Winter isn’t coming any time soon, but Game Of Thrones fans still had something to cheer on Monday as epic prequel House Of The Dragon returned with its long-awaited second season.
Two years after HBO launched the first of several planned spin-offs, this sprawling show – set 200-years before the events depicted in Game Of Thrones – picks up directly where its predecessor left off.
But while viewers have reacted positively to its opening episode, critics have been less charitable in their assessment of its ambitiously detailed and frequently convoluted plot-lines.
Despite winning praise for its cinematography, the show – which details a bitter war of succession between two rival kingdoms and the subsequent fall of House Targaryen – has been criticised for its apparent lack of pace, weak dialogue and dull action sequences.
Reviewing its first four episodes, The Guardian writes: ‘The initial impression is that, once again, this is going to be Game of Thrones without the fun.
Winter isn’t coming any time soon, but Game Of Thrones fans still had something to cheer on Monday as epic prequel House Of The Dragon returned with its long-awaited second season
Two years after HBO launched the first of several planned spin-offs, this sprawling show picks up directly where its predecessor left off
‘It plods along, glumly emphasising the fact that war is bad, that the pursuit of vengeance leads to more gratuitous deaths, and that with weapons as mighty as dragons on each side, the only outcome is mutually assured destruction, which certainly is a parable for the renewed nuclear panic of the present.
‘Game of Thrones could be funny, but House of the Dragon seems deathly afraid of humour. Worse, it looks as if it might be on the verge of wasting its best characters, sidelining them for yet more meetings in which simmering looks and loaded barbs do the heavy lifting.’
While the publication notes that episodes two to four are a significant improvement on its opening instalment, USA Today offer a less promising response.
‘At times, it’s hard not to be absolutely furious at this show,’ they write. ‘The writers consistently pick the less interesting, less challenging storytelling choice. There is so much lost potential in every boring decision and lackluster line reading.
‘When so much time, energy and money is invested in a series like “Dragon,” when there is so much labor from so many actors and crew members, the finished product has to be worth all this effort.
‘When I see dragons battling in the sky, their riders had better have as much glory, magnetism and power as those CGI beasts. So far, these bickering Targaryens can’t measure up to the great heroes and villains of the best days of “Thrones.”‘
Elsewhere The Irish Times praised the show’s slow-burn approach, writing: ‘Game of Thrones was hardly a cuddly watch. But House of the Dragon hits like a pint of Special Brew compared to its predecessor’s fizzy shandy of gratuitous nudity, stab-happy weddings and performative sadism. It is deeper, denser and darker – a sort of anti-TikTok that demands the viewers’ unwavering concentration.
‘The reward, if you put the work in, is grippingly immersive television. As the action resumes, the capital of King’s Landing is in chaos, with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) struggling to prevent her impudent son, new king Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), from sabotaging the realm in a fit of brattish pique.’
While viewers have reacted positively to its opening episode, critics have been less charitable in their assessment of its ambitiously detailed and frequently convoluted plot-lines
Despite winning praise for its cinematography, the show has been criticised for an apparent lack of pace, weak dialogue and dull action sequences
Evidently in agreement, Variety were quick to praise the retuning show’s pace and tone, adding: ‘The oppressive mood can make “House of the Dragon” a trial to watch, albeit in a way that’s a testament to its power. (Any show that gives you bad dreams, as these episodes did for me, has thoroughly bored its way into the subconscious.)
‘There are occasionally challenges to the show’s cultivated sense of reality, like the patently absurd idea that the 30-year-old Cooke is a grandmother. But for the most part, the broad-based empathy “Game of Thrones” cultivated for its many protagonists is here deployed to explain what could lead otherwise sensible people to murder their family members in cold blood, and honestly believe they had no other choice.’
Less impressed were The Telegraph, who write: ‘Perhaps House Of The Dragon’s biggest problem is one of tone. It is all very dour and self-serious, with none of the human levity that is often needed to elevate a TV show from adequacy to greatness.’
Meanwhile a conflicted Rolling Stone offered an enthusiastic response to it tweaked opening credits and ‘bright and vivid’ use of colour, but lamented its poorly drawn characters.
‘On Game Of Thrones, Ned Stark and others spent a lot of time telling stories about their respective family trees, many branches of which sounded similar to one another,’ they write.
‘But the people talking were so fully realized, and their conflicts with others so clear, that it didn’t matter. You cared about Ned, about Tyrion, Arya, Daenerys, Brienne, and so many others because the writing and the performances had brought them to life on a level which HotD rarely approaches.’
House of the Dragon viewers admitted they were rendered ‘speechless’ after watching the first episode of the second series of the Game Of Thrones spin-off
Fans rejoiced as the HBO fantasy series – based on the George RR Martin book series – returned after its hugely popular first series ended in October 2022
Despite the mixed critical response, viewers admitted they were rendered ‘speechless’ after watching the first episode of the second series of the Game Of Thrones spin-off.
Fans rejoiced as the HBO fantasy series – based on the George RR Martin book series – returned after its hugely popular first series ended in October 2022.
The first of eight episodes, titled A Son for a Son, picked up from the finale, in which Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon Vhaegar slaughtered Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) – the son of Princess Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) – and his dragon Arrax.
The deadly series of events ramped up the brewing tension between the Targaryens and Hightowers, culminating in a civil war called The Dance of the Dragons.
After watching the drama unfold, viewers hailed the series premiere as a ‘strong start’ to the series and claimed it was a ‘classic Thrones’ episode.
