House of the Dragon:
The Complete Second Season review by Bobby Blakey
No matter what you thought of the ending of the series there is no denying that Game of Thrones was a monster hit. The series not only captured fans all over the world but has now spawned the prequel series House of the Dragon in 2022 and starred Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. The series also stars Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes and Savannah Steyn. Now the show has completed its second season and fans can bring it home.
House of the Dragon is set 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” and follows King Aegon II’s coronation and the death of Queen Rhaenyra’s son, leaving House Targaryen divided in two. In King’s Landing, Aegon II rules from the Iron Throne, supported by Alicent and the Green Council, under the protection of the largest dragon in Westeros. From exile on Dragonstone, Queen Rhaenyra and her Black Council are considering their next move. Civil war looms as both sides seek support from the great houses of Westeros, ultimately amassing armies — and dragons.
I will be honest it took me a long time to get into Game of Thrones when it first started. I literally tried watching the first episode like three times and just couldn’t get into it. I finally tried again and was all in for the most part, but eventually just lost interest in it, but finished it anyway. I was fine with how it ended and who got the iron throne, but more just happy it was finally over. I
was torn if I wanted to deal with any more of this world, but being a show so many years in the past decided I would try it out and I am glad I did.
Much like the first season the overall tone was obviously similar to the original series, but just feels different to me in a good way. The characters were way more compelling with their inner turmoil amongst each other, which was just more engaging. Maybe it was the fact we got dragons right out the gate, either way I really like this show. The story wastes no time getting to it and really brings some great characters to the franchise. Unlike the original series I am interested in every one of them and love what the actors bring to the table to bring them to life.
Unlike the initial episodes of the first season, this one dives right back into where we left off and keeps it linear which I much prefer. There are still so many characters that they have a lot to deal with, but they are streamlined pretty well and keep it moving without getting too lost in itself. The cast continue to be excellent with each bringing their A game to the series and keeping it moving as each betrayal, twist and action plays out. You always know there is going to be tons of twists throughout these stories and this season keeps that theme in place while also being straight forward a lot of the times as well to let the horrors of what transpire be front and center.
This is yet another home run for this franchise that leaves fans eager for more and highly anticipating the third season. Sadly, we will have to wait for some time, so this is the perfect chance to revisit both seasons at home with this new release that not only includes all eight episodes of the second season this release offers up bonus content including two all-new, never-before-seen exclusive featurettes, plus extended “The House that Dragons Built - Inside the Episode” pieces for each of the (8) Season 2 episodes taking fans behind bringing this new chapter of the world of Westeros and the seven kingdoms to life.
Grab your copy of House of the Dragon: The Complete Second Season when it hits 4k, Blu-ray and DVD on November 19th from HBO and Warner Bros Home Entertainment.