Chris Connor reviews the season 2 finale of House of the Dragon…
House of The Dragon’s sophomore season has not been as widely discussed as its first season even with a tighter timeframe. Surprisingly there has not been an escalation in conflict, with the bulk of the season instead setting up alliances and conflicts to come. With a shorter runtime, would the finale tie up the season’s threads in a satisfactory manner? Well, it does go some way to setting up where the series is ultimately headed but it can’t help but feel anticlimactic especially with a likely two-year wait for the third season.
Daemon’s arc in Harrenhal has been intriguing if circular; there are only so many times seeing the Prince hallucinating over his past actions will keep the audiences interest. We get glimpses of the future in this episode with some neat nods to Game of Thrones as Daemon finally interacts with some of the wider cast.
The bulk of the episode focuses on how both sides will respond to the Blacks’ increased number of dragon riders with King Aegon’s health a thorn in the side of the greens as they squabble internally about who is best fit to lead them moving forwards.
One of the biggest issues hampering House of the Dragon, perhaps due to fewer episodes, is a lack of connection to some of the characters, Tyland Lannister is given a major part of the episode yet his presence in the season has been more peripheral. One of Game of Thrones’ major strengths was the depth of its cast and the audience’s investment in each character’s fate. The character pool for House of the Dragon is far smaller, with some of the smaller characters lacking that depth.
At its best the political manoeuvring feels intriguing, yet this season has often gone round in circles and not pushed the overall position of the series forward enough, feeling at times like filler, setting up grander conflicts and events to come.
‘The Queen Who Ever Was’ is an uneven conclusion to a second season that is not without its highpoints but is oddly lacking in narrative thrust, teasing a conflict that never quite arrives and now seems likely to heavily occupy the third season. With a likely two year wait, fans will have to bide their patience before seeing some of the events depicted in Fire & Blood. In the meantime, the next iteration of Westeros on the small screen, A Knight of The Seven Kingdoms, will arrive in 2025 and hope to whet fans’ appetites for more.
Chris Connor
Originally published August 5, 2024. Updated August 6, 2024.
