IIncludes SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2’s finale.
Summary
After a stellar first season,House of the Dragonseason 2’s reviews have been more of a mixed bag from audiences, and it’s worth breaking down the show’s pros and cons. The series is based onFire & Blood, a companion book toGeorge R.R. Martin’sA Song of Ice & Fireseriesthat examines the reign of the Targaryen dynasty from a zoomed-out, fictional historical text. Because of this,HBO’s adaptation has to take frequent creative liberties to develop the events of the Dance of the Dragonsas a TV series.
House of the Dragonseason 2’s endingsees another verbal confrontation between childhood friends Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before cutting to a closing montage of armies and navies mobilizing.While the montage undoubtedly gets the heart racing, it wasn’t the action-packed conclusion many viewers were hoping for, and it subsequently ended up with one of the lowest IMDb scores in the series. There’s plenty to analyze here regarding what worked and what didn’t.
10House Of The Dragon Takes Time To Set Up Conflict (In A Good Way)
Rushing The Action Would’ve Been A Massive Mistake
The idea that “nothing happened” inHouse of the Dragonseason 2 is absurd. There is a notable shift in Westeros from the start of the season to the end, with Rhaenyra having assembled massive armies and several dragonriders, while Aegon is forced to flee the capital and Aemond is losing his grip. The show would not be enjoyable if it simply jumped from battle to battle without any character narrative in between, asit’s the interpersonal dynamics that make great battles like Rook’s Rest or the Blackwater inGame of Thronesso engaging.
Speaking ofGame of Thrones, the original TV show’s best seasons are widely considered to be the earlier ones, where action was minimal, and the narrative focused on politics and character dynamics.House of the Dragoncarefully lays seeds for various conflicts like the Gullet, the Butcher’s Ball, and more, so they will ultimately feel more rewarding. Oppositely,Game of Thronesseasons 7 & 8 jumped from conflict to conflict in practically every episode and resulted in constant logistical complaints and nearly meaningless action. That’s not what HOTD should be.
Season 2’s Character Dynamics Weren’t As Strong
While the complaint aboutHouse of the Dragon’slack of action is slightly misguided, complaints about the season in general aren’t unfounded. The TV series should focus on politicking and character dynamics, but those scenes just aren’t as compelling as they were inGame of Thrones. The show relied on original, non-book dynamics to pad out its time, and many felt uninteresting and repetitive. For example,Lord Corlys meets Alyn of Hull at the same location and has some variation of the same conversationin almost every episode.
These are both interesting characters, but their scenes started to lack engagement as time went on. Another example is Rhaenyra and Mysaria, with their scene in the finale being the perfect example of just feeling like a rehash of all their previous material. Comparing them to common scene partners inGame of Thrones, like Tyrion and Varys or Cersei and Margaery, there’s a notable absence of that immeasurable, engrossing flare that made prolonged dialogue scenes in the original HBO show so worthwhile.
8House Of The Dragon Adds Depth To Flat Book Characters
HOTD Improves Upon Character Perception From Fire & Blood
While these dynamics aren’t quite where they need to be for engaging television,House of the Dragon’scharacters are a step up fromFire & Blood. It’s vital to remember the nature of the source material text. It’s not a novel; it’s a fictional historical account. Many of these characters don’t have explored personalities or internal conflicts, it’s all primarily implied by their actions and, in many cases, there are characters of important political positions who don’t have many notable actions.
The primary example would be King Viserys, who, played by Paddy Considine in season 1, was praised by George R.R. Martin for being a better version than his book character. In season 2,House of the Dragonintroduced figures like Hugh and Addam, who are far more fascinating and complex than the text would make them seem. Similarly, the show continues to explore the psychology of season 1 characters like Alicent, Jacaerys, and Criston Cole, who are all more interesting than their book counterparts.
Season 1’s Best Dynamics Were Barely In Season 2
To no fault of the TV series,House of the Dragonseason 2 suffered from some of its best characters being too spread out. After the Dance of the Dragons begins in the book, characters quickly start to move around the map to fulfill their purposes in the war. It makes sense strategically, but it doesn’t necessarily make for great television. Considering some of season 1’s most effective character dynamics, there are a handful that did capture the aforementionedGame of Thronesflare, and season 2 lacked all of them.
Daemon’s season 1 dynamics with Viserys and Otto were always outstanding, as were Rhaenyra and Alicent’s scenes together.
Daemon, Alicent, and Rhaenyra have proven to be among the most consistently engaging characters in theHouse of the Dragoncast. Daemon’s season 1 dynamics with Viserys and Otto were always outstanding, as were Rhaenyra and Alicent’s scenes together.One character who surfaced as having an incredibly enjoyable scene presence was Aegon, and the show suffered without his humor and arrogance after he was injured at Rook’s Rest.
6HOTD’s Major Action Set Pieces Are Top-Notch Television
The Dragon Action Is Unrivaled
Something that’s carried over fromGame of Thronesis the quality of medieval fantasy action inHouse of the Dragon. The Battle of Rook’s Rest was one of thebest battles in theGame of Thronesfranchise, with the production value and narrative impact that made the Battle of the Bastards and Hardhome unforgettable. Not to mention, it wasthe first time audiences really got to see live dragons fighting, which made for a beautiful visual spectacle.
If that wasn’t enough on its own,audiences also got the Sowing of the Seeds, allowing for even more great dragon moments. It didn’t include as many characters as the book version, but it didn’t weaken the intensity between Hugh, Ulf, and the dragons. While so many other fantasy shows suffer from wonky CGI,House of the Dragonis still at the top of its game in bringing Martin’s world to life in a believable manner.
