Spoiler warning: This review contains spoilers for the first and second seasons of HBO’s House of the Dragon.
★★★½
With season one surpassing the low expectations held by fans after the poorly received final season of Game of Thrones, the second season of House of the Dragon had to maintain the high stakes. It succeeded overall, though not without some flaws.
The first season left viewers on a dramatic cliffhanger, with a grief-stricken Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) seemingly ready to retaliate in the succession struggle that had been building all season. The looming threat of war had been hanging over viewers’ heads since the death of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine), and the usurpation of the Iron Throne by his son (but not named heir) Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).
The season two premiere does an excellent job of reestablishing all the key players, preserving the tension and intensifying the conflict, all while maintaining focus on the more personal issues that made Game of Thrones so compelling. The premiere strikes a careful balance between action and emotion, showing both sides as they strategise and build their armies, while also dedicating time to exploring Rhaenyra and Jace’s (Harry Collett) grief after the tragic death of Lucerys (Elliot Grihault). The gut-wrenching scene between the two, as Jace attempts to remain stoic and professional before breaking down, underscores the emotional core driving the brewing conflict.
This is further exemplified in one of the season’s most harrowing scenes, coined ‘Blood and Cheese’ in the books. The premiere’s final moments set the tone for a darker, more devastating season, with Daemon (Matt Smith) hiring two mercenaries to assassinate Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), in retaliation for Lucerys’s death. Although it is left ambiguous whether Daemon directly ordered it, Blood and Cheese instead murder Helaena’s (Phia Saban) young son, Jaehaerys, in a hauntingly brutal fashion. Although the slaughter occurs off-screen, the sounds are chilling, only worsened by Helaena’s distress. Having showcased Aegon and Helaena’s obvious adoration of their son throughout the episode, his murder complicates the line between the “good” and “evil” sides of the conflict, leaving both Team Black and Green with enough emotional anguish to justify their commitment to escalating the bloodshed.
The best episodes of the season build on these established emotional stakes to elevate the action, as in the critically acclaimed ‘The Red Dragon and the Gold’. Episode four encompasses everything that makes the Westeros universe so compelling: nail-biting tension, political scheming and emotional stakes, culminating in an incredible battle that showcases the sheer scale and destructive power of the dragons in devastating fashion. Aemond’s attempted murder of his brother, rooted in years of Aegon’s bullying and abuse, adds a personal layer to the conflict. Additionally, Rhaenys’s (Eve Best) death heartbreakingly illustrates the bond between dragon and dragonrider, with Rhaenys refusing to abandon her dragon even at the end. A clear standout, it is no wonder it was the most talked about episode of the season.
However, this episode also sets in motion my biggest issue with season two: the pacing. Placing the first “Dance of Dragons” encounter mid-season inevitably leads to a decrease in action. This in itself is not a problem: the show is often at its best with slower-paced, politically intriguing episodes. However, I do think the finale falters in this regard. Episode five needed to slow down to explore the fallout from the battle at Rooks Rest and re-evaluate who holds the power among the key players. Episodes six and seven keep the tension high with Rhaenyra’s search for new dragonriders — episode seven’s bloodbath when the potential dragonriders try to claim Vermithor was horrific and nail-biting to watch — and end with Rhaenyra displaying her newfound strength with three new dragons. This tension slowly dissipates throughout the season finale, which feels more like a mid-season episode, only ramping up again in the final scene as both sides prepare for war. Part of the problem is that it feels like the war has already begun. The premiere did a great job pushing both Rhaenyra and Aegon emotionally to the point of no return, so it is slightly confusing to end the season with another “war is beginning” scene, and does feel a bit anticlimactic.
Furthermore, Daemon’s Harrenhal arc dragged this season and often felt like it was rehashing his previously established guilt over his relationships, particularly with his brother and Rhaenyra. Harrenhal could have benefited from some editing, or Daemon could have been given more to do plot-wise. In a similar vein, Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke) character arc needed more work to justify her plea to Rhaenyra to end the bloodshed. There were glimpses of Alicent’s more sympathetic demeanour, such as her defence of Helaena and concern for her son Daeron, but these were explored in less depth than I would have preferred.
Finally, another aspect of this season I really enjoyed was the focus on the smallfolk, often overlooked and used as cannon fodder. With Rhaenyra recognising the need for more dragonriders and lacking more immediate relatives, she expands her search to any with Targaryen blood, introducing multiple non-noble characters as potentially integral players in the inevitable Green-Black war. Throughout the season, we followed three lowborn men, Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty), Ulf White (Tom Bennett) and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew). This exploration of the smallfolk provides viewers with a more nuanced perspective of both Aegon and Rhaenyra, akin to the more ambiguous structure of George R. R. Martin’s novel, Fire and Blood. Season two integrates its new side characters successfully, using them to hint at the unrest within King’s Landing, and providing intrigue about their roles within the story.
Overall, House of the Dragon was a captivating, if unevenly-paced season of television. It is easy to get caught up in the spectacle of the action, particularly with the visually impressive dragons constantly soaring in the background. However, the Game of Thrones universe has always been at its best when it centres on the personal stakes of its characters, rather than grandiose battles. As long as the third season corrects the shaky pacing of its predecessor, the next season is sure to build up to a messy, violent bloodbath as the war finally begins.
Words by Emily Nutbean
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