Season 2 of House of the Dragon, the beloved prequel to the complicated television legacy that is Game of Thrones, is off to a strong start. But what’s this? Viewership is LOWER than it was last season? How can this be? Are the Greens up to something? Traitors to the Realm, all of them!

According to Warner Bros. statistics, viewership of the season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon dipped by 22% percent. Only 7.8 million viewers. A pittance! The opener of season 1? 10 million views. The biggest viewership day in HBO history. Now that’s more like it.

What could have possibly happened? The most likely answer: dads.

The second season premiered on Father’s Day. Whoever thought that was a good idea should be thrown in the dungeon. Father’s Day evening is generally a low viewership day for TV. People are too busy spending quality time with their dads or whatever. You know what dads get you? Trouble.

This Civil War between the Targaryens wouldn’t have happened if Viserys Targaryen hadn’t gone babbling about The Prince That Was Promised to Alicent Hightower on his deathbed. This whole Dance of the Dragons biz could have been avoided entirely … except for the fact that Alicent’s dad was ALSO plotting to thwart Rhaenyra’s succession to the Iron Throne. You just can’t take dads anywhere.

Will House of the Dragon bounce back? It’s likely. After all, the second episode of season 1 hit the series all-time viewer apex with 10.2 million viewers. Despite the series low, HBO is still banking on the Song of Ice and Fire universe. The spin-off series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms just started filming. We’re gonna have like 10 new series before Winds of Winter comes out, I’m betting.