An underwhelming end to the second season of frustrating prequel series House of the Dragon has fans wondering what’s next
If there’s one thing we ought to have learned from Daenerys Targaryen’s triumphant return to Westeros at the end of Game of Thrones, it is that you should absolutely never, ever give the people what they want.
We all thought we were desperate to see the rightful queen of the seven kingdoms finally make it to King’s Landing, where she would no doubt swiftly hook up with Jon Snow, bring peace to the entire realm and defeat the White Walkers with dragonfire and a side order of overwhelming destiny. Some of these things did actually happen. But as it ultimately turned out, Dany was never better than when wandering Essos with little more than her name, some baby dragons and the memory of Khal Drogo to keep her warm at night. They say be careful what you wish for, but one thing’s for certain, very few Games of Thrones fans ever wished for the greatest character of the entire series to suddenly discover she was a nutty Targaryen after all and burn down most of King’s Landing just as it appeared the bad guys had all been defeated.
Perhaps the way showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss royally screwed up the ending of the show (and to be fair, it could all be George RR Martin’s fault – we’ll find out sometime around 2089 when The Winds of Winter and its sequel finally make it into print) has informed some of the downbeat antipathy that’s come the way of prequel TV series House of the Dragon recently. According to Samba, the show’s second season has experienced a major viewings slump – 61% from the finale of season one to the end of season two – and the main complaint seems to be that it’s all a bit slow and tedious.
A tale of Fire and Blood this might be, but at times this season it felt like those famous flames had dwindled to the status of a flickering candle, while the wet stuff on display seemed more like that last drop of ketchup you can never quite get out of the bottle. Alicent going camping; Daemon spending what felt like decades wandering about Harrenhal having freaky dreams and visions; the interminable prospect of another small council meeting about grain shortages: in Game of Thrones, right up until the end, it always felt like the show was building towards something truly climactic. Not so much here, though the episode with the dragons was fabulous enough that most of us will keep watching for at least a little while longer.
While we wait for season three, there’s the prospect of several other shows set in Martin’s world to slaver over. But will any of them really recapture the majesty of peak-season GOT?
