‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 needs to be 10 episodes long

How can you best summarize Dragon House Season 2 finale? Four words: The plot is good, but the ending is mediocre.

In many ways, the Season 2 finale, titled “Once Upon a Time,” should become a Dragon House The audience’s wildest dreams. The show gives us scene after scene of incredible, dialogue-driven character work, from Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma Darcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivier Ya Cook)’s passionate reunion, to Arryn (Abubakar Salim)’s brutally honest confrontation with his father in Hel, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) decoration). Additionally, we get some fascinating homages to the magical power of Westeros, such as Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) weirwood vision and Helena Targaryen’s (Fea Saban) )’s Dragon Dream Prophecy.

But when you consider “Once Upon a Time”‘s many missteps, and where the episode stands in context, much of that goodness loses its luster. Dragon House as a whole. The season is over, so why are we now spending so much time with Tyran Lannister (Jefferson Hall) on his journey to Essos? Why did Reyna Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) spend the entire episode hunting down the dragon sheepstealer, and didn’t really interact with her until the end of the final episode? Why do the last two minutes feel like a “next week” trailer for the non-existent Episode IX instead of providing a clear conclusion to Season 2?

The point is, when the ending credits rolled, it felt like something was missing. What’s missing are the two extra episodes that would have reduced the season from 8 to a much-needed 10, like Dragon HouseSeason 1 and most of its predecessors game of Thrones. Tell the story for two more hours – I’d even give it just one hour! – would allow Dragon House By the end of season two, many of the sadly incomplete arcs had more room to expand.

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Abigail Thorne in House of the Dragon.
Photo credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

this Dragon House Perhaps the most disappointing storyline of the Season 2 finale was the Velaryon blockade in the sea known as “The Gut.” We’ve heard about the lockdown since the very first episode of Season 2, and since then there’s been constant chatter throughout the season: Rhaenys (Eve Best) discussing patrols, plans for Corlys Joined after his ship is repaired, the Grimm lament the strain it puts on King’s Landing, which Rhaenyra and Mythalia (Sonoya Mizuno) end up using to win over the populace. basically, Dragon House I tell you time and time again that blockage of the esophagus is Big deal.

All this emphasis on lockdown creates expectations. Every time lockdown is mentioned, Dragon House Set a narrative pattern that you want your attention to. Think of it like Chekhov’s gun. When we see a loaded gun on stage, we know it’s going to explode by the end of the show. When we hear so much about sea lane blockades, we certainly expect large-scale conflicts to break out in the sea lanes by the end of the year. Dragon House Season 2.

Unfortunately, Chekhov’s gun got jammed here, Dragon House There is no trip to the esophagus in season two. Vance), Rhaenyra and her dragon knights attack the king. The frustration surrounding these storylines not reaching any solid conclusions isn’t as simple a complaint as “We’re craving sweet, sweet dragon action!” It’s actually a sense of anger at being promised something for an entire season and then being told to wait a few more years to get something in return. For now, “Once Upon a Time” feels like a show building toward its finale. Imagine if Dragon House The battle of the esophagus will probably follow in episode 9 or 10 of season 2! We could have ended up with one of the biggest conflicts of season two, but there was still enough to be excited about in season three.

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Steve Toussaint in “House of the Dragon”.
Photo credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

The balance between narrative satisfaction and building anticipation is a tricky line that all season finales must walk. In addition to the wonderful confrontation between Rhaenyra and Alicent and Daemon at last After six episodes of Weirwood Therapy, Once Upon a Time doesn’t really feel satisfying. It leans too heavily into anticipation and mistakes a jarring cliffhanger for narrative momentum (something we could use in the lull after “Rook’s Rest”).

To understand how unsatisfactory it is Dragon HouseThe Season 2 finale takes on the grand scale of the Westeros narrative, and let’s compare it to similar season finales from familiar shows: game of Thrones.

“The Winds of Winter” Season 6 Finale game of Thrones, has some similar beats to “Once Upon a Time”. Both episodes feature game-changing visions: Bran learns that Jon is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark, while Daemon learns about A Song of Ice and Fire. Both episodes also end with new alliances. exist game of ThronesHouse Tyrell, Yara Greyjoy, and the Sand Snakes allied with Daenerys Targaryen, in Dragon House, Alicent and Rhaenyra hatched a plan together, and Tyran Lannister secured naval support for the Triumvirate. But the biggest common thread for me is the very simple fact that these endings end with people on a boat sailing toward great things. game of Thrones‘This version is Daenerys at last Sailing to Westeros with her fleet (and many allies). Dragon HouseElsewhere, Aelin and Corliss row to the blockade, while Tyrande and Lys Admiral Shalako Lohar (Abigail Thorne) sail to meet the blockade.

A lot of people on board are going to do big things, but there’s one key difference. game of Thrones It took the entire sixth season—no, it was the whole show — heading in the direction Daenerys is heading to Westeros. Her departure from Essos is itself the end of one of her narrative arcs and the beginning of another. This is both narratively satisfying (she’s leaving, what a big step!) and makes you wonder what she’ll do when she reaches the next stage of her journey. exist Dragon House, we are still in the middle of the lockdown arc. The show has been building up this entire season specifically for the Battle of the Eater (and Rhaena’s dragon fight, and the showdown in the Riverlands, and Daeron’s arrival from Oldtown, and, and, and…), so stop basically now. Up is equivalent to stop game of Thrones Season 6 before the Battle of the Bastards.

Dragon House Already fallen into the trap of shorter seasons.

Freddie Fox in House of the Dragon.
Photo credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

although game of Thrones Of course, the Season 6 finale did land on a bummer, and Seasons 7 and 8 were disappointing. like Dragon House Season 2, both seasons are shorter than previous seasons, which means the story has less room to breathe. Overly rushed character development and plot points intertwine until we’re left with an underdeveloped, unsatisfying disappointment.

Similarly, Dragon House Season 2 is already feeling the pressure of a shorter episode order. In the finale alone, there are several scenes where it feels like we’re missing the connective tissue between Once Upon a Time and its predecessors. What was the outcome of Aemond Targaryen’s (Evan Mitchell) grilling of Pointed Point? How does Allison react after returning from swimming in clean lake water? Why did Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) choose this episode of all shows to suddenly question Kriston Cole (Fabian Frankel)’s romance with Allison? These are all things Dragon House Let’s extrapolate pretty well, but there’s still enough disconnect between the episodes that we could use more time to flesh out the moments between them.

Dragon House This is far from the first genre show to struggle with a shorter episode order, a sacrifice likely made in order to complete big-budget shows like “Rook’s Rest” and “Red Sowing.” game of ThronesObviously, I thought about it, as much as I love the recent Star Wars offerings acolyteI’ll be the first to admit that it needed more time to really develop its story and ideas.

However, Dragon House It does feel like the first show that I feel the most “missing” episodes from. At least with game of Thrones and acolyte, and you understand the whole story. watch Dragon House Season 2, I felt like I was missing 20% ​​of the narrative—and a crucial 20%.

Dragon House Season 2 is now streaming on Max.