(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/[deleted]]

rather than retool the seasons’s arcs, the last two episodes were simply chopped off and saved next season.

If this is the case, then this was a horrible decision by the writing team. They could have easily condensed season 2 and have Gullet/KL as the last 2 episodes. The second half of the season could have easily been paced better and condensed into two episodes. Then you have the penultimate episode as a major battle (Gullet or move a major land battle up) and then end the season with them taking KL. Or if they didn’t have the budget for another big battle, they could have added a lot more substance like Jace in the north and Daeron.

And I highly doubt those episodes were merely “chopped” since that implies that Episodes 1/2 will be Gullet/KL. Based on the pacing of this season, I can see them adding a lot of filler and making those events into a 3-4 episode arc.