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House of the Dragon: Season 2’s 5 Best and Worst Moments
HBO‘s House of the Dragon: Season 2 was a divisive and frustrating season that delivered both some of the show’s most iconic moments and laid bare some of its worst tendencies. Here are five of the best and worst moments from House of the Dragon’s sophomore season.
Best: The Battle at Rook’s Rest
Game of Thrones built a lasting legacy from its epic storytelling and epic set pieces. House of the Dragon: Season 1 delivered on the premise of its epic storytelling but season two gave fans the long-awaited dragon on dragon action the show had promised. From the incredible scale of dragon carnage and fiery fury, this battle displayed not only the devastation dragons wrought upon those beneath them, but a compelling conflict between its three dragon riders. Aegon rushes headstrong and thoughtlessly into a situation he is not prepared for in the hopes of proving himself, while his brother Aemond makes dangerous plays resulting in the maiming of Aegon and his dragon. Whether this is intentional or not is not wholly clear, but this ambiguity only reaffirms Aemond as one of the show’s more complex and compelling characters. At the heart of this is Rhaenys of course who dies valiantly and heroically in what is a sad but fitting end for the Queen Who Never Was.
Worst: Blood and Cheese
Another big moment for the show, Blood and Cheese offers one of the more gruesome and horrific moments from George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. Coming hot off the trails of the first season, season two’s first episode ends in the baseless butchering of Queen Helaena’s son at the hands of Daemon and his paid assassins. While unsettling in its obscure and vague presentation, much of the drama from the book is left out, from the shocking dialogue emissions, graphic violence and Helaena’s haunting screams, leaving some book fans disappointed. The opting for a more subdued yet still potent portrayal of trauma is striking in its own right, but the real disappointment here is that this traumatic event fails to leave any true mark on Helaena in the end, being merely relegated to a prophetic oracle rather than a grief-stricken mother by the season’s close.
Best: Claiming the Bronze fury
Dragons, as one would expect, are a true strength for House of the Dragon. Although used sparingly their brief appearances are all the more effective for it, particularly when Rhaenyra summons Targaryen bastards from across the realm to claim the great riderless beast Vermithor. What unfolds is a thrilling sequence of Dragon carnage and chaos as things turn south for our bastards, mere meat for the formidable beast. The show wonderfully depicts, Jurassic Park style, the horror on the ground as we follow Hugh Hammer through a tension fueled escape turned dragon claiming as he summons the courage and strength to impress the beast. From the long takes, low angle shots of the dragon and unruly chaos, this marks one of the more gripping and satisfying sequences from the shows run.
Worst: Tyland and the Pirates
After a showstopping episode of dragon claiming, House of the Dragon felt assured to deliver a satisfying finale. Instead, we were met with some of the worst efforts from the show’s entire run, dedicating scenes to a tiresome, dull and meaningless affair of Tyland Lannister recruiting the Triarchy for the Greens. The previous triarchy of Season 1 had a serious backdrop of political ship lane blockading adjoined with the presence of a fearsome, nightmarish, grey-scaled threat known as the Crab Eater. Here they are nothing but ridiculous pirates that exist beside bizarre mud-wrestling and silly antics that are a tonal disaster for the show. The audience have little investment in any character as they are forced to endure multiple scenes of this ridiculous endeavour.
Best: Alicent and Rhaenyra
A controversial moment for some, the end of Season 2 saw Rhaenyra and Alicent reunite once more in a notable change from the source material. Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship in some ways is the core of House of the Dragon, their bond existing even in its most estranged moments. In the season’s close we see Alicent pleading with Rhaenyra for her daughter’s safety for Kings Landing’s surrender. Here we are reminded of their unique bond and Alicent finally coming to terms with some of her mistakes that has both led to estrangement and war for this great family, earning her one of the more interesting arcs of the season.
Worst: Rhaena at the Eyrie
Rhaena is afforded a few scenes scattered around Season 2, yet the show fails to ever conjure up any investment in her character or story. She is relegated mostly to the Eyrie where she must look after the Targaryen children, sent away from home for their protection. These scenes fail to develop Rhaena until the season’s close where the show hints at her finally claiming a dragon after being without a dragon the entire show. If only this didn’t take us 8 episodes…
Best: The Dragons roar as one
A classic, stirring Game of Thrones moment that sees Rhaenyra with her newly appointed dragon riders humble the seemingly unstoppable force of Aemond and his dragon Vhagar. After recruiting her army of Bastards as she coins them, new rider Ulf lures Vhagar to Dragonstone where he is met with the thunderous roars of three dragons, no longer riderless and ready for war. They sing in unison as Rhaenyra stands proudly beside them ready to win her throne from the villainous Aemond.
Worst: Corlys and Alyn’s ship dock antics
Another round of Velaryon disappointment, Corlys and his illegitimate son Alyn seemingly progress nowhere this season as we are treated to scene and scene again of uninteresting, tedious conversations that fail to truly develop either character. Alyn’s desires are mostly unclear opposed to his brother Addam who seeks both his father’s approval and to make a name for himself. Alyn however is a mostly dull character with the show failing to deliver him personality or conflict until the last episode. Just more wasted potential.
Best: Daemon’s final vision
No House of the Dragon list would be complete without the daring Daemon Targaryen who in the season’s finale is gifted a vision of the things to come. In a surprising turn from the show, we are gifted visions of the coming war against the white walkers, the three eyed raven and an iconic image of Daenerys Targaryen birthing her dragons. This combined with images of Rhaenyra on the throne give fans a treat to the overarching stories of Westeros and finally give Daemon a sense of purpose and direction that he has been lacking all season, which leads us to…
Worst: Daemon at Harrenhal
The show may have awarded viewers with fun and finality to Daemon’s arc in Harrenhal but for the majority of its runtime Harrenhal was by far the season’s weakest story thread. No one moment encapsulates its failures but them all in their entirety, failing to deliver any major developments and reemphasizing the same points about Daemon repeatedly. It is indictive of Season 2’s greatest failings in that it failed to advance its characters and story anywhere meaningful nor excite any investment or passion in its viewing. Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon’s first season at its best was effortless TV, Daemon at Harrenhal was entirely effortful.
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