SERIES REVIEW – The phrase “all bark and no bite” aptly describes the second season of House of the Dragon. Despite the grand set designs, expertly crafted costumes, and a talented cast, the season often feels stagnant. Well-written dialogue and monologues don’t always lead to meaningful outcomes, instead serving as filler more often than not.

By the season’s end, it’s worth reflecting on where we stand compared to eight episodes ago. Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the “Black” Queen, is still mourning her son Lucerys’ death from the previous season. Despite her rightful claim to the throne, she hesitates to launch an all-out war to reclaim it. Throughout the season, she struggles to accept the inevitability of conflict, and even in the final episode, “The Queen Who Always Wars,” she hopes that the newly recruited dragon riders will deter the “Greens” who usurped her throne. After eight episodes, she’s still talking about avoiding conflict, suggesting she inherited her father’s weaknesses, which doesn’t make her a compelling leader. Daemon (Matt Smith), Rhaenyra’s estranged husband, spends the entire season brooding at Harrenhal until a final vision changes his outlook (why didn’t the gods start with that?). Meanwhile, Corlys Velaryon (Steven Toussaint), the Master of Ships and newly appointed Hand of the Queen, spends the entire season rebuilding a single ship while neglecting his illegitimate sons—at least we get to meet them, so that’s something.

Drawn-Out Exposition or Just Treading Water?

On the other side of the slow-burning civil war, there’s some development. Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) becomes even more ruthless, killing Meleys the dragon and her rider Rhaenys (Eve Best), and nearly killing his brother, King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). By the season’s end, he has his mother and sister living in fear while Aegon, still recovering, is urged to heal quickly to avoid Aemond finishing him off in the night. This isn’t surprising after the previous season, and as long as he controls Westeros’s largest dragon, he has the power to back up his villainous tendencies. Dowager Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) seems to accept that her plans have failed, and now focuses solely on keeping her children safe (and protecting them from Aemond). However, the season finale hints that she may have facilitated Aegon’s and others’ escape.

After two seasons, the so-called “Dance of Dragons” still consists of minor skirmishes. The interesting characters and intricate schemes seem to be going in circles. While Season 2 of House of the Dragon isn’t necessarily boring, thanks to its well-crafted scenes and stellar cast, it’s hard to recall much of significance happening beyond the fourth episode’s major battle. Is this a bad show? That might be too harsh. Almost any scene with Smith, Best, or Simon Russell Beale commands attention; actors like Cooke and Abubakar Salim (playing Corlys’s son Alyn of Hull) have undeniable charisma. And while we expected more from the story, even often overlooked antiheroes like Aemond and Ser Criston Cole (Fabian Frankel) get some notable moments this season. Plus, there’s that fantastic dragon battle in the middle of the season that finally delivers the explosive excitement promised all along, giving the sense that now, finally, things are about to get serious. But then… not really.

Where’s the War, Where’s the Fire?

It’s not just about comparisons to its predecessor, though House of the Dragon is undoubtedly its own entity. The series draws from a historical account and enriches it with characters who are either missing or merely hinted at in the source material, presenting a different challenge than Game of Thrones. However, we’re not tuning into Westeros for an in-depth analysis of a reluctant leader’s decision to go to war. This isn’t Succession. The allure of Martin’s world has always been how people craft cunning plans, only for some unforeseen element to derail them. Ned Stark uncovers a plot but doesn’t account for Littlefinger. Robb Stark plans a war but overlooks the Freys. Everyone focuses on the Lannisters but misses Daenerys. Here, Rhaenyra’s sabotage is self-inflicted, leading to less thrilling twists and turns. There are fewer big battle scenes and even fewer small confrontations, which is a problem for maintaining viewer excitement. It doesn’t need to be Thrones, but House of the Dragon should offer an engaging and gripping story in its own right.

A Series of Missed Opportunities

From the start, it seemed House of the Dragon was too closely following in its predecessor’s footsteps, but after ten episodes, it has finally found its own identity and established itself as a worthy prequel to Game of Thrones. This is largely due to the strong writing, an overqualified cast, and the impressive dragon scenes. We expect more of the same next time, but with added confidence. This is well-deserved for everyone involved—the fantastic actors and us, the viewers.

However, the season finale is disappointing, and it’s hard to overlook that. While the episode’s drama is well-executed, with tragic narrative arcs and some character development, the ending leaves a bitter taste. When things finally start moving, we expect something truly exciting, but in the end… we get nothing. A quick battle? A little dragon fight? It’s hard to imagine a more frustrating season finale for such a grand series. While the time spent with the main characters is well-used, and everything falls into place, there’s no scene that reminds us the show can deliver big surprises. Where’s the moment that truly brings the promised excitement?

So, the series isn’t bad, but in its current form, it delivers much less than it could. It raises the question of whether showrunner Ryan Condal deliberately held back on action in the second season to save bigger conflicts for the next. But if that’s the case, why weren’t the battles better spread across the two seasons? We’re halfway through the planned four-season run, yet it feels like we’re still just getting started. While individual scenes are good—and the dialogue is often better than Game of Thrones—House of the Dragon simply won’t soar if it continues at this sluggish pace.

A Deeply Frustrating Second Season

The second season of House of the Dragon is deeply frustrating. The show has all the necessary elements for greatness, yet it consistently falls short because it lacks narrative momentum. Perhaps the shorter season is partly to blame; an additional two episodes with more action might have turned things around. There were thrilling moments, like the dragon fight mid-season and the confrontations between old friends Rhaenyra and Alicent. The visual design remains stunning, the execution flawless, and the quality is all there on screen. And yet, the overwhelming impression is one of endless setup with zero payoff, which is unfair to both the cast and the crew.

-Gergely Herpai „BadSector”-