NEW YORK, June 20 (UPI) — House of the Dragon show-runner Ryan Condal says fan criticism about Season 2 of his HBO fantasy series didn’t factor into how he proceeded with Season 3, which premieres Sunday.

“We continued on,” Condal said in a recent virtual press conference.

“We had a plan from the onset,” he explained.

“This is a four-season show. You have to wait two years in between each chapter. But, ultimately, this is one story,” he added. “To get upset about something midway is like the act in the middle of a play that you don’t like. You don’t like the turn that the story took in the middle. There’s a whole other two acts coming!”

He pointed out there is an excellent reason for the big gaps between seasons of the series, which is set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.

“I get the frustration,” he laughed.

“Shooting of the show — and this is after scripts are written — takes a year and then it takes seven months to make dragons. So, do the math. It’s not possible to come out every year. I’m very sorry, but you happen to be fans of a show called House of the Dragon. But, in a great way, we stuck with our plan, and I think everybody’s patience will be rewarded.”

The series follows two factions of the Targaryen family as they fight over who is the rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

It stars Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra, who was told by her dying father King Viserys (Paddy Considine) that she was next in the line of succession.

Viserys’ new wife Alicent (Olivia Cooke), however, interprets his final words to mean he wants their son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) to take the throne.

Also in the mix is Matt Smith’s Daemon, Rhaenyra’s husband and paternal uncle, who some in the Seven Kingdoms would like to see named king himself.

Season 2 ended with Alicent visiting Rhaenyra at Dragonstone and promising to allow Rhaenyra’s troops to enter King’s Landing as conquerers with no opposition in an effort to end the bloodshed.

Alicent also agreed to allow Rhaenyra to publicly execute Aegon, not knowing he had already run off.

Meanwhile, Daemon bends the knee and swears allegiance to Rhaenyra, instead of trying to seize the crown for himself.

Spoilers ahead.

Season 3 kicks off with the women’s agreement undermined by their own sons and a huge battle featuring ships and dragons taking place.

“People have been accustomed to Game of Thrones seasons having a slow build and then there’s an exploding midway through, certainly near the end,” Condal said.

“The fun of this one was like: ‘Well, that’s it, everybody. The bell rings in the boxing ring, they come out and we just throw our haymaker,'” he added. “It’s going to put people back on their heels, in a good way, because it just comes out so heavy and unexpectedly.”

Condal said the tone of the show has remained pretty consistent throughout its three seasons.

“This is a Westerosian show, a Shakespearean family tragedy. We’ve talked about that a lot in the beginning,” he explained.

“I think the mood of this probably changes a little bit in Season 3 as things get darkened, a bit bleaker. There are fits and starts throughout Season 1 and Season 2. You think, ‘Well, maybe there’s a chance that they will lay down arms and go find a different way to sort things out,'” he said.

“But I think, as more and more slights are leveled and more and more loss is experienced on both sides, a tit-for-tat brinksmanship that comes into play, we will sort of forget, ‘What was the first slight?'” he added. “There’s so much bad baggage about all these characters, resentment that builds and builds and builds.”