Our impressions (without spoilers) on the last episode of the second chapter of the series based on George R.R. Martin's work Fire and Blood, which tells the story of the civil war of House Targaryen 200 years before the events told in Game of Thrones
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| Image Credit: HBO |
We have reached the season finale of House of the Dragon Season 2, a prequel to Game of Thrones, which has seen in these episodes so many upheavals, shocking deaths, and twists as only George R. R. Martin has accustomed us. The Dance of the Dragons, or the Targaryen civil war told in the work Fire and Blood, is in full swing, but we still have to wait a long time before we witness the final showdown between the Greens and the Blacks,
The two Targaryen factions respectively led by the usurper king Aegon (now out of the game and replaced by the regent Aemond) and Queen Rhaenyra. In the meantime, we will tell you without spoilers about our impressions of the last episode of this second chapter of House of the Dragon. The entire series, starring Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Eve Best, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans, is available on Sky and streaming on NOW.
Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) has finally managed to take matters into her own hands: after having tried to avoid war, hoping for an impossible peace after the secret confrontation with Alicent (Olivia Cooke) in King's Landing, then having lost Rhaenys (Eve Best), "the Queen who never was", and her dragon Meleys in the clash at Crow's Rest against Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) riding Vhagar (who also attacked her brother Aegon causing him serious disabilities, later becoming the king regent), the legitimate heir to the Iron Throne has understood that not only the "pure" Targayens can ride dragons, after Seasmoke incinerated Ser Steffon Darklyn, a kings guard of Valiryan descent, and chosen as her knight Addam (Clinton Liberty), Alyn's younger brother who saved the life of Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), evidently an illegitimate son. of a Taragaryen.
So Rhaenyra, on the advice of Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), searches for the Targaryen bastards in the brothels of King’s Landing and, after gathering them, takes them to Dragonstone to be chosen by the unriderless dragons, against the advice of her son Jace (Harry Collett), who fears that the “bastards” could undermine the succession. The dragon Vermithor sets fire to many of them, but Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew), the blacksmith of King’s Landing, claims him, while Ulf, the drunkard who has always claimed to be Viserys and Daemon’s bastard brother, mounts Silverwing. Ulf (Tom Bennett) soars above King’s Landing on the dragon, leading Aemond and Vhagar in pursuit. As Aemond approaches Dragonstone he retreats when he sees Rhaenyra watching him proudly with Syrax, Vermithor, and Seasmoke threatening behind her.
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| Image Credit: HBO |
House of the Dragon 2 – A finale of confrontations
Now the showdown is getting closer and Aemond begins to lose his usual lucidity and calm so much so that he asks his sister Helaena (Phia Saban), Aegon's wife, to serve the crown by joining the battle with her dragon Dreamfyre, something the queen has no intention of doing, unleashing her brother's wrath and being defended by her mother Alicent who lashes out at her son accusing him of cruelty, having set Sharp Point ablaze after the long-distance confrontation with Rhaenyra and having tested the superiority of his army and his dragons.
A season finale of House of the Dragon 2 that sees several more or less heated confrontations between the protagonists, and that will lead to some turning points, as in the case of the situation we can define as static of Daemon (Matt Smith) who at the beginning of this season abruptly distanced himself from Rhaenyra after causing the death of the little Jaehaerys, son of the usurper Aegon and Helaena, taking control of the fortress of Harrenhal where, obsessed by the torment of not being able to be king, but only a king consort, he has had continuous nightmares and visions, such as that of Rhaenyra as a young woman, or of her brother Viserys, and where he meets the witch Alys Rivers, who in this last episode leads him to the tree of the gods, making him have a vision of the future, after which Daemon will make an important decision for himself and Rhaenyra.
Rhaenyra, for her part, will have more than one decisive confrontation that will mark the fate of her kingdom, and more strength and awareness of the power and advantages obtained by resorting to wisdom, reflection, overcoming critical moments, such as that having been considered "Rhaenyra the cruel", unjustly accused of having commissioned the murder of the little Jaehaerys, certain, despite the difficulties and the anger for having been usurped of her throne, of being the one and only legitimate heir to the Iron Throne, and we would add, certainly the most just and loyal.
On the other side of the fence, we see Alicent increasingly tried and repentant of her actions that have gradually led to a “senseless war”, as she declares, and increasingly frightened by her son/king regent Aemond, who, in the most classic of Targaryen traditions, is losing his mind, as has happened to Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), now forced to bed in excruciating pain, crippled and disfigured, who finds comfort only in the words of Larys “Dearfoot” Strong (Matthew Needham), Lord of Whispers, capable of persuading the king to follow his plans. Two very different situations, therefore, on the two Targaryen fronts, the result of sensible choices on one side, and unfortunate ones on the other.
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| Image Credit: HBO |
House of the Dragon 2: evaluation and conclusion
A season finale that will surely leave many fans of the Targaryen saga empty-handed, as this episode is preparatory to what will happen in the next season (which we will see approximately in two years). On the other hand, it was unlikely to expect that the phantom battle at the Eye of the Gods could take place in this episode with so much still to come (of the dragons) and many events to resolve. The indisputable fact remains that House of the Dragon remains a series of the highest quality, with many compelling storylines and characters who always reserve many surprises for us, increasingly tormented, embodied by an exceptional cast, first and foremost the excellent Emma D'Arcy, who manages to convey, even acting by subtraction, without ever being "overacting", all the feelings of her character. The wait will certainly be long.
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