House of the Dragon Season 2 – good but slow
I just realised I never did a complete review of the House of the Dragon. I wrote about episodes 1 to 4 and then stopped. Time for that to change.
Is House of the Dragon season 2 worth a watch?
I watched the final episode of House of the Dragon series two the day it was released. I’m not going to lie – I was looking forward to it, but with nothing approaching the excitement I used to feel for a new episode of A Game of Thrones.
However, I am a huge fantasy fan and anything with violence, swords, dragons, and the occasional boob, is good with me.
We ended season one with two power blocks vying for the throne. Enough talk and plotting – there will now be war. With dragons! Game on.
If you want a more detailed look at what I thought about episodes 1-4, check out my post here. To sum up, I loved the acting, the dialogue, the writing, and most of the characters.
I did complain about the confusing names and that similar appearances, especially among the kids, made things confusing. I also lamented the lack of any fucking action. I was slightly mollified by the fact that there was a great dragon fight in episode four and that, hopefully, it presaged a ton of war about to kick off.
Sadly, it just went back to a load of talk. I don’t want to see hours of people forming alliances and getting the backing of different houses. I want to see those houses fighting and murdering each other. Otherwise, I’d watch the West Wing or House of Cards or something.
What I liked
As I said, the acting is superb. In particular, Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra, Matt Smith as Daemon, and Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower. Rhys Ifans is always great, but he is barely in season two.
The writing and dialogue are similarly impressive. Characters speak with subtlety, menace, intrigue, and eloquence. Most of the time, anyway.
The set design and direction are good, too. This is to be expected given the budget and the fact there is an aesthetic precedence set by season one, and also by Game of Thrones.
There is a lot going on in House of Dragon, and on the whole, I have enjoyed it.
What I didn’t like
My dislikes are similar to the first four episodes. I’m sure it is just me, but when someone says someone offscreen is doing something, I frequently forget who they are. With names like Daemon, Aemond, Aegon, and so on (alliteration intended) it is easy to get confused.
Similarly, the hair colour. It isn’t such a big deal with the adults, but with the kids, it is hard to know whose kids they are or why I should care. There was a scene when a kid was murdered by two assassins, and I really struggled to remember which child it was. When I later found out that Jaehaerys was killed but Jaehaera survived, I didn’t really care. Sure, they were twins, but all the kids looked the same and I had forgotten whose offspring they were.
But my biggest gripe, by far, is that nothing much happens. There were some new dragon riders, a couple of murders, some random shagging, etc, but I was bored quite a lot of the time.
I had found season one a bit slow, but I reasoned it was to establish characters and the world they inhabit. By the end of the season, everyone was poised for war. Then I had to wait two years to see that slow build come to fruition. But when it arrived, I found season two was slower, and by the end, everyone was just… even more poised for war. Wow.
Now, I am expected to wait another two years in the hope that something cool happens in season three. I’m not sure I can be bothered.
I remember when Game of Thrones was coming out – everyone was talking about it. Often, something shocking happened, and friends at work or in the pub would ask, “Please tell me you saw it last night.” Because they wanted to discuss it. That just isn’t happening with House of the Dragon. Partly because fewer people are watching it, but among those that do – there often isn’t much to say.
Final thoughts
All told, House of the Dragon’s second season is a masterclass in acting and subtlety, brimming with powerful performances and layered storytelling. It’s a pleasure to watch great actors navigate thorny family dynamics and politics with such finesse. But the show’s pacing and those confounding names could be off-putting, especially for viewers looking for a quicker build-up to the promised conflict.
For now, House of the Dragon remains a show about a war that hasn’t yet begun, one that seems content to stay simmering just below the boiling point. Let’s hope that in season three, the flames are finally unleashed. It has been confirmed that the show will finish after season four, so they had best get to it.