Reviews for House of the Dragon season 2 are in, and they’re mostly promising. The HBO series is the first of many planned Game of Thrones spinoffs centered around the Targaryen dynasty during one of its most polarizing periods. Season 1 saw the buildup toward a civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons, with sides divided under the two opposing monarchs: Rhaenyra Targaryen and King Aegon II Targaryen. Season 2 premieres on HBO and Max on June 16 for all audiences, but for now, there’s plenty of feedback from critics to break down.

Season 2 will pick up shortly after House of the Dragon season 1’s ending, seeing the fall out of Lucerys Velaryon’s death. Audiences already saw Rhaenyra react at the end of season 1, but season 2 promises to show how grief factors into the budding civil war. The green faction will also have to deal with Aemond Targaryen’s actions and figure out how to navigate the situation after drawing first blood. House of the Dragon is based on Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin, promising eight exciting episodes of TV to come.

9

House Of The Dragon Season 2 Is Action-Packed & Exciting

HOTD Delivers On The Violence & Blood The Trailers Promised

The most apparent review for House of the Dragon season 2 is that it’s as action-packed as the trailers made it seem. Late seasons of Game of Thrones set a standard for action and battle sequences, with the Battle of the Bastards and Loot Train attacks reaching movie-level, cinematic action. Given that season 2 now dives straight into a bloody war spanning across Westeros, there’s an expectation to meet that standard, with the addition of dragonriders fighting for both sides.

A review from Independent (UK) states: “While it takes a few episodes for House of the Dragon to crescendo into the sort of grand, violent spectacle that the series does better than pretty much anything else on TV, there are enough nuggets of incident… to satisfy viewers’ bloodlust.” It seems that the first few episodes will explore the characters’ reactions to the fallout before diving into the intense war and action that trailers promised.

8

HOTD Season 2 Builds Off Season 1’s Set Up

Season 2 Runs More Fluidly After Season 1’s Build-Up

Much of House of the Dragon season 1 was buildup, establishing all the characters to prepare audiences for the Dance of the Dragons, which takes up a majority of the pages in the book. Much of the characterization was original to the show, adding to the inevitable emotional impact of the civil war. ScreenRant’s review explains that “a lot of the hard work for House of the Dragon season 2 has been done — season 1 re-introduced the world, spanned decades, and went through multiple recastings.”

Now that the heavy lifting has been done, House of the Dragon season 2 can genuinely dive into its premise. The review adds: “The pace gradually increases across the first four episodes, and there’s a good understanding of how the war is playing out and why decisions are being made, meaning the buildup makes a lot of sense.” It will be exciting to see how characters act now that they’re deep in an intense situation.

7

House Of The Dragon Season 2 Makes Use Of Its Shortened Episode Count

HOTD Season 2 Is Shortened To 8 Episodes, Causing Worried Comparisons To Game Of Thrones

One of the worries audiences may have had heading into House of the Dragon season 2 was the shortened episode count. The Game of Thrones ending infamously saw issues with pacing as the final two seasons were shortened to seven and six episodes, leading to final outcomes feeling rushed. In that case, however, Game of Thrones likely could’ve utilized more seasons entirely, as a few extra episodes likely wouldn’t have been enough.

The ScreenRant review adds, “Despite the truncated episode count (only eight instead of 10), I don’t think anyone needs to worry too much about this repeating the pacing problems of Game of Thrones season 8.” For House of the Dragon, it seems like the shortened season means more dragons and more battles, and it seems like the only area that suffers is the development of new characters.

6

Emma D’Arcy & Tom Glynn-Carney Are Masterful In Season 2

Rhaenyra & Aegon Have Been Declared As The Season’s Standouts So Far

Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra) and Tom Glynn-Carney (Aegon) lead the cast as opposing monarchs of the black and green factions in House of the Dragon. Seeing as many characters in the series were recast from time jumps in season 1, neither has had a full season to play with their character, which they will in season 2. The ScreenRant review describes Emma D’Arcy as having a “phenomenally nuanced performance that finds a wonderful balance between emotion and restraint.”

Tom Glynn-Carney only joined the House of the Dragon cast late in season 1 and hasn’t had the most time to develop his interpretation of the character after inheriting the role from Ty Tennant. Now unleashed as Lord of the Seven Kingdoms in season 2, he’s fully demonstrating his talent. The review adds: “It’s a terrific performance, and I was shocked by how much I liked Aegon in the first four episodes.”

