House Of The Dragon Season 2 Review – The Very Personal Cost Of War and Power

For those wondering, I didn’t do a review of the original House of the Dragon season because I watched it much later than most. I typically binge these kinds of shows, and I recall not watching the show until a month or so after the finale. In contrast, I binged this season starting the day of the finale and then finished it the day after. While I know some people wanted a true war season like certain Game of Thrones seasons, I hope my House Of The Dragon Season 2 Review shows you that sometimes…when done right…the more personal dramas and issues can make a show just as compelling as numerous action scenes.

I think one people forget about House of the Dragon compared to Game of Thrones is the scale of both the story and its characters. GOT was legendary for balancing multiple main storylines and weaving them together. You had to jump across the realm all the time just keep up with everything and see how everyone was doing. In contrast, HOTD is much more focused on a few key eras and characters. For Season 2, that was primarily the “Black Council” and the “Green Council” as they prepared for the inevitable war that was coming due to the events of the S1 finale where Aemond killed Luke.

From the moment things begin, we see the effects and ramifications of what went down. Rhaenyra is grieving, Daemon wants Aemond’s head, the land is divided about what might happen next and whom they should serve, the Green Council is prepping for a war that they feel they can win but know they can’t make mistakes, Aegon wants a war because he doesn’t care and so on and so forth.

I love that kind of drama, and it built throughout the season because even the slightest actions by certain characters would reverberate around the realm, whether they realized it or not. For example, Daemon’s actions in episode 1 led to the realm dubbing his Queen “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” despite the fact that she didn’t sanction the killing. Then, there was Aegon, who wanted to fight and prove himself a kind of “warrior king,” but no one would let him, which led him to do numerous rash decisions, one of which was done to him by people, including his mother, literally pushing him to the edge and then off it. They misread how to handle him many times over, and that led to his near demise because of Aemond.

Aemond’s story was another case of how other people’s actions made him act out. He admitted to feeling bad about killing Luke, but when he saw how Aegon treated him in the pleasure house and how even his mother looked at him, he felt that he deserved to be king. He literally burned his brother in battle just so he could eventually take the throne. These actions and payoffs came quickly and rapidly, and it helped make each episode compelling, even if there wasn’t a lot of action in the physical fighting sense.

I heard that some people were frustrated with how Daemon was in Season 2, but honestly, I loved the swerve they pulled with him. In the first season, he was doing everything and anything to get power, tick off his brother, get Rhaenyra, and so on. He was the worst (and best) in all the ways that mattered. Here, his ambitions started off strongly, proving he hadn’t changed in the slightest, only for him to go on a season-long “Vision Quest” that FINALLY got through to him and showed him that he needed to support Rhaenyra.

This worked because it was slow, built up over many episodes, and made you wonder what he was seeing and why he was seeing it at all. I even wondered at one point if the “witch” Alice was even real! Then, when he had the vision that showed him the future of their house and the real, it made it all worthwhile, as he finally bent his knee and promised Rhaenyra to be there for her to ensure their house’s future. If you know the lore, you know how good that move was.

Not to be outshined, I loved how they handled Rhaenyra throughout the season. The main reason for that is because they made sure she DIDN’T act like Daenerys. In the latter seasons, much to fans’ dismay (including mine), Dany was known to be more reckless and impulsive and burn anything that moved. Rhaenyra, due partially to her personality and upbringing, may have WANTED to do that but couldn’t or hesitated to do that.

I liked that, as it enforced that she’s a different woman from different times, and she had different reasons for acting like she did. She had a council that continually reminded her of her importance, she had a son that she didn’t want to abandon, and so on. You could feel her helplessness at times, and you rejoiced when she came up with rather clever ways to get around her situation, such as with the food offerings to King’s Landing, and finding the “other members” of her bloodline, and so on. Even in the season finale, we see her character on display with Alicent, as she plays both the “old friend” and the “rival” part very well.

