House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 Review: The Game of Thrones Prequel Returns is Back With 'Vengeance', Literally! (LatestLY Exclusive)

House of the Dragon Season 2 Review: The first episode of House of The Dragon Season 2 begins with something for OG Game of Thrones fans to cheer about. We see our first Stark of the show, Lord Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor), who was only alluded to verbally in the previous season. I'm unsure how much we'll see of him ahead, as the show, I believe, doesn't focus much on the Starks. We also get to see the Wall in the opening sequence and hear the now-iconic phrase "Winter is coming." Sadly, there is no glimpse of the White Walkers, though they are very mildly teased. House of the Dragon isn't about Westeros preparing for the advent of icy 'Death'; it is more focused on a war of vengeance within an incest-loving family that went from Hum Saath Saath Hain to Hum Aapke Hain Koun within a couple of dragon skirmishes. House of The Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 OTT Release: Here's When and Where To Watch Emma D'Arcy And Olivia Cooke's New Series Online.

The previous season ended with the unintentional death of Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) at the hands of his cousin Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon Vhagar. The first episode deals with the consequences of that death. Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) side seeks vengeance, particularly her husband Daemon (Matt Smith). But the Queen herself is away, grieving and trying to find her son's mortal remains.

Watch the Trailer of House of the Dragon S2:

Meanwhile, the Hightowers are garnering support from allies in case they go to war with Rhaenyra's side. The faction is divided on how to proceed—defence or attack. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) is worried her sons will cease to listen to her. She is also having a clandestine sexual affair with Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel). The brash Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) continues to prove why he is a poor choice to lead the kingdom, while Aemond is unhappy with the kingdom's defensive strategy. As both sides await the first attack, Daemon displays his sneaky side when he delivers a major blow to his enemies, in a moment that defines where House of the Dragon is heading this season.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Review - A Son for A Son

Aptly titled "A Son for A Son," the new season of House of the Dragon begins on a more confident note for me, despite the GoT callback in the opening scene. While I found the last season of House of the Dragon compelling enough to watch, it was nowhere near as iconic as the show it seeks to emulate. The performances and direction had very less flaws, but we were yet to find characters deserving of cult status, quotes worthy of being splashed on T-shirts, or scenes that remain etched in our memories for the right reasons. The violence and gore felt more disturbing and abhorrent, the normalisation of incest was too bothersome, and the less said about those 'childbirth' scenes, the better.

It seems the makers of House of the Dragon listened to some valid criticisms and may have acted on them, at least based on what the first episode of the new season hints at. Now that the characters are established (and hopefully no more time-jumps that make us confused about who plays who) and the plotlines are set, I found the new season on a steady footing. It took a few scenes to catch up with the returning characters and grasp what happened onscreen and offscreen (there is a scene dedicated to discussing Lord Corlys' sea mishap, which we never got to see), but once that's done, I found the episode easier to comprehend.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Review - Less Traumatic Gore

Yes, there is sex and violence—SPOILER ALERT—the first episode, directed by GoT veteran Alan Taylor, even ends with a child murder, but it feels more muted and, hence, more effective. I hope it remains that way in the season ahead.

With that worked out, the political drama felt more effective here, as did some of the sharp conversational scenes. For example, the one with Daemon and Rhaenys (Eve Best) about a queen's duty and a mother's mourning, which ends with both characters delivering enjoyable below-the-belt jabs at each other. House of the Dragon also continues to bring big-screen visuals to the small screen with excellent production design, immersive frames, and smart use of dragons. House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 Triggers a Wave of Hilarious Jokes and Funny Memes Across Social Media.

The performances are fantastic, with Olivia Cooke, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, and Phia Saban taking the lead. There is one scene I would love to highlight that felt like a perfect combination of direction, cinematography, and performance. It is the scene where Rhaenyra returns to her kingdom after discovering her son's mortal remains. We see her allies updating her on their preparations. The camera pans across the strategy table, slowing its pace as it moves towards Rhaenyra, capturing the anguish on her face as she utters, "I want Aemond Targaryen." Given how the episode ends, I am unsure if that's truly what she wants, but it was undoubtedly a fabulous scene.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Review - Final Thoughts

The first episode of House of The Dragon Season 2 sets a promising tone for the series with a blend of political intrigue, intense personal vendettas, and high production values. With the intent of not hopefully focussing more on disturbing the viewers for the sake of it, the season aims to steer towards a more nuanced and engaging narrative, fingers crossed on that. House of The Dragons is streaming on Max and in India on JioCinema, with new episodes dropping on a weekly basis.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 17, 2024 02:18 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).