5

HOTD’s Character Dynamics Aren’t On GoT Level

House Of The Dragon Struggles With Conversational Scenes GoT Excelled At

One consistent complaint about House of the Dragon is that the dialogue and character dynamics just aren’t on the same level as the early Game of Thrones seasons. Early interactions between characters like Cersei, Tyrion, Varys, Littlefinger, and more are some of the most unforgettable TV scenes ever, and the new show just doesn’t have the tools to compare. Referring to such scenes from Game of Thrones, ScreenRant’s review states: “I don’t think House of the Dragon has quite the same breadth of characters who can live up to that, but with the right ones, it does achieve it.”

Of course, there are fascinating dynamics available among the House of the Dragon characters, but the new restriction in place is that the cast has been divided in half by the civil war. Most characters won’t be seeing one another now unless they’re trying to kill each other. This includes some of season 1’s best dynamics, like Rhaenyra & Alicent and Daemon & Otto.

4

House Of The Dragon Makes Changes To Fire & Blood (That Might Not All Work)

Some HOTD Book Changes May Be Divisive Among Fans

Adapting Fire & Blood poses a totally different challenge than Game of Thrones had with A Song of Ice & Fire. Rather than deciding what material to trim down, showrunner Ryan Condal and the House of the Dragon writers are tasked with filling in the blanks of a broad outline and timeline. This is one of the reasons that the character dynamics may be struggling in certain scenes, but it’s also contributed to some of the show’s most controversial moments.

As for season 2’s changes, ScreenRant’s review states: “There are some changes that add new layers to characters and a much greater sense of intrigue to their arcs, while others lose a bit of impact (one moment I was particularly hyped for left me cold), and some will just be purely divisive.” Many of House of the Dragon season 1’s book changes, but some didn’t sit well with audiences. It will be fascinating to see how these play out.

3

Season 2’s Dragon Action Rivals Any Spectacle From GoT

House Of The Dragon Fulfills The Promise Of Seeing Dragons At War

From the beginning, House of the Dragon has promised more dragons and more of a variety of dragons than Game of Thrones, a promise it’s delivered on. However, aside from Vhagar munching on Lucerys and his dragon Arrax in the season 1 finale, there’s yet to be any full-on dragon combat like in Game of Thrones season 8. With the many dragons in House of the Dragon season 2, many see combat, with ScreenRant’s review praising the show for how it “makes its dragons all feel distinct.”

Along with new cast members, new dragons are joining the fold in House of the Dragon season 2 that haven’t been on screen before. This includes Aegon II’s Sunfyre and Baela Targaryen’s Moondancer, both of whom have been depicted in the trailers as vibrant and beautiful. Based on Fire & Blood, there should be several other new dragons in House of the Dragon season 2 as well.

2

New HOTD Characters Aren’t As Well Developed

Characters Like Cregan Stark Join The Cast But Aren’t As Well-Constructed

New characters join House of the Dragon season 2’s cast, most notably Cregan Stark, the Lord of Winterfell, Alys Rivers, and various dragonseeds (Valyrian bastards) like Ulff and Alyn of Hull. Given the already massive cast and the reduced episode count, reviewers found that the new additions weren’t as well-developed, and many could be seen as interchangeable. IndieWire added, “Their identities feel checked off a to-do list. They’re given a simple guiding principle — he’s loyal! she’s resourceful! they’re courageous!”

George R.R. Martin’s world has always been excellent at creating compelling minor characters, those that don’t have much screen time but manage to make an impact through performance and personality. For example, Oberyn Martell is unforgettable in only 30 minutes of screen time. IndieWire praises actor Abubakar Salim for his performance as Alan of Hull but concludes that the new characters generally aren’t as impactful.

1

Matt Smith Is Underutilized In Season 2

Daemon Targaryen Takes A Backseat In The Show’s First Four Episodes

Matt Smith’s portrayal of Daemon Targaryen was one of the highlights of House of the Dragon season 1, yet reviews for season 2 have stated that he’s been relegated to the background. Without spoiling Fire & Blood, it makes sense that he could be separated from a lot of his main cast, limiting his potential for exciting interactions. IndieWire’s review complains that “a Daemon energy shortage plagues the first half of the season, and there’s no adequate replacement in sight.”

Daemon will undoubtedly have his moments throughout House of the Dragon, based on his arc from the books, but it makes that season 2 could stay as a lull for him, even after the first four episodes critics have seen. At least in terms of content from Fire & Blood, he won’t have a ton to do just yet, so hopefully, the original storytelling in House of the Dragon surrounding his character amps up its interest a bit.

Sources: Independent (UK), IndieWire, ScreenRant