After only eight weeks, the finale for House of the Dragon season 2 has aired and the expected two-year wait for the third season has begun. It was announced, long before the second season premiered, that the series would be shortening the season length to only eight episodes, something that was found to be controversial among the fan base. Many fans felt that a large reason for the faulty final season of Game of Thrones was due to constraining the season to only six episodes.
House of the Dragon‘s second season saw death, battles, dragons, and drama, but did it live up to the enormous standards of a Game of Thrones show? Read ahead to find out.
[Warning: Spoilers for House of the Dragon below!]
The first half of House of the Dragon season 2 delivers classic Game of Thrones
The second season opens with a breakneck pace, delivering a stunning four-episode run of television that showcases Game of Thrones in top form. A major reason for the high regards begins with the deliverance of long awaited fan-favorite moments from George R.R. Marrin’s Fire and Blood, the infamous book that the series is based on.
The season premiere delivered on the anticipated and brutal Blood and Cheese book moment to close out the episode. While non book readers might have been shocked at what transpired, some faithful book readers were seen tweeting about how the sequence didn’t deliver on the promised brutality. While it’s understandable for faithful book readers to be disappointed when an adaptation is not 100% faithful to the source material, it’s important to remember that this is, in fact, an adaptation, not a 1:1 remake. It wouldn’t have been necessary for the sequence to go any further than it did.
While it seemed episode two might slow the quickened pace, the second episode again delivers a famous Fire and Blood sequence, the Cargyll bowl. After King Aegon Targaryen II’s heir, Jaehaerys Targaryen, is murdered by Blood and Cheese, Criston Cole sends Ser Arryk Cargyll of the King’s Guard to murder Rhaenyra Targaryen in secret on Dragonstone.
While Ser Arryk is on Aegon Targaryen II’s King’s Guard, his twin brother Ser Erryk is a sworn member of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s Queen’s Guard. The second episode culminates with the infamous confrontation and duel between the two brothers, ultimately resulting in both of their deaths. Delivering Blood and Cheese and then the duel of the Cargyll twins in back to back episodes starts season two off with a much-needed bang.
Episode three ultimately serves as the build up episode to the massive event known as the Battle of Rook’s Rest. With blood already spilled by both Team Black and Team Green, war became inevitable and Criston Cole marched out of King’s Landing with an army heading to battle. While some may consider episode three a bit slower than the first two episodes, the build up to the main event always ends up being some of my favorite material, and episode three is just that. The contrasting perspectives of Criston Cole and his army and Rhaenyra Targaryen and her council makes for an incredibly interesting episode. The introduction of Alicent Hightower’s brother Gwayne Hightower (played by Freddie Fox) served as a highlight of the episode. Episode three also delivers the first look at Baela Targaryen’s dragon Moondancer, another major highlight of the episode.
Episode four undoubtedly takes the cake for best of the season. The Battle of Rook’s Rest, a massive moment from Fire and Blood, finally takes place and culminates a magical four-episode run to begin the second season. The highlight characters of the first four episodes are with little doubt Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) and King Aegon Targaryen II (Tom Glynn-Carney), and it just so happens that Rook’s Rest primarily focuses on these two characters and their dragons. Both Eve Best and Tom Glynn-Carney brought such depth to their respective characters this season, even in the most minutely detailed moments.
Beyond the character performances, the final fifteen minutes of the episode delivers an old-fashioned Game of Thrones battle full of spectacle and pure magic, something not seen on television in over five years. The episode sadly culminates with the fiery death of Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys, ending Eve Best’s fantastic run on the show. Although they defeated Rhaenys, Team Green suffered a massive blow with the permanent crippling of King Aegon Targaryen II and his dragon Sunfyre after both being burnt by Vhagar. The gruesome and quite frankly awesome duel between Meleys and Sunfyre and Meleys and Vhagar showcases how desperately this show needs more dragon action going forward.
Episodes 5-8 bring second season to a screeching halt
While I mostly have positive thoughts on this season, it’s hard to deny that the back half of House of the Dragon season 2 certainly has its faults. With the remarkable precedent set by episodes 1-4, there was great expectation for the final four episodes to continue the pace and deliver a worthy second half to the season. Episode five understandably slows down the pace, as it gives the audience some time to process the events that just unfolded at Rooks’ Rest. The only issue is: the pace never really picks back up after that. Rook’s Rest, as spectacular as it was, in a way reinvented the show and set the pace back to zero for what feels like the rest of the season.
Episodes six, seven, and even eight don’t really find ways to quicken the pace, mainly because they don’t need to. Beyond Rook’s Rest, there was no real culminating event in sight for this season, which ultimately feels like there was little purpose to the last four episodes. Episode eight essentially ends the season on another promise of a coming war, something that the ending of the first season sets the stage for. This essentially could feel as though the series is jogging in place at times, especially in the back half of the season.
Something that I think hindered this season is the quite apparent budget constraints on the series. There has been some mention floated around that the series reduced the season from ten to eight episodes to make the most of its budget. A similar move was made in season eight of Game of Thrones to be able to sink a large chunk of its budget into its movie-sized episodes. The only difference between season eight of Game of Thrones and this season is the only major battle sequence was Rook’s Rest.
While episode seven’s culminating sequence of newcomer dragon-riders Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) and Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) claiming their dragons was described as the other budget-heavy sequence this season, it didn’t necessarily deliver the same payoff that a large battle does. Ultimately, if House of the Dragon continues to have eight episode seasons, it needs to sink more time into action sequences throughout the season.
The show also needs to move on from mentioning The Song of Ice and Fire prophecy as well. It’s understandable for there to be a constant connection to the flagship series, but the constant mention of it sometimes takes the audience out of the moment. The glimpses of the white walkers and Daenerys in Daemon’s season finale vision felt unnecessary as well. Thankfully, it seems Daemon’s Harrenhal season-long plotline has culminated, and we won’t be seeing any more of his weekly visions he’s been having.
Final thoughts on House of the Dragon season 2
Overall, season two still felt like event television every week. The cinematography, score, production design, VFX, costume design, and more were constantly on point throughout the entirety of the season. The new additions to the cast are all fantastic as well, and feel properly adapted from the books. The casting department has delivered since day one for this series. Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), an unintentionally hilarious character, is also the underrated MVP of this season. The second season, while faulty, is still a massive triumph of television, let’s hope that season three can continue the series’ run of success.
House of the Dragon season 2 is now streaming on Max. How did you feel about this season? How could it have been better? Let us know what you think on social media @mycosmiccircus.
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