The first season of House of the Dragon premiered to unbelievable viewership, largely positive audience reception (even from those left skeptical about the magic of Westeros after the final season of Game of Thrones), and Emmy nominations aplenty. The general consensus was that though the show did not reach the heights its predecessor had, it stood on its own as a riveting season of television and ended on a note that seemed to hint that the meat of the story was yet to come. As a result, expectations for Season 2 were fairly high. But in the wake of a controversial finale, there have been no shortage of criticisms of the season as a whole. They range from dissatisfaction with the lack of payoff for the central storyline to disliking the deviations from the source material to… comparisons with Game of Thrones Season 8? Certainly, this season has its fair share of faults, but I do not believe they should overshadow the season’s excellent character arcs and wonderful utilization of most of the ensemble.

Obviously, this show has immaculate production value, with its grand VFX, luscious production design, and powerful score by Ramin Djawadi especially illustrating the fantastical world of Westeros. But what drew me to House of the Dragon in the first place was neither the intensity of gruesome battle sequences nor the glory of majestic CGI dragons. The central appeal for the show for me has always been watching its complex characters manage a heated political climate in a world that happens to have dragons instead of bombs. Because of this, my main issue with its first season was how quickly paced it was, spanning 10 years in the course of 10 episodes and leaving several characters with only hints of personalities. The second season, however, course corrects with a methodical pacing that fleshes out nearly every character in the cast. Though it may not be as eventful or intense as its first, the increased investment in these characters had me more captivated by the major events when they do happen. 

There are so many major players in this show whose motives, desires, and shortcomings become much clearer as a result of the extra care put into their arcs. Take Aegon, for instance, played by a remarkable Tom Glynn-Carney! One could have initially brushed him off as a sniveling, incompetent idiot in Season 1 who is king only as a pawn to keep the Hightowers in power. But the brilliance of his character is that everyone in this universe is painfully aware of this fact… everyone except for himself. Watching Aegon be so self-assured and self-important as he proves everyone who doubted him correct is one of the great joys of this season. Yet despite his numerous negative qualities and general repugnance, I found myself oddly endeared to him and deeply invested in the survival of this character I couldn’t have cared less about in Season 1. Much of this is due to Glynn-Carney’s charismatically repulsive performance, but Aegon as a character is also afforded smaller moments in between the power plays and bloody battles that allows him to truly come to life. 

Truthfully, I could spin endless praise for the many arcs in this season. From Rhaenyra’s difficult-to-watch descent into a self-righteous queen who strives for victory no matter the cost to Cole’s hypocrisy that frustrates everyone and himself most of all to Aemond’s simmering, cruel envy of the power his brother technically wields, House of the Dragon’s characters from top to bottom have evolved in such fascinating ways. 

It’s doubly impressive that this has happened while maintaining such a large cast and integrating new characters seamlessly. Though their purposes were not immediately clear upon their introduction, I enjoyed watching the scenes of people like Ulf, Addam, and Alyn because their distinct perspectives offered a reprieve from the war games the House of Black and the House of Green played with one another. We spent almost all of our time in the first season of the show focusing on the struggles of the elite ruling class, so taking the time this season to expand the world by adding supporting characters who are “smallfolk” simply trying to live their everyday lives helped bring this world more fully to life. And once their roles were revealed, it was immensely satisfying, as the time we spent with them felt that much more worth it.

Alas, I mentioned earlier that most of the ensemble is well-utilized. Unfortunately, Daemon and Alicent are fairly wasted this season despite their large amount of screentime. The former faces his past demons in the same location for almost the entire season only to come to a conclusion in the finale that was not motivated by anything we saw in the prior episodes. The latter also makes a shocking decision, but Alicent’s issue is that the arc that lead her to said decision was fairly sparse and lacking. It feels like a betrayal to her character that this monumental choice that should have been built up the entire season through her interactions with the rest of the cast instead seems to come out of nowhere. If you have to try to remember specific scenes from hindsight to justify the character’s choice in your head, the character was not well-written. It is a shame that Daemon and Alicent are so wasted in a season that had otherwise made great use of its excellent ensemble, as they are two of the most fascinating and pivotal characters in the show. 

Yet despite my gripes about how Daemon and Alicent’s arcs were written, particularly in the final episode, I nonetheless had few issues with the overarching story being told. Really, the biggest detriment to this season in my eyes is the decision to have 8 episodes instead of 10. I have not read the source material, but it is evident as a mere viewer that “The Queen Who Never Was” was not the intended finale for the season. It is a solid episode of television in its own right (two questionable scenes aside), but it lacks the proper conclusion to the season-long arc that a season finale should have. The season as a whole does suffer for this, and the criticism on this front is more than valid. That being said, I have a feeling that when Season 3 eventually releases and the unfinished arcs this season finally get resolved, Season 2 will be reevaluated by the masses as the great season of television it has always been.

8/10