It occurred to me at the end of the season 2 finale of House of the Dragon that I have this whole second tab on my list of reviews to do that I've been ignoring. The name of that second tab is "Shows." So, buckle up. The next few quick-hitter reviews will all be about various shows that I've watched (or at least finished) this year.
The first season of House of the Dragon was imperfect, but I enjoyed it a lot. I found one of the primary protagonists in particular super compelling, and it's not the one everyone else likes to pay attention to (Daemon), but it is the one you would think I would find surprisingly interesting. Viserys Targaryan, depending on your point of view, could be anywhere from a terrible king, a serviceable king, a fine king, or even an outstanding king. And in fact, over the course of his long reign, he at different times matched each of those distinctions.
Season two begins shortly after the death of King Viserys, as sides are beginning to be taken, and blood is beginning to be spilt. This season begins with a pair of attempted assassinations (one successful, the other not so much), and though the early losses don't involve characters with whom we've established much of a rapport, they do a fair job of rocking the boat. The middle of the season sees greater conflicts with greater consequences, including the biggest non-natural death of the series so far, the first large battlefield clash on Westeros, and the first "dance of dragons," a glorious clash of the massive, terrible creatures, with flame and blood and ruin following close behind.
If I have one gripe about the season, it's that the pacing left us with a finale that felt very incomplete. I found myself checking the timestamp a handful of times during the episode, wondering if there's enough time for some tremendous, season-clinching event to take place. Though I did still enjoy it (I'm a big enough fan of great conversations in elegant rooms), the episode was building and building and building, and as the end credits began, it felt frustrating to know that it'll be YEARS before we get to see the great battles that we anticipate just moments after the final scenes of the finale.
Overall, while I believe the finale was a misstep, I recall most of the season very fondly. The penultimate episode had some tremendous moments, and an incredible ending scene, and the dragon fights did not disappoint. I'm still very much looking forward to the last two seasons of the show; it's been solidified that the show will stop at four seasons, as the story will be told in its entirety by then. Although it's another two years away, I do look forward to next season, and the untold calamity that will almost certainly populate those episodes.
Stay tuned soon for a follow-up post that combines two of my favorite things: Game of Thrones and lists!
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