TV Review: House of the Dragon Series 2
House of the Dragon season two was a disappointment. There, I've stated something just about everyone agrees on about two or three months too late to have any relevance to the discussion. Nevertheless, I felt the need to discuss what I think was the reason it was disappointment status and what it did right as well as wrong. It wasn't bad but that's the problem. If it was just genuinely bad, it would be easier to dismiss. Instead, as with the controversy George R.R. Martin is suffering from lightly criticizing an adaptation of his works, it's more problematic for simply being mediocre.
The premise for season two is the civil between the two factions of House Targaryen has begun. At least, that was the impression viewers got from the ultimate episode of season one. Unfortunately, season two spends most of its time building up to the civil war as well. There are a few battles fought between House Targaryen and House Hightower's forces but they're minor. The only one of real note, in 2x04 "The Red Dragon and the Gold", is pretty much the episode everyone agrees is the best of the season if not the series.
Unfortunately, "The Red Dragon and the Gold" takes place in the middle of the season and is the last large-scale battle in the season. This is probably due to budget cuts from the new regime at HBO, but it is an incredibly poor decision given that this is meant to be their flagship series. If there was anywhere, they shouldn't have made cuts then it should have been here. The fact it is an eight-episode series both because of these cuts and the writers' strike means that the season felt truncated as well.
The biggest disappointment in this is the Battle of Gullet outside of King's Landing was intended to be the season finale but was moved to season three. This is obvious in the way the season was filmed and leading up to events but just...doesn't happen. If you have read Fire and Blood, you can understand why this is a disappointment as it has a lot of changes to the status quo of the feuding factions.
But if I had to make a complaint about the characterization. Daemon Targaryen goes from being a badass ruthless schemer and warrior prince to a guy literally having dreams of sex with his mother. He spends most of his time sulking in Harrenhal and being told by supernatural forces what a terrible king he'd make. Rhaenyra doesn't make much of an impression either, complaining about how no one takes her seriously as queen while displaying no queenly qualities. Ironically, Jace is the one who displays the kingliest presence and acts more like the book Jon Snow than the show one.
Ironically, the Greens are much more interesting characters this time around. Aegon the Second becomes a surprisingly sympathetic character despite his actions in season one. Aemond becomes incredibly ambitious and finally seizes power, only to find that it is a bitter dish. Criston Cole finally gets the war he's been agitating for the entire time but his utter failure in the face of dragons leaves him suicide and shell shocked. Unfortunately, I don't much care for the portrayal of Alicent Hightower as the showrunners (wrongly) think we care about her relationship with Rhaenyra versus her children.
In conclusion, season two is mostly just half-baked rather than genuinely bad. Unfortunately, the fact it has a lot of moments that are genuinely good like Blood and Cheese (underdeveloped as that was compared to the book), just goes to show that it could have been so much more. Worse, we're going to have to wait two years for the follow up season.
