House of the Dragon season 3 got off to an explosive start with the Battle of the Gullet and Rhaenyra finally taking King's Landing, but the Game of Thrones spin-off's pace dropped considerably in the aftermath – and episode 5 is concerning fans.
One person took to Reddit to lay out their concerns about how the show is playing out, saying, "I honestly enjoyed the new episode quite a bit, but I'm growing incredibly concerned about the show's pacing moving forward."
Are we 100% sure they know this is an eight-episode season?from r/HouseOfTheDragon
The problem, in their view, is compounded by the shorter season length. "What I just watched didn't feel like the fifth part of an eight part season, or even like the third part of a six part season if you just call the first two the finale of the last season. That felt, to me, like the third episode of a ten episode season. The pace is way too slow for where the story needs to be right now," they say, before noting concerns with how the pacing might affect telling the rest of the story in the confirmed season 4.
"I'm so tired of these short ass seasons," says one person in response, with another saying: "And they take two years between seasons even though they are much shorter. I hate it."
"I don't want the pacing to be faster I want more episodes," says someone else. "I just finished it and I was thinking the same thing. I paused the show to get a refill of my drink and saw I had ten minutes left in the episode and I was just like 'are you f***ing kidding me'. Then I did the math and I was like ok so the next three episodes must be JAM PACKED with action right up until the last second of the season finale otherwise what are we even doing. This is silly as hell. And it's gonna be two years til we get the next season- I'm just so incredibly disappointed. But yes, I agree these episodes are fantastic- just not for an eight episode run"
"I wouldn't be as upset as I have been over the past three nothing burger episodes if we were getting a 15 episode season," says another fan.
"For real. If season 4 has eight episodes that means there are only 11 episodes left. How are they possibly going to wrap it up in 11 episodes?" points out someone else.
The episode mainly seemed to be setting up future problems: the targeting of the gold cloaks, Daeron and Ormund Hightower in Tumbleton, and Criston Cole continuing to march. There was precious little payoff, however.
House of the Dragon continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. Keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.
For even more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and TV shows.
