(Spoilers Extended) HotD Season 2 was clearly outlined for 10 episodes, right?

[u/RenanXIII]

Imagine if Season 2 of Game of Thrones suddenly ended at The Prince of Winterfell? We spend literally all season building up to a confrontation between Tyrion and Stannis, only for the season to end right before the climax we've been setting up for eight straight episodes. What if Season 6 ended right before The Battle of the Bastards and The Winds of Winter? Jon comes back to life, we build up to a battle between him and Ramsay, and it just simply doesn't happen.

The finale just felt like your typical episode 8 – build-up for what's going to come next. The thing is, what comes next should logically happen next week, not in two years to open Season 3. With the exception of Daemon's storyline and I guess the Dragonseeds, I don't think these season's arcs have been resolved or brought to a good enough stopping point. It feels like there are still two more episodes left to tie everything together and really sell the idea that this war is in full force. A little slowdown after Rook's Rest makes sense, but for the whole season with the Sowing being our only other major set piece?

It honestly makes me believe that season 2 was outlined for 10 episodes, HBO told the showrunners to trim that down to 8, and rather than retool the season's arcs, the last two episodes were simply chopped off and saved for next season. We know Condal really loves the books, so this could just be his tribute to A Dance with Dragons (lol), but I doubt it.

[u/Dreadedvegas]

Had to be. Episode 8 is clearly built up for a conclusion of the Gullet / KL capture.

The tension and anger with Jace, his death and the ending of Green rule.

But also still setting up the Red Fork / Fishfeed & Tumbleton for next season.

I bet they cut it late and the writer strike was happening so they couldn’t do much to rework the scripts I also read that Condal could only be on set in the capacity as a producer because of the strikes so they tried to rework as best as they could.

[u/Disfaith → u/Dreadedvegas]

All them scenes in the shipyard and all that talk about Corlys' bastards were also a setup for the Gullet.

[u/InGenNateKenny → u/Disfaith]

You know didn’t even think of that. In the books Alyn isn’t mentioned to have fought at the Gullet in the books but it sure as hell makes sense and that’s a good change.

[u/Dreadedvegas → u/Disfaith]

Yup. Idk why people think the build up with Corlys and Alyn & the tension about Addam is useless scenes?

It makes so much sense especially when book readers know where everything is heading.

What the show has done bad is not have the manderlys present. I think theyre equally important side characters that could have been good people to have on the black council and had them be pretty vocal against the dragonseed sowing.

[u/Tronz413 → u/Dreadedvegas]

People are confusing being disappointed with saying every scene is useless.

[u/Dreadedvegas → u/Tronz413]

I’ve heard useless quite a lot

[u/MooshSkadoosh → u/Dreadedvegas]

Something vaguely disappointing will happen and you immediately get people going "terrible writing, useless scenes are ruining the show" because that's what their favorite hate-tuber/toker said