“It shows how much we wanted to see dragon fights”: House of the Dragon S2 Suffers Immeasurably With a Devastating Setback as it Lacked the 1 Thing Emma D’Arcy Fans Will Only See in Season 3
- 'House of the Dragon' Season 2 took a slower approach, which left many viewers underwhelmed.
- Season 2's limited dragon battles also disappointed fans, with episode 4 having the only significant dragon fight.
- Season 2 finale served as a setup for Season 3, with 'Battle of the Gullet' being saved for 2026.
The much anticipated second season of House of the Dragon has finally ended, and fans are now left to wait for the next chapter in the Targaryen saga. However, it is safe to say Season 2 has failed to maintain the same level of excitement as its predecessor, as many viewers felt underwhelmed.
House of the Dragon Season 2 has 8 episodes in total, which is 2 fewer than Season 1, and it looks like the showrunners took a more measured approach and created a prioritized setup, rather than focussing on the thrills that made Game of Thrones a huge hit.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Lacks Dragon Action
The decision by showrunners has undoubtedly come at a cost. Many viewers lost interest due to the slow pacing of the story, as they expected true fireworks to begin soon.
Compared to Season 2, Season 1 had a better pace in its storyline, which managed to capture viewers throughout. However, the latest has been painfully slow at times and lacked any dramatic developments mostly. The focus was mostly on character developments, political moves, and interpersonal relationships.
Even the season’s finale episode felt a bit underwhelming, especially for those fans who are used to seeing fiery battles or major developments in Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon Season 1.
This drawback of the storyline is quite evident in the IMDb ratings, as the series’ standout episode 4, The Red Dragon and the Gold, has the highest rating of all. Many fans expressed online that the reason behind this is mainly because it featured one of the best dragon battles of the franchise.
It shows how much we wanted to see dragon fights
— STARK (@CskDevotee) August 8, 2024
They should have ended here.
— White Knight 🦇 (@santhoshtiger14) August 8, 2024
It's peakkkk but they chose that above average finale. pic.twitter.com/2VKlXeSn0F
Red Dragon & Gold episode!🔥
— Kirantharun! (@Kirantharun3) August 8, 2024
One more battle it could have been so much better becuase it wasn't bad as an episode it was bad as a season finale
— MANNƳ ֆʊǟʀɛZ (@GoldnHeartNsoul) August 8, 2024
Season 2 was literally all filler, it was very boring. It was hard to get through most of the episodes. It’s similar to what happened with the hobbit, they tried splitting one book into 3 movies. Well in this case 4 seasons. GoT > HotD
— Gaara (@gaaramusic) August 8, 2024
The 4th episode featured an epic dragon battle when Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy, sent Rhaenys to war with Meleys, who was their largest and most experienced dragon. Aegon and Sunfyre chased them down, and a great airborne battle was seen, which was later joined by Aemond and Vhagar.
Sunfyre and Meleys fell from the sky after Vhagar blew them with fire. Later, Meleys finally got killed by Aemond’s dragon, which was quite an emotional scene as Rhaenys fell to the ground along with her dragon.
However, even if the fourth episode featured an intense and visually stunning dragon battle with good CGI, it ultimately felt like a tease that left many viewers hungry for more.
House of the Dragon Season 2 Finale and Season 3’s Plot
With the end of House of the Dragon Season 2, it was clear that the showrunners shifted their focus towards setting the stage for the third season. Although this is quite a common tactic, especially in series-based storytelling, the extent to which the Season 2 finale was used just to set the future seems a bit unfair.
The final episode failed to deliver an epic conclusion to the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ which has made some viewers upset. Showrunner Ryan Condal has also addressed the issue during a press interview (via Collider) where he talked about the balance of time and resources that is required for such a series.
Talking about the ‘Battle of the Gullet’, which is one of the biggest battles of the story, Condal revealed that they are saving it up for season 3.
We were trying to give the Gullet, which I would say is maybe the second most anticipated action event of Fire & Blood, trying to give it the time and space that it deserves.
House of the Dragon Season 3 will be released in 2026 and it will take the conflict between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower to the next level. The season will explore the Targaryen civil war and hopefully, it will be a better balance between action and character building for the fans who love fiery battles.
House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max.
