‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 has more murder and sex — wastes Matt Smith: review
06.06.2024 - 20:13
/ nypost.com
“Game of Thrones” prequel series, “House of the Dragon” returns for Season 2 after a long wait (Season 1 aired in 2022 and did gangbusters, with around 29 million viewers tuning in weekly). Premiering Sunday, June 16 on HBO (9 p.m.) and streaming on Max, the story picks up where Season 1 left off, following Daenerys Targaryen’s (Emilia Clarke) ancestors around 200 years before the original show. Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is supposed to be Queen, as her late father, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), named her as his heir before he died in the first season.
Daemon (Matt Smith), her hotheaded uncle/ husband – yep, those Targaryens love incest – is ready to make heads roll to enforce her rule. But, her half-brother, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), and supporters like his mom, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and grandfather, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), have usurped Rhaenyra and claimed that he’s the rightful monarch. With two different siblings fighting over the Iron Throne, now it’s war.
To make matters worse, Aegon’s volatile brother, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), killed Rhaenyra’s son at the end of Season 1. In Season 2, the two sides of the family are each trying to recruit powerful allies to support Aegon or Rhaenyra’s respective claims to the throne, as the bodies pile up. Similar to Season 1, Season 2 doesn’t compare to the original show in terms of character depth and writing quality.
Where “Game of Thrones” was Christopher Nolan, “House of the Dragon” is Michael Bay. It’s more bombastic and less smart, but still fun in its own way. Season 2 is bigger and bloodier.