Season 3 of Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy's "House of the Dragon" premieres Sunday. Photo courtesy of HBO

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!"