Reviewer Rating: 2.5/5.0
2.5
What is your freedom worth to you?
Dear old Alison Hightower was asked this question in the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon , and boy, did she answer it wrong.
It’s really painful to write this review after what was probably the most disappointing season finale of a TV show I’ve ever seen.
No, Game of Thrones doesn’t count.
Some good notes on the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon
First, the good news: There are some climaxes throughout the episode, driven mostly by the cast.
Emma Darcy, Fabienne Frankel, Olivia Cooke, Ivan Mitchell, Phia Saban and Abubakar Salim deliver stellar monologues and believable emotions stand out.
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As always, Ramin Djawadi’s score deserves his flowers and remains one of the best parts of the show.
Although there’s very little real action in the finale, the team that brought the dragons to life did a great job making them seem like a realistic part of the scene.
Unfortunately, that’s about all the praise I can get, as difficult as it is to write.
disappointing end to season
If you’ve been following my reviews for this season, you know how much I love this show.
The entire season has been exciting, setting the stage for an absolutely bombshell finale that fans have been waiting for.
That’s not what we got.
Of course, there were some notable events, including Daemon changing his mind after the vision in the godswood.
His reaffirmation of his allegiance to Rhaenyra is great because it reduces a lot of unnecessary drama in House of the Dragon Season 3.
Alfred Broome shuffled quietly into the crowd, and I laughed too. Now he slept with one eye open, wondering if betrayal of Rhaenyra would come back to bite him.
Family falls apart in ‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 finale
Ewan Mitchell played Aemond Targaryen in the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon. It’s probably the most emotional we’ve seen from him in a while.
He knew that he could not force his sister to ride on Dreamfire and fight for him, and Helena also gave him a taste of the future. Who knows if he believed her, but he was certainly terrified.
Aemond also realized that even with Vega behind her, Rhaenyra now had a clear advantage over him. Her advantage will soon increase, too, as Rhaena appears to have found a wild dragon with whom she can form an alliance.
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As for Aegon, no one could blame him for running away with Larys. Side note: If I were Aegon, I’d probably put a sock on Larys’ bare feet while he wandered around the castle, but that’s just me.
It took some convincing, but exploiting Aegon’s ego was Larys’s winning strategy to get the bedridden king out of King’s Landing.
yawn.
It’s just: no one cares about Cole or Lannister
The episode spends a baffling amount of time tracking Tyran Lannister as he builds his army.
I’m a fan of the newly introduced Captain and her many wives (come on, LGBTQ+ representatives!). But what exactly is it about the Lannister and his new crew that deserves so much screen time?
Meanwhile, Gawain begins a fight with Christon Cole after realizing what everyone else knows.
So, he’s sleeping with your sister. Don’t we have bigger fish to fry?
Cole certainly thinks so.
He launches into a haunting and bleak monologue. He must have planned to die in this war.
made a mistake
Despite ample opportunity, Corliss still did not acknowledge Adam of Hull as his illegitimate son.
He has not yet identified his other son Arin as another possible Dragon Knight.
Still, Arin’s (Abubakar Salim) monologue about growing up without his father was beautiful.
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Salim’s performance in the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragon surpasses anything he’s done on the show so far.
Corlys may have kept secrets, but he did warn Rhaenyra of other potential dragon and dragonrider threats from the Green Party.
Rhaenyra’s actions were completely out of character for her, and she dismissed these concerns.
It really doesn’t make any sense. Rhaenyra? Underrated queen?
Of course, she knew better than to ignore her hand’s legitimate concerns about something that might cost her, well, everything?
Her new dragonrider has clearly given Rhaenyra a confidence boost, which is great. But there comes a point where arrogance alone doesn’t do any good.
Demon appears in House of the Dragon season 2 finale
Before returning to his allegiance to Rhaenyra, the vision Daemon evoked in the godswood was a sobering glimpse into the distant future.
We got a few Game of Thrones Easter eggs, including shots of Daenerys Targaryen and her dragonets as well as the famous Three-Eyed Raven.
Daemon saw Rhaenyra ascend the throne and therefore realized that his role was to support her quest to get there.
Allison’s last refuge
In what might be the most exciting part of the episode, a panicked Allison shows up at Dragonstone in the middle of the night.
In my review of House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 7 I mentioned that she absolutely should do this, but I don’t think she actually does.
Allison had to put aside all the pride she had accumulated over the years to fall at Rhaenyra’s feet as she did. Then, she shows she can put aside more than just pride.
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Offering easy access to the Iron Throne is a bold move. Rhaenyra correctly asserts that in order to be taken seriously as a Conqueror, she must kill Aegon.
So Allison agreed to let her do it.
I know we’ve established that Allison doesn’t go down in history as a great mother, but Damn it.
Unfortunately for all of us, we’ll have to wait to find out if this new plan will come to fruition.
This is the least action-packed episode of the season, which is very disappointing.
Of course, the Season 2 finale of House of the Dragons got Season 3 off to a quick and dramatic start, but that doesn’t change the fact that almost nothing happened in this episode.
I think 2.5 stars is the lowest rating I’ve ever given an episode. As much as I hate to give it such a low rating, the ending just wasn’t for me.
So, now it’s your turn. What did you think of the ending? Were you disappointed, or was there enough going on before Season 3 to satisfy you?
Let us know in the comments and thanks for sticking with us this season!
