Warning: spoilers follow for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
I have a habit of watching popular TV series several years after their final seasons have aired. I watched LOST in late 2013 (three years after the finale), Breaking Bad in 2019 (six years later), and now, finally, the pop cultural fantasy phenomenon Game of Thrones, five years after the divisive final episode broke the fandom apart. Whether you consider this viewing habit unfortunate or preferable is up to you (in my defense, my knowledge of the above series’ plots had managed to remain more or less spoiler-free during that time).
While the increasingly convoluted and poorly thought-out latter half of LOST has not quite stood the test of time, seeing the absolute television powerhouse that is Game of Thrones in 2024 is, to be dramatic, life-changing. The betrayal, the scheming, the sharp tongues: each and every minute was enthralling, up until the unfortunate last two seasons, when the source material#ad had run dry and the showrunners made what felt like stupid decision after stupid decision.
Luckily for me (or unluckily, depending on how you see it), my first ever GOT watch overlapped with the airing of the second season of House of the Dragon, GOT’s first prequel/spinoff series (excuse me, successor show). House of the Dragon, set roughly 200 years before the beginning of Game of Thrones, follows Daenerys’ Targaryen ancestors and the civil war between them#ad, aptly named The Dance of the Dragons. This conflict is briefly mentioned by Princess Shireen in GOT, as she explains a book she is reading about the war to Ser Davos Seaworth (you know, before she was burned alive by her father).
House of the Dragon’s first season aired in 2022, three years after GOT ended, and was immediately a massive success. It scratched the itch that disappointed GOT fans had held onto since the upsetting finale aired, a swan song that had let down viewers everywhere with a “that’s it?”. HOTD’s first season breathed new life into the franchise, introducing new, exciting characters, a phenomenal cast, plenty of top-notch dragon CGI, and the same intriguing political scheming that had put GOT fans on the edge of their seats in the early seasons.
That first season was my first real introduction into the Song of Ice and Fire universe. While I had a very loose understanding (you know nothing Jon Snow, et cetera) of the people and plot in Game of Thrones, I had no idea that political machinations in a fantasy setting could be so damn exciting. Seeing a young Rhaenyra Targaryen’s friendship with Alicent Hightower devolve into an ugly, antagonistic competition for the throne was nothing short of thrilling, with secrets and lies spilling over into tense family reunions.
Naturally, my expectations for Season 2 were sky-high. The Season 1 finale ended with an unforgettable shot: Rhaenyra’s face, torn with grief, anger, and a burning desire for revenge, upon learning of the death of her second son Lucerys at the hands of Prince Aemond and his dragon Vhagar. After the extensive family history setup of Season 1, I anxiously anticipated an inevitable war between the Green and Black factions in the second season. The setup was there, the conflict was prevalent, and the marketing for Season 2 honed in on the war itself: all must choose. Everyone thought we were in for an exciting and unforgettable second season.
Unfortunately, Season 2 fell short in every way. The dialogue was bland and boring, barely anything actually happened, and aside from a few excellent highlights, it was increasingly tough to pay attention and be invested in the characters and plot. What a catastrophic letdown it was! While the cleverly timed Father’s Day premiere, “A Son for a Son”, was promising, the entire season ended up being a back-and-forth of “Will there be a war? Idk. Maybe if we feel like it!”. The finale episode had viewers wondering if a war-defining battle could be squeezed into a mere 70 minutes, only to be let down yet again with even more setup.
Watching Season 2 air at the same time I was watching Game of Thrones from start to finish (in an embarrassingly short amount of time, I might add) only further highlighted House of the Dragon’s shortcomings. One of my favorite GOT characters was easily Tyrion Lannister; he was ridiculed and shamed for his dwarfism, but overcame it with his wit, knowledge, dry humor, and clever plotting. The terse conversations between him and Master of Whispers Varys revealed everything and nothing at the same time, while Littlefinger similarly schemed silently in the shadows. The many, many battles in the War of the Five Kings#ad were orchestrated in a way that kept you guessing who was going to come out on top.
Even Game of Thrones episodes where nothing as ferocious as the Battle of the Bastards or as shocking as the Red Wedding#ad happened, episodes that were spent in throne rooms and Small Council meetings and poorly lit corridors, episodes that were all conversation and very little action, still made for spectacular television. I was always on the edge of my seat wondering who was going to betray their allies, who was in cahoots, what somebody’s plan or next step was for winning the throne. The series earned its title; it most certainly was a game, and nearly everybody was good at playing it (or had somebody on their side who was).