One thing I must also praise in my House Of The Dragon Season 2 Review is the use of key episodes and scenes to build up the “Smallfolk,” as they were called. Many new characters were introduced in this season, and I very much enjoyed where most of them ended up, including two of the three new dragon riders.

The reason I liked this is that Game of Thrones, including in the VERY divisive finale, made fun of the Smallfolk often and only cared about a few, if any. Here, we saw a very apt take of them via characters like Adam and Hugh, where they might have been those with “blood of the dragon” with them, but they were simply people wanting a better life and a chance to prove themselves to those above them. If that’s not relatable to all of us, I don’t know what is.

Furthermore, seeing how they rebelled against the Hightowers after being deprived of food not long after the funeral precession of Aegon’s child showed that sympathy only goes so far, and I loved how the White Worm (who was one of the MVPs of the season for me) used that to help Rhaenyra. And that, too, built up to the end, as we saw Hugh finally get tired of broken promises and wanting to finally do something, which led to him becoming a dragon rider. My only regret is we didn’t get to see more of Adam and Hugh getting to be one with their dragons, as they truly felt like interesting characters that I hope to see more of.

Before I get to the negative elements of my review, I wish to point out one last thing. I labeled this review “The Very Personal Cost Of War and Power,” and I meant that. If you look at it, every single main character in the cast lost something in this season, and had to come to terms with that.

Rhaenyra lost her son, obviously, but she also lost her closest advisor, that she trusted more than anyone, and had to deal with constant belittlement, judgments, and even being questioned by her own kin. Not to mention, she had to wonder what Daemon was up to. Daemon, meanwhile, technically lost his mind, but also had to lose the part of himself that he had clung to his entire life. Alicent watched as her sons made moves against her and one another while her father was dismissed (again), leaving her to try and make things work…and then failing. Her speech in the finale about “being fine about history’s remembrance of her” spoke of a woman that had truly had enough of everything that was going on.

Then, you throw in Jace dealing with his “heritage” and what it meant to be a true dragon rider, Aegon nearly dying, Aemond realizing that his dragon wouldn’t be enough and his family is basically all against him, Corlys had to come to terms with losing his wife and how his heirs either weren’t following in his footsteps or were “illegitimate,” and then Cole dealing with his own mortality and the choices he made and you see why there are so many pieces to this puzzle that suffered despite there only being one “key death” of a main character in the season. The writers knew the kind of season they wanted, and it showed.

I know what you’re waiting for, and here it is. My House Of The Dragon Season 2 Reviews wouldn’t be complete without writing out my issues with it…and there are a few to note.

First, yes, there was only a few battles to be had, mainly the one of Rook’s Rest, which DEFINITELY lived up to the hype. However, I do applaud the show for pointing out why both sides didn’t immediately rush out their dragons, as that would cause issues. Still, even one more would’ve lifted the season a bit, especially given how the season finale went.

Yes, much like many of you, when the final scene hit, I was like, “That’s it?” Sure, it was seeing all the forces we knew, plus a fun wildcard (that pirate leader was awesome!), coming into view as they all converged for a war…except, it felt like this was the penultimate episode…not the season finale. I read why the showrunners kept that battle for S3, and I can respect that…but it was a total buzzkill that all season built up for a war, a war that we already knew was coming, and then they end it on just “showing the pieces” of said war.

Smaller nitpicks include a certain dragon rider that I’m just not a fan of…you know the one…and there were certain plot threads that didn’t really get their “due” in full. The one I point to is a certain Velaryon heir risking everything to try and court a dragon she found…and we don’t know if it worked.

Even with those nitpicks, I think my House Of The Dragon Season 2 Review points out why I feel this was a great season and stronger than the first, thanks to the lack of time jumps. Yes, we didn’t get the true “Dance of Dragons,” but with confirmation that the show will end in Season 4, they know they need to ramp things up, so I’m fine with waiting for the action that’s ahead.

After all, without meaningful characters and stories, battles and wars hold no weight.