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The first handful of *House of the Dragon* Season 2 episodes mostly reflect what you would have expected. Like *Game of Thrones's* strategy, it's about bringing the pieces back in place and laying the chess move board ready. Small council moments abound, dialogues in poorly lit chambers, with individuals beginning to plot and scheme.
Though not all interactions are equal and it's not reinventing (or breaking) the wheel, it's mainly really well done. Often, dialogues between two characters defined the best aspects of *Game of Thrones*. Though given the correct ones, *House of the Dragon* does have rather the same range of characters that could live up to that.Though the episode count is only eight instead of ten, I don't think anyone should be very concerned about this recurrence of *Game of Thrones* season 8's pace issues.
Though there are some fascinating narrative and character choices in which book readers, in particular, may not agree with, generally speaking, I believe anyone who enjoyed *House of the Dragon* season 1 should be quite on board with Season 2. Though there were clearly some modifications from *Fire & Blood* that I wasn't expecting, some of which worked and some of which didn't, it's tough to dig too into the weeds of these without spoilers.
This is true of any adaptation, of course, but especially when transforming an in-universe historical narrative into a TV program with characters that must feel like live, breathing humans with far greater depth and detail. I understand why most of the adjustments were done (and season one had many too). While some lose some punch (one moment I was extremely psyched for left me cold), others will just be purely controversial. There are certain modifications that bring new layers to characters and a much greater feeling of mystery to their arcs.
While the cast of House of the Dragon was always excellent in season 1, one issue I did have going into season 2 was how things would be impacted without Paddy Considine's King Viserys. He gave, for me, the best performance in season one and one that matched *Game of Thrones* too. And he's not easy to replace when two aspirants contest his crown.
Perhaps I should not be too astonished that Tom Glynn-Carney's King Aegon II is Considine's best substitute. The actor showed up late in season 1 and, although he performed well, Aegon lacked many colors. That changes in season 2 when he gets to highlight far greater range. He offers the show much-needed fun and levity, like Viserys, but there is also a real tragedy to the character and you can see how much his role influences him. This is a fantastic performance; I was surprised by my initial four episode liking for Aegon.
The Targaryen civil war is known as The Dance of the Dragons for a reason; *House of the Dragon* season 2 starts to live up to that moniker. Some of the more significant conflicts will surface later on; based on the book, season 3 should have plenty; season 2 does pull a few narrative devices that seem a bit like early *Game of Thrones* in getting around conflicts, but it's all to keep its powder dry for when the Dance does really explode.
Once more, in terms of dragon action especially, the spectacle here surpasses anything in *Game of Thrones* without straying into spoilery zone. Though I never quite felt its predecessor succeeded, I have truly liked from the start how *House of the Dragon* makes its dragons all feel unique. There is a genuine brilliance to witnessing them released. A few sequences made me gasp; others truly caught the horrors of battle (and unimaginable power of dragons) that define George R.R. Martin's universe; Vhagar in particular still remains a terrible prospect.
After nearly two years away, *House of the Dragon* is back, and it's a generally robust comeback from the *Game of Thrones* prequel. In a sense, a lot of the hard work for *House of the Dragon* season 2 has been done – season 1 re-introduced the universe, spanned decades, and went through many recastings. On the other hand, Season 2 features a settled cast, no time jumps, and The Dance of the Dragons starts in earnest. Though not everything lands, the prequel's comeback kicks up right after the finish of *House of the Dragon* season 1 and starts building in fascinating directions from there.
Should it continue on that momentum, we will all be victors; forget Team Green or Team Black. Halfway through *House of the Dragon* season 2, I'm glad what I have seen and eager for where things will head. After the first two episodes—which are somewhat more erratic and where I have more complaints—I was a little more dubious; but, episodes 3 and 4 are excellent and have some of my favorite moments of the show thus far. Should it be able to capitalize on that momentum, forget Team Green or Team Black; we will all be victors.
Presented around 172 years before the events of *Game of Thrones*, *House of the Dragon* chronicles the ascent of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to escape the Doom of Valyria.
Starting Sunday, June 16, at 9pm ET on HBO and Max, House of the Dragon season 2 will With eight episodes, the second season rates TV-MA for sex and nudity, violence and gore, language, and dramatic sequences.