HBO ’s mega - hitHouse of the Dragonjust wrapped itshighly - anticipated indorsement seasonwith a whimper more than a fringe . After two retentive days of waiting , the show fare back on June 16 with a sawed-off season of just eight episode , foretell to deliver a thrilling and compelling story despite the rock-bottom runtime . However , after a unattackable start , the show lost steam going into its finale , to the point where it ’s no overstatement to say it failed on almost every level .
The show ’s defect become more flagrant when compared to its predecessor , Game of Thrones . Although it lose much of its splendour because of its now - infamous 8th season , Game of Throneswas at the peak of its quality during its acclaimed soph effort , which produced some of its most memorable scenes , dialogues , and episode .
ComparingHouse of the Dragonseason 2 andGame of Thronesseason 2 is almost an flak on the former , considering just how ranking the latter is , outpacing it in every possible metric , from the writing to the character ontogeny and even the spectacle . But why exactly isGoTseason 2 so much good , and how canHouse of the Dragonimprove moving forward ?
What Game of Thrones did right
More significantly , it actually advance the story , have major development on every front , including Renly Baratheon ’s ( Gethin Anthony ) decease and the subsequent Lannister - Tyrell bond , Catelyn Stark ( Michelle Fairley ) releasing Jaime Lannister ( Nikolaj Coster - Waldau ) and weakening Robb ’s ( Richard Madden ) hold on the North , Jon Snow ( Kit Harington ) becoming postulate with the wildlings , and Theon Greyjoy ’s ( Alfie Allen ) perfidy of Robb and his seize of Winterfell .
The season also introduced multiple major thespian to the story , include Stannis Baratheon ( Stephen Dillane ) , the red priestess Melisandre ( Carice van Houten ) , Ser Davos Seaworth ( Liam Cunningham ) , Brienne of Tarth ( Gwendoline Christie ) , Margaery Tyrell ( Natalie Dormer ) , Ygritte ( Rose Leslie ) , Gilly ( Hannah Murray ) , and Talisa ( Oona Chaplin ) . All of these characters became crucial in future season , with their stories receiving enough tending throughout time of year 2 to cement their place among the show ’s already well large ensemble .
Across 10 episode , Thronesseason 2 confidently move the storey forward , rearrange its pieces to where they needed to be for the conclusion . The show always smartly used episode 9 , rather than 10 , to present its large set part ; in season 2 ’s case , it ’s the now - iconic Battle of the Blackwater , where Tyrion Lannister ( Peter Dinklage ) handled the defence force of King ’s Landing against Stannis ’ force while an increasingly pall Cersei Lannister ( Lena Headey ) blot out on Maegor ’s fastening with the other ladies of the tourist court , include Sansa Stark ( Sophie Turner ) .
Blackwateris often believe amongthe bestGame of Thronesepisodes , and for a good understanding : It was exciting and technically impressive , interpret a turn item in the story and affect multiple major characters . The legal action in installment 9 allowed for a calmer and more focused 10th episode , which terminate the time of year on a solid note that promised a new yet equally exciting third time of year .
What House of the Dragon did wrong
Contrast that to time of year 2 ofHouse of the Dragon . The main way out here is the want of any progress in the story ; liken every report from the first of the season to the end , and you ’ll find little to no development . Rhaenyra ( Emma D’Arcy ) is still at Dragonstone without the Iron Throne and can not struggle without risking her death . After eight episodes of him tripping on shrooms and making funny faces , Daemon ( Matt Smith ) is still firm to Rhaenyra , making her the same hope he made in the season 1 finale . And the Greens still have the Iron Throne , Rhaenyra still has more dragons , and everyone is still gear up for a state of war that ’s always talked about but never actually shown .
The season ’s centerpiece , the Battle of Rook ’s eternal rest , where Rhaenys Targaryen ( Eve Best ) dies , come in episode 4 , and while a fine vitrine of Draco - on - dragon action , it lacked the same excited shock as Ned Stark ’s execution orthe ill-famed Red Wedding .
