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The latest episode of HBO’s House of the Dragon Season 2, titled The Red Dragon and the Gold, has garnered the highest first-night viewership of the season, attracting 8.1 million viewers across various platforms. This figure, provided by Variety, surpasses the 7.8 million viewers of the season two premiere, marking a significant uptick in the show’s viewership.
This pivotal episode brought to life the Battle at Rook’s Rest, a crucial event in George R.R. Martin’s novel Fire & Blood, which is part of the larger Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series. The battle scene featured a dramatic confrontation between Prince Aemond Targaryen (played by Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon Vhagar, and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) with her dragon Meleys, set against the backdrop of political intrigue and familial betrayal.
Despite achieving a season-high, the series has seen a decline in viewers compared to its first season, which averaged over 9 million viewers per episode. However, streaming numbers have helped offset some of this decline, with an average first-night viewership of 7.5 million this season, down by approximately 18 to 20 percent from last year.
HBO notes that despite the initial drop, the season’s opening episode has accumulated 25 million viewers in the three weeks following its premiere, nearing the first season’s average of 29 million. This data includes viewership over a 90-day period post-premiere.
Warner Bros. Discovery highlighted that House of the Dragon experienced its best streaming week on Max during the week leading up to this record-breaking episode, likely boosted by viewers catching up over North America’s 4 July holiday.
The success of the latest episode and the overall series has led HBO to renew House of the Dragon for a third season, ensuring that fans will have more of the Targaryen saga to look forward to.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, games, and comics — you name it. When she’s not reading or geeking out about the latest shows on Netflix, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of meeting her idols.
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