5House Of The Dragon’s Cast Is Unbelievably Good
Every Character Is Cast Perfectly
Even when their characters aren’t at their most interesting, theHouse of the Dragoncastis phenomenal and incredibly fun to watch. Matt Smith was arguably underutilized with so many of Daemon’s scenes at Harrenhal, but he’s still one of the show’s most enjoyable talents. Rhys Ifans had some of his best scenes in the series as Otto in the earlier episodes, whilePhia Saban and Tom Glynn-Carney were consistently outstanding as Helaena and Aegon.
In terms of the newcomers, Tom Taylor left audiences wanting more with Cregan Stark. All the dragonseeds were played terrifically, withClinton Liberty’s Addam of Hull standing out as particularly exceptional in the final few episodes. Gayle Rankin and Sir Simon Russell Beale were also terrific, bringing Harrenhal to life. HBO’s casting rarely misses the mark, especially in theGame of Thronesuniverse.
4House Of The Dragon Season 2 Needed More Episodes
8 Episodes Leaves Audiences Wanting More
House of the Dragon’sseason 2 finale was outstanding television, but it wasn’t on par with theGame of Thronesfranchise’s other finales.There’s a specific connotation and expectation that denotes the finale and penultimate episodes in this franchisethat season 2, episode 8, didn’t meet. In an interview withTHR, writer Ryan Condal explains some of what went into the thought process for the shortened episode count, and it seems like costs were a significant reason for pushing certain events back. Read his full quote below:
“When you’re as a showrunner, you’re always in the position of having to balance storytelling and the resources that you have available to tell that story. One of the things that came into play in season two is: What is the final destination of the series and where are we going? It was a combination of factors that led us to rebalance the season knowing now where we’re going. We wanted to rebalance the story in such a way that we had three great seasons of television [after season one] to round out and tell this story. When you’re trying to mount the show, which requires a tremendous amount of resources, construction, armor, costumes, visual effects … we are trying to give The Gullet — which is arguably the second most anticipated action event of Fire & Blood — trying to give it the time and the space that it deserves.”
So, the Battle of the Gullet was the original plan for a season 2 ending point, which is instead being pushed back to season 3. If they’d had the resources for two more episodes, including the Gullet in episode 9 or 10, the season as a whole might’ve felt more fulfilling and better-paced by audience standards. The WGA strike in 2023 could’ve also contributed, as it seems the writing plan changed at the last minute, according to Executive Producer Sara Hess when speaking withEW.
3Some Of HOTD’s Best Scenes Felt Contrived
House Of The Dragon Forces Characters Into Dangerous Situations For Drama
In an effort to amend the distance between the main characters,House of the Dragonfound ways to bring characters together. The twoprimary examples are the scenes shared by Rhaenyra and Alicent, which don’t occur in the books. These are fantastic scenes with stellar writing and performances that enforce the show’s main themes, ideas, and overarching narratives. However, due to the nature of the war, they seem outlandish.
needlessly putting the main characters in perilous situations for dramatic purposes willalwaysreceive extra criticism.
The episode 3 scene where Rhaenyra sneaks into King’s Landing is far-fetched. It’s the sort of material similar to the Rhaenys dragonpit scene in season 1, where a book change is made that just raises so many questions about practicality that it almost doesn’t seem worth it.Game of Thronesis held to a higher standard of realism than other fantasy shows because of the subversion that the main characters could dieat any moment. Therefore, needlessly putting the main characters in perilous situations for dramatic purposes willalwaysreceive extra criticism.
2House Of The Dragon’s Season 2 Ending Sets Up Season 3 Perfectly
Season 3 Has To Fulfill Desires From Season 2
The term “set-up” has become a point of frustration surroundingHouse of the Dragon, especially after season 1’s closing moments ensured Rhaenyra would be back for blood in season 2. Now, another season 2 finale that “sets up” the coming war is understandably frustrating. However, it’s important to note thatonly two seasons remain, and many battles and critical events are spread out between them.
All the Westerosi armies surround the Crownlands and Riverlands now, and they have no choice but to collide.
For audiences who wanted more action, consider it this way: armies take time to mobilize in Westeros, and season 2 importantly showed the difficulties and hesitancy that go into amassing forces for war. It’s like a chess board, where all the pieces need to be set up and move toward the center of the board. Thepieces need to be put in their proper places organically, but once that’s been done, the pace quickens, and they start capturing each other. All the Westerosi armies surround the Crownlands and Riverlands now, and they have no choice but to collide.
1HOTD’s Use Of Aegon’s Dream Is A Mixed Bag, But There’s Thematic Importance To It
The Use Of Aegon’s Dream Is About Targaryen Elitism Leading To War
The incorporation of Aegon’s Dream intoHouse of the Dragonhas received mixed reception. There’s a frustration that naturally comes with it, as though it allows some connectivity between the two shows; it’s also just a reminder that the ending ofGame of Throneswas horrible. The season 2 finale even went as far as to show the dream, with Daemon’s arc shifting because of it. There was some dismay about what the vision implies, but that seems to miss the point of it.
As showrunner Ryan Condal toldEW:“We are not trying to make any kind of specific interpretation of a prophecy that has yet to be revealed by its author.” Showing Daenerys in the vision doesn’t imply that she was the Prince That Was Promised inGame of Thrones;it implies that the Targaryen family, specifically Aegon the Conqueror, envisions itself as the savior that needs to rule. This sort of prophetic self-importance then becomes a major proponent ofHouse of the Dragon’swars, leading to thousands of innocents dying. That’s worthwhile thematic value.
Sources:THR,EW,EW
House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon is a 2022 fantasy drama set in the world of Westeros, chronicling the Targaryen dynasty at its height. The story revolves around King Viserys’s controversial decision to name his daughter Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne, sparking tensions and divisions within the realm.
