the Dragon season 2 (and onward) sadly won’t have another conflict in the specific vein of the Battle of the Bastards or Hardhome to look forward to.

Sapochnik’s Exit Avoids Repeating Game Of Thrones’ D&D Problem (But Still Hurts)

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If Sapochnik is drained from the highly intensive process behind the world of Game of Thrones, it’s the best choice for him to exit sooner than later. Staying onboard well beyond the time that one actually wants (or thinks it’s right) to be there is exactly where Game of Thrones’ last few seasons went wrong with David Benioff and D.B. Weiss. George R.R. Martin had even lobbied HBO to continue Game of Thrones for several more seasons, but D&D were intent on ending the series after eight seasons. In an effort to conclude the story with a six-episode last season, Game of Thrones was failed by a rushed ending, part of which can be chopped up to exhaustion after nearly a decade on air – for those both in front of and behind the camera.

Sapochnik’s exit is a big blow for the epic scale of House of the Dragon both in terms of the battles in the civil war and more general direction, but it could still lead to some positive behind-the-scenes changes. Condal taking on the role by himself may mean that Fire & Blood author George R.R. Martin is more heavily involved in the creative process, which could avoid the pitfalls of Game of Thrones’ later seasons. Sapochnik’s directed episodes were some of the greatest episodes of the entire original series, and most actually came after Martin fell out of the loop. While Sapochnik will thankfully still have creative input as a producer, perhaps Martin and Condal will be able to work closely together to form a more unified vision of House of the Dragon’s future, with Sapochnik focusing more on the big battles and major set pieces he excels in.

New episodes of House of the Dragon release Sundays on HBO/HBO Max.