Fans claimed they were ‘hooked’ on the episode and credited the ‘incredible’ way the creators have brought the ‘Targaryen dynasty to life’.
Sharing their views, they wrote: ‘The end had us crying and speechless. I still don’t even know what to say’; ‘I know it’s just the first episode, but I’m already hooked on House of the Dragon! The way they’re bringing the Targaryen dynasty to life is incredible. The sets, costumes, and acting are all top-notch. And that dragon, oh man… can’t wait to see what’s in store;
‘House of the Dragon episode is good!’; ‘HOUSE OF THE DRAGON IS BACKKKKK’; ‘ITS OFFICIAL HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SUNDAY’; ‘Peak TV is so back. House of the Dragon and The Boys’; ‘House of the Dragon is already here’;
‘I’ll just say the first episode of House of the Dragon is everything I wanted Diablo to be’; ‘House of the Dragon came out swinging. So hyped for the rest of S2’; ‘House of the Dragon gone be sooo crazy this season’; ‘House of the Dragon 2 off to a very strong start, all of the various machinations, it’s very classic Thrones and I love it’; ‘Episode 1 of House of the Dragon was intense.’
Among the members of the ensemble cast returning for the show’s second season include Best, Matt Smith, who plays Prince Daemon Targaryen; Emma D’Arcy as Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen; Olivia Cooke, who plays Queen Alicent Hightower; Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys ‘The Sea Snake’ Velaryon; and Rhys Ifans, who plays Ser Otto Hightower.
The cast also features Fabien Frankel playing Ser Criston Cole, Matthew Needham portraying the role of Lord Varys Strong, Sonoya Mizuno playing Mysaria, Harry Collett as Jacaerys Velaryon, and Bethany Antonia in the role of Lady Baela Targaryen.
After watching the drama unfold, viewers hailed the series premiere as a ‘strong start’ to the series and claimed it was a ‘classic Thrones’ episode
Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) holds the Iron Throne as the season gets underway
Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) and Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor) are seen conferring in the first edition of the new season
Phoebe Campbell plays the part of Lady Rhaena Targaryen, Phia Saban portrays Queen Helaena Targaryen and Jefferson Hall is in the role of Jason Lannister in the show’s second season.
New characters added to the storyline of the prequel include Abubakar Salim playing the role of Alyn of Hull, Gayle Rankin portraying Alys Rivers, Freddie Fox in the part of Ser Gwayne Hightower, Simon Russell Beale as Ser Simon Strong, Clinton Liberty playing Addam of Hull and Jamie Kenna in the role of Ser Alfred Broome.
Rounding out the new cast include Kieran Bew playing the role of Hugh, Tom Bennett in the part of Ulf, Tom Taylor portraying Lord Cregan Stark, and Vincent Regan as Ser Rickard Thorne.
Sunday’s episode began with a raven in flight headed toward Winterfell and the Wall
Rhaenyra arrives at the Painted Table and informed of Daemon’s desire to garner backing from the Riverlords
Rhaenyra says, ‘I want Aemond Targaryen’ in convincing fashion to her inner circle
Jacaerys arrives at home and tells Rhaenyra that Vale and the North are on their side, after which they show their sadness amid Lucerys’ death
Rhaenyra and her inner circle grieve Lucerys’ death at a funeral pyre
Jacaerys is seen holding his younger brother Joffrey Velaryon
Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is seen lighting a series of candles
Season two’s opening focuses on a Bayeux Tapestry with references in the art to past events in the storyline.
The scene on the tapestry depicts bloodshed in Old Valyria, as well as Valyrians bonding to dragons. One sequence shows a man with a dagger in hand, as another man in knelt in front of a dragon while flanked in candles.
Viewers then saw an active volcano to signify the Doom of Valyria – an event in which the one-time Targaryen homeland saw people and dragons perish as every hill exploded in a fiery blaze.
Another sequence depicted Aegon the Conqueror on a quest to rule Westeros as he was flanked by sister-wives Visenya and Rhaenys as they rode dragons crossing the Narrow Sea.
Other notable happenings in the storyline seen forming on the tapestry consisted of events seen on the hit series Game of Thrones, which ran across eight seasons on HBO from 2011-2019.
One area referred to King Jaehaerys Targaryen (Michael Carter) at the head of the Great Council of Harrenhal, proclaiming Viserys as the realm’s future leader, in addition to the commencement of the Dance of the Dragons.
Also seen in the tapestry is Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) seen at a feast.
Daemon makes his way into King’s Landing by bribing a soldier whose name is Blood; they employ a ratcatcher named Cheese to take the soldier into the castle via clandestine corridors
After asking Helaena who the male heir is, Cheese and Blood slaughter and behead Jaehaerys in an off-camera slaying
Helaena takes Jaehaera and runs into Alicent’s chamber, where she tells her that Jaehaerys was killed: ‘They killed the boy’
House of the Dragon’s second season debuted on HBO Sunday, as the first episode of the second season’s eight-episode frame, titled A Son for a Son, hit the air.
Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney), the son of Alicent and half-brother of Rhaenyra, is depicted in the revised opening as the king of the Iron Throne, while Rhaenyra is named queen at the castle Dragonstone.
To conclude the opening credits is imagery depicting Lucerys Velaryon’s (played by Elliot Grihault), death by the dragon Vhagar in the sky over Storm’s End.
The latest in the franchise created by George R.R. Martin runs through August 4.
House of the Dragon begins airing new episodes Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO; the episodes can also be aired in 4K on Max.
