The first season of HBO’sGame of Thronesprequel , House of the Dragon , offered a actual change of stride from its smash - hit predecessor . Across itseight seasons , Game of Thronesdelivered jaw - dropping deaths , fight , and betrayals at a steady rate that was as impressive as it was addicting . It arrive as a bit of a shock then that HBO chose to follow upThroneswith not only a prequel set nearly 200 years before the events of that game - changing TV show , but one that run more like a dull - burn piece of castle intrigue than a blood - douse , straightforward medieval phantasy epic poem .
Littered with clip jumps and spectacular fault in dedication , House of the Dragon‘s 10 - episode first time of year turned out to be — for all intents and purpose — an extended prologue to the show ’s real story : a Targaryen polite warfare have it off as the Dance of the Dragons .
Watching the season was like keep an eye on a ignite fuze tardily snake its way toward a full keg of black pulverization . The end game was always clear , butHouse of the Dragon‘s debut season , nonetheless , ended not with the boot that viewers had been wait for all along , but the mo seeminglyjust beforethe blowup . Now , nearly two class later , House of the Dragonhas deliver with a 2nd time of year that is meaner , bigger , and all - around more spectacular than its first . While they mostly make good on that season ’s fucking promises , though , House of the Dragon‘s new installment ca n’t escape the show ’s ongoing struggles to balance the needs of its persona and the sometimes needlessly convoluted mechanism of its plot .
House of the Dragonreturns where it left off — with Rhaenyra Targaryen ( a still - magnificent Emma D’Arcy ) reeling from the murder of her young son , Luke , at the paw of his childhood challenger and first cousin , Aemond ( a perpetually sneering Ewan Mitchell ) . As Rhaenyra tries to force herself back to her feet , her allies — namely , her husband Daemon ( an underserved Matt Smith ) , aunt Rhaenys ( Eve Best ) , and uncle Corlys ( Steve Toussaint ) — try their good to foresee and reply to their enemies ’ moves in King ’s Landing . The Capitol Building city in motion , meanwhile , becomes the site of inevitable clashes between its rulers : the unfledged Aegon ( Tom Glynn - Carney ) , his petty younger brother , Aemond , an increasingly selfish Ser Criston Cole ( Fabien Frankel ) , and Alicent ( Olivia Cooke ) and Otto Hightower ( Rhys Ifans ) , two cunning plotter who find their well - considered plans ofttimes ignored .
Everyone inHouse of the Dragon‘s second season seems to have different ideas about how to address the state of war that was on the side started when the show wrapped up its first season in the fall of 2022 . These strategical dissonance pave the style for some ofHouse of the Dragon‘s funniest and darkest moments to date , as well as some of its most thrillingly spy and performed set piece and one - on - one confrontations . There is , however , an gawky nature to the time of year ’s first four installment , which were the only installments provided ahead of time to critic . The season ’s premiere is a measured , mournful hour of television drive by an uneasy emotional restlessness that eventually push through in memorably ugly , medieval fashion . The episode provides a sleepier start to the season than some viewers may gestate , but it captures a lugubriousness that is necessary ifHouse of the Dragonwants to separate its story of pointless , self - destructive war correctly .
The instalment that espouse are less altogether good . There are instances of stunning spectacle and a few well - executed twists scattered across all three episodes , butHouse of the Dragonseason 2has difficulty carry off its many fictitious character and subplots . The season ’s 2d chapter skips over so many of import moments of emotional reflection that several quality , admit Ifans ’ Otto , Cooke ’s Alicent , and Frankel ’s Criston , are rendered one - dimensional . That ’s an issue that has plagued both ofHouse of the Dragon‘s first two seasons , and it result in emotionally jarring decisions that ultimately come across as both mechanical and empty . The season ’s third and quaternary episodes are , conversely , packed with filler panorama and garbled choices that do n’t palpate as if they ’re done in service toHouse of the Dragon‘s characters but to stall until it stool sense for another major conflict or twirl of destiny to unfold .
Much like it did throughout its first time of year , theGame of Thronesprequel fails to demonstrate a steady pace across its new episode , many of which take turns between periods of hie plotting and the narrative equivalent of thumb - twiddling . At time , House of the Dragon‘s inconsistency produce staying engaged with it on a minute - to - second ground more unmanageable than it should be . The series never hits the decimal point of no comeback , though , and it stay on proficient at knowing when to hit viewers with big moment that scandalize your system and pull you to tend forward . House of the Dragon‘s 2d season specifically pitch a fistful of set piece that are so visually brilliant and crisp that they issue as much - postulate corrections to the complaints many viewers had about some of the badly lit scenes and muddy backgrounds of its first .
The phantasy series is , once again , systematically lift by the study of its cast and director . D’Arcy , in finical , remains the most commanding of the show ’s performing artist , while Cooke is given the prospect to go to even thornier psychological places this time of year . Her portrayal of Alicent ’s tedious internal decay is so nuanced and compelling that it almost single - handedly take a leak up for some of the former mistakesHouse of the Dragonseason 2 produce involve her character . Although they ’re repeatedly sideline by the show ’s scripts , Eve Best and Steve Toussaint continue to make the most out of every shot they ’re given as well . Together , formerGame of Thronesdirector Alan Taylor and returningHouse of the Dragondirectors Clare Kilner and Geeta Patel also manage to refine the serial ’ visual palette — replacing the hazy , soft kindling of its first time of year with starkly lit interior and exterior scene and injecting moments of finis - up , natural looker that help give the show a more textured , tangible aesthetic .
Those who go intoHouse of the Dragonseason 2 wanting more action sequences andThrones - esque twists wo n’t be disappoint . The show has render from its two - year break with a great deal of installment that feel designed , in many ways , to botch up it wholly candid , and they do just that . Its latest chapters do n’t just expose the full , crushing electric potential of its blockbuster - sized story , though , but also the problems that have been a part of the show from the very beginning , and whichHouse of the Dragonstill seems uninterested in fixing . In its 2nd season , theGame of Thronesspinoff roar louder than it did at any breaker point in its first , but you do n’t always feel the high temperature of its dragonfire or the cut acuteness of its brand . It ’s a mighty beast of a show that , despite its sizing , still ca n’t quite calculate out how to fully sink its claws into you .
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonseason 2 premier Sundays on HBO and Max . Digital Trends was given early access to the time of year ’s first four episodes .
