This amazingly good 12-minute House of the Dragon scene shows what Season 2 was really missing, but Season 3 can get back on track

House of the Dragon Season 2 was controversial for a variety of reasons. After the start of the first season game of Thrones When the prequel hit big, it was expected that things would kick up a notch and the Dance of the Dragons could truly begin. While there was some spectacular dragon-on-dragon action, the series’ second outing didn’t quite deliver what everyone was hoping for.

There were some slow changes and book changes, which led to George RR Martin writing a (now deleted) blog post discussing the issues involved, and House of the Dragon The end of the second season was largely set up for the third season, which is scheduled to be released in 2026. Not all of the complaints seemed justified, and by and large of TV shows in 2024 it was still on the better end of the scale, but those were undoubtedly its problems. However, one of these was inevitable after Season 1, but hopefully House of the Dragon Season 3 can fix that to some extent.

King Viserys’ absence hurts House Of The Dragon Season 2 even more than expected

Paddy Considine’s ruler was sorely missed for several reasons

Although Paddy Considine returned as King Viserys I Targaryen House of the Dragon In Season 2, there were only brief visions of Daemon Targaryen suffering from his own never-ending Harren Hell. That’s not to say Viserys should have been introduced more, but His presence was undoubtedly missed as he was one of the best roles of the first season. This is not only because of his powerful performance, in which he carried the weight of the world and was alternately tragic and comical, but also because of how he brought characters and storylines together.

There’s no better example of this than the dinner table scene at the end of Season 1, Episode 8, a sequence that for me is still the show’s greatest moment. It’s funny, heartfelt, moving, sad, intense and perfect, and wonderfully rooted in the characters’ various relationships, stories and rivalries, all of which stem from and revolve around Viserys himself. game of Thrones itself was often at its best when it focused on characters and conversationsand this is no different.

The first season soared thanks to character dynamics, not dragons, and this was often at its best when several of them were brought together – the funeral scene on Driftmark and later the confrontation over Aemond Targaryen losing his eye are other standout examples . But since war broke out and the characters subsequently fell apart, the second season couldn’t come close to repeating that.

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If anything, the story only doubled as the alliances fell apart: Alicent and Rhaenyra were already separated, and then Daemon was sent away too. The characters became increasingly isolated, and this propelled their storylines forward, but at the expense of some of the most dramatic drama the series had offered up to that point. It’s no surprise that, spectacle aside, some of the best scenes of season two were Alicent and Rhaenyra’s reunion or Rhaenyra and Daemon’s encounter (be it Emma D’Arcy or Milly Alcock’s version).

Of course, this is a feature of the series’ story design and not a flaw. Much of the Civil War stems from the inability of the warring Targaryen factions to communicate with each other, and the plot required the characters to be separated. The way misunderstandings are handled has thematic significance, but the series hasn’t surpassed its best character moments because everything is so scattered, and that’s a real shame and couldn’t be fully overcome.

House Of The Dragon Season 3 could come closer to solving this problem

The end of the second season is promising

House of the Dragon Season 3 should be an improvement in many ways. Yes, in the lead-up to season two there were a lot of prophecies like “The real war begins now” that weren’t quite fulfilled, but in season three there can’t really be any excuses in that regard – if anything, there are too many battles from the source material to get into it. But while it seems to deliver on the action front, it should also, more importantly, prove its character dynamics as well. At least to some extent.

This is certainly a half-full perspective, but the preparations for Rhaenyra’s capture of King’s Landing are promising. Not only does this put her and Daemon in the same place for a while, but it also puts them in the main hive of activity and politics where they can interact with more characters. Because Alicent will be there too There’s more room to get closer to the kind of conversations and character moments that were so brilliantly realized in Season 1and season 2 didn’t have enough of that.

It obviously can’t bring everyone together: Aegon has fled King’s Landing with Larys Strong, and Aemond will wage war – and Daemon will pursue him later. The problem can’t be completely fixed, and I don’t think we’ll see anything that brings multiple characters together in as poignant and well-executed a way as the dinner table scene. Still, there is potential for more frequent and stronger groupings, which should benefit the show as a whole.

A strong King’s Landing story was often the key game of Thronesand the same applies to House of the Dragon. It’s the political machinations, the family rivalries, and the conversations in dark rooms that decide not only the fate of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, but also where the greatest drama and character work can be found. The more that HOTD The better the best characters and actors can work together, the better it will be. This actually seems pretty simple, but the show needs to find a way to do more of it.

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Takes place approximately 172 years before the events of game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the story of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Fall of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show initially starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, before being replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. The series also stars Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.

Release date

August 21, 2022

network

HBO Max

Pour

Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Fabien Frankel, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Jefferson Hall, Sonoya Mizuno, Paddy Considine, Ryan Corr, Eve Best, Gavin Spokes, Graham McTavish, Bill Paterson, Matthew Needham, David Horovitch

Seasons

4

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