Summary
House of the Dragonis back after almost two years away, and it’s a mostly strong return from theGame of Thronesprequel. In a sense, a lot of the hard work forHouse of the Dragonseason 2 has been done — season 1 re-introduced the world, spanned decades, and went through multiple recastings. Season 2, in contrast, has a settled cast, no time jumps, and The Dance of the Dragons begins in earnest. The prequel’s return picks up shortly afterHouse of the Dragonseason 1’s ending, and begins building in exciting ways from there, although not everything lands.
House Of The Dragon Season 2 Begins With Classic GOT Table-Setting… And Some Big Moments
Things are already starting to move quickly
A lot of what’s in the first couple ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2episodes is pretty much what you’d expect. Similar toGame of Thrones' approach, it’s about getting the pieces back in place, and setting up the board for the chess moves to begin. There are plenty of small council scenes, conversations in dimly lit rooms, and characters starting to scheme and plot.
It’s not reinventing (or breaking) the wheel and not all interactions are equal, but it’s mostly very well done. The best parts ofGame of Throneswere often conversations between two characters. I don’t thinkHouse of the Dragonhasquitethe same breadth of characters who can live up to that, but with the right ones, it does achieve it.
…Despite the truncated episode count (only eight instead of 10), I don’t think anyone needs to worry too much about this repeating the pacing problems ofGame of Thronesseason 8.
There are, a little more surprisingly, some bigger moments in those opening episodes, which isn’t somethingGame of Thronestypically did in its first few seasons (outside of Joffrey Baratheon’s death), of course. However, despite the truncated episode count (only eight instead of 10), I don’t think anyone needs to worry too much about this repeating the pacing problems ofGame of Thronesseason 8. The pace gradually increases across the first four episodes and there’s a good understanding of how the war is playing out and why decisions are being made, meaning the buildup makes a lot of sense.
House Of The Dragon Season 2’s Cast Is Great - With Two Clear Standouts
Emma D’Arcy & Tom Glynn-Carney are the highlights of episodes 1-4
House of the Dragon’s castwas uniformly great in season 1, but one concern I did have coming into season 2 was how the absence of Paddy Considine’s King Viserys might impact things. He gave, for me, the best performance in season 1, and one that rivaled the best inGame of Thronestoo. And while he has two candidates trying to fill his throne, he’s not easy to replace.
How Every Main Character In House Of The Dragon Dies In The Books
Fire & Blood explores the rise and fall of the Targaryen. Here is how every main House of the Dragon character dies according to Westerosi history.
Maybe I shouldn’t be too surprised that Considine’s best replacement is… well, Viserys' replacement, Tom Glynn-Carney’s King Aegon II. The actor appeared late in season 1 and, while he was good, there weren’t many shades to Aegon. That changes in season 2, where he gets to showcase a lot more range. Like Viserys, he provides the show with much-needed humor and levity, but there’s also a real tragedy to the character, and you can feel how his role weighs heavily upon him. It’s a terrific performance, andI was shocked by how much I liked Aegon in the first four episodes.
Rhaenyra begins the season mourning the loss of her son, Lucerys, and you really get to feel all of her raw pain, grief, and anger…
The other standout is, less shockingly, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen. Already great in season 1, they take things to new heights this year. Rhaenyra begins the season mourning the loss of her son, Lucerys, and you really get to feel all of her raw pain, grief, and anger, while at the same time watching as she tries to hold it together and make the right calls as a ruler. It’s a phenomenally nuanced performance that finds a wonderful balance between emotion and restraint, and absolutely deserves to be in awards contention when the time comes.
Some Parts Of House Of The Dragon Season 2 May Divide Audiences
The show makes some surprising choices, for better and worse
For the most part, I think anyone who likedHouse of the Dragonseason 1 should be very much on board with season 2, but there are some… let’s say interesting narrative and character choices, which book readers, in particular, may not agree with. It’s difficult to get too into the weeds of these without spoilers, butthere were definitely some changes fromFire & Bloodthat I didn’t expect — some of which worked, some of which didn’t.
This is true of any adaptation, of course, but particularly when turning an in-universe historical account into a TV show with characters who need to feel like living, breathing people with a lot more detail and depth. I get why most of the changes were made (and season 1 had plenty too). There are some changes that add new layers to characters and a much greater sense of intrigue to their arcs, while others lose a bit of impact (one moment I was particularly hyped for left me cold), and some will just be purely divisive.
When The Dance Of The Dragons Begins, It’s Truly Epic
House of the Dragon delivers dragon spectacle that rivals Game of Thrones
The Targaryen civil war is calledThe Dance of the Dragonsfor a reason, andHouse of the Dragonseason 2 does begin to live up to that name. Some of the bigger battles will come later down the line — season 3 should have a lot, based on the book — and season 2 does pull a couple of narrative tricks that feel a bit like earlyGame of Thronesin getting around fights, but it’s all to keep its powder dry for when the Dance does truly explode.
The Biggest Dragons In Game Of Thrones & House Of The Dragon
Between Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and the lore from George R.R. Martin’s books, these dragons stand out as the biggest to roam Westeros.
Again, without getting into spoilery territory, I’ll just say thatthe spectacle here, in terms of dragon action specifically, rivals anything inGame of Thrones. From the beginning, I’ve really appreciated howHouse of the Dragonmakes its dragons all feel distinct (something I never quite felt its predecessor achieved), but there’s a true brilliance to seeing them unleashed. A couple of scenes made me gasp, others really captured the horrors of war (and unfathomable power of dragons) that is at the heart of George R.R. Martin’s world, and Vhagar, in particular, remains a terrifying prospect.
If it can build on that momentum, then forget Team Green or Team Black - we’ll all be winners.
Ultimately, halfway throughHouse of the Dragonseason 2, I’m happy with what I’ve seen and excited for where things will go. I was a little more uncertain after the first two episodes, which are a bit more uneven and where I have bigger complaints, but episodes 3 and 4 are superb, and have some of my favorite moments of the show so far. If it can build on that momentum, then forget Team Green or Team Black — we’ll all be winners.
House of the Dragon season 2 will begin Sunday, June 16, at 9pm ET on HBO and Max. The second season consists of eight episodes, and is rated TV-MA for sex and nudity, violence and gore, profanity, and intense scenes.
House of the Dragon
Cast
Taking place about 172 years before the events ofGame of Thrones,House of the Dragontells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria.