Season 2 ofHouse of the Dragonis the epitome of “ relation , not establish : ” It continuously says that state of war will be terrible and goes on and on about how many lives will be lost and how it ’s all needless without ever really show any of the annoyance and destruction these two spoiled and totally unprepared would - be monarchs are causing . It ’s all talk , and not even interesting talking ; the once rich and revealing duologue from earlyGame of Throneshave been supervene upon with dumbed - down explanations about how , in font you did n’t have it off , warfare is regretful .
The lesson that House of the Dragon has forgotten
Like the previous seasons ofGame of Thrones , House of the Dragonseems to think sports fan require spectacle rather than narrative , and surplus rather than subtlety , which could n’t be further from the truth . Thronesbecame famous not for its action ready spell but for its rivet political drama . All these elements are mostly missing fromHouse of the Dragon — the closest thing we got was Otto Hightower ’s ( Rhys Ifans ) monologue in episode 2 and perhaps the Green Council ’s power struggle in installment 5 . Other than that , the time of year was mostly pass talking about dragons , bastards , deficiency of dragons , excess of whoreson , and so on .
Do n’t get me wrong , I relish a skillful action plant piece as much as the next guy — Hugh Hammer ( Kieran Bew ) claim Vermithor was an exhilarate chronological sequence that rank among the best the franchise has ever done — but I handle about the tale much more . I ’m sorry to sayHouse of the Dragonhas done very little to develop its characters beyond their introductory outline . Blackwaterwas intense not just because of the utilisation of wildfire and the subsequent conflict but because of what the actual fight imply for the story ; we were ask with these characters — Tyrion , Cersei , Sansa , Davos , Bronn ( Jerome Flynn ) , the Hound ( Rory McCann ) — and cared about their fates . It was n’t about the natural process ; it was about the story , and the action was a incentive .
Compare that to the Battle of Rook ’s Rest inHouse of the Dragons , and you ’ll instantly find the defect ; it ’s not about the story or even the characters but about the dragons and how cool they look ; it ’s about Vhagar , not Aemond ( Ewan Mitchell ) . By grade more importance on surplus and pageantry , House of the Dragonhas draw a blank the core values of the story , which is exactlywhat happened toGame of Thrones ‘ finale : It was n’t about a Brobdingnagian struggle against the Night King , it was about the divination and the living bonding against the drained . It was about The Prince That Was Promised and the Three - Eyed Raven and ice and fire coming together at last .
We wish about all those thing and desire to see them matter . deplorably , House of the Dragondoesn’t care about the involution of the Dance : the line , the acoustics , the instruments , and the player do n’t really matter because it ’s all about the steps , the one - two - three that takes you from one side of the stage to the other .
Two shows, one throne
In the battle of the soph seasons , there is no contest here : Game of Thronesis the much superior show . Its second season was an actual continuation of the story rather than an eight - episode setup for a war that ’s been teased advertising nauseam without really showing it . What ’s frustrative is thatHouse of the Dragoncould’ve easily improved its standing by include two more episodes . Nine would be the Battle of the Gullet , where Jace ( Harry Collett ) and his flying dragon , Vermax , die , allowing for a tenth episode where a grieving and perhaps even more ruthless Rhaenyra drive King ’s landing place , thus switching sides with the Greens compared to how they started the season .
Instead , we get an extended collage where hoi polloi prepare for a war they ’ve been prepare for since the first time of year ’s finale . It ’s such a pig - out that feel not only unsatisfying but really cheap . Compare that toGoT‘s season 2 and its ending , which finds Samwell Tarly ( John Bradley ) lost beyond the wall and come fount to face with the White Walkers and the army of the idle .
It was a massive moment for the show because it was the first clock time it usher the White Walkers and their powerful army in full . It was a ratification of everything it had been promising since its first sequence , and a beautiful closing guesswork for a stellar season that cement the show as one - of - a - kind on idiot box .
House of the Dragonmessed up its soph time of year , put up a nothing - burger that could be well skipped , and nothing would happen . If we once thought this show might restore our tarnished religious belief in the enfranchisement , we now seemingly have an answer , and it ’s a resounding “ no . ”
House of the Dragonis available tostream on Max .