Transitioning from a sensational Game of Thrones episode to a newly aired House of the Dragon episode was so disappointing, it was hard to get excited for HOTD Sundays after a while. Watching a loaded conversation between Tyrion and his father Tywin or a humorous jest between Arya and The Hound, and then following that with the most boring war council ever between Rhaenyra and her supporting lords, was just… depressing. I wanted to scream every time the scene changed to Daemon tweaking in his dreams in the halls of Harrenhal. Not only was nothing happening in House of the Dragon, the talking portions, which were arguably the heart and soul of what made Game of Thrones so good, were so, so bad. Even though Season 2 was shortened to only eight episodes, it was still a drag to get through them all.
Which brings us to the Season 2 finale. It left off on an exciting note: the Triarchy ships set sail with Tyland Lannister at the helm, the crippled and disgraced King Aegon and Larys are on the run, Helaena speaks an alarming prophecy, armies are mobilizing, Otto Hightower (who has been missing all season) is spotted in a dark cell, and Alicent magically appears in front of Rhaenyra, promising to surrender King’s Landing and with it Aegon’s life. While several side plots have been set in motion, promising an exciting third season, it’s hard to be impressed when this is just an average weekday for Game of Thrones. Admittedly, GOT had a lot more families, armies, and individual characters to pinpoint amongst the many diverse regions of Westeros, but still. This kind of exciting setup was something you saw in a premiere or midseason marker. GOT had an indestructible 10-episode formula of setup, mind-blowing penultimate episode, and then a finale that wrapped up many loose ends but left people wondering and wanting for more in the next season.
House of the Dragon has completely failed to execute that formula again, despite premiering with a very strong first season. I never felt bored watching GOT (except for when Dany was trudging through the desert for what felt like fucking forever), but with HOTD I was checking my phone during nearly every episode. Even with a promising season finale, with Season 2 being such a letdown, it’s difficult to feel hopeful about Season 3. What are they gonna do, show us one cool battle and then fill the rest of the episodes with conversational bullshit again?
Unfortunately, given the trajectory that Game of Thrones took in its later seasons, it does not bode well for where House of the Dragon is headed. While the exact point where GOT went bad is contested among fans, with some claiming it was as early as Season 4 or 5, I personally believe Season 7 is where the story started falling apart. With a sudden decrease in episode count, there was much less runtime to flesh out the story, and the writing became terrible out of nowhere, with beloved characters who had remained consistent for the first six seasons suddenly making terrible, out-of-character decisions.
Reaching the end of the source material was a disadvantage, to be sure, but the pacing and character development choices were disastrous—and House of the Dragon seems to be facing the same fate. Rhaenyra transitioned from a purposeful “I am the one true queen” resolve to a weak “maybe I’ll give up the throne so we can all play nicely” timidity. Daemon declared his loyalty to Rhaenyra in the Season 1 finale, only to do the same thing again at the end of Season 2 after some truly awful plot padding that I couldn’t care less about. And why did it take three fucking episodes of Rhaena skipping through the hills, The Sound of Music style, to find that goddamn dragon? Only to leave us hanging about whether or not she would claim it??
Season 2 gave us far too high expectations, when in reality they gave us far too little to keep fans engaged. Mud wrestling? Really? That’s how you want to end your season? The pacing pendulum seems to be swinging in the opposite direction for HOTD. While GOT was in a rush to wrap everything up, leading to unrealistic lightning-fast travel between the seven kingdoms and an underwhelming, poorly directed end-all battle against the dead, HOTD is stretching out every last scrap of story they can find to make more seasons and therefore more money. Retconning GOT’s ending by showing Daenerys as the Prince that was Promised in Daemon’s dream shows just how little the writers care about maintaining consistency.
That being said, there is still a shred of hope. House of the Dragon’s future may be fixed, but there is time still for the upcoming seasons to improve on their mistakes. Lazy and rushed writing, inconsistent character development, and a whole lot of bad decisions may have been the downfall of GOT, a series that once proudly stood at the top as a pop culture icon, but it’s not too late for HOTD to avoid these mistakes. There is still time for the third season to make a comeback, and hopefully, given all of the backlash to Season 2, there will be some corrections going forward. House of the Dragon doesn’t have to suffer the same fate as Game of Thrones did, but at this rate, it’s anyone’s guess where it will go.
All photos are property of HBO.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
Watch House of the Dragon Season 1#ad or dig deeper into the source material with the book#ad.
The Path/パス is an online bilingual journal of arts, culture, and entertainment bringing you in-depth reviews, news, and analysis on the hottest properties in sci-fi fantasy film, television, and gaming.
Through in-depth research on intellectual properties and major franchises, we develop content covering your favorite books, series, films, games, and shows, such as The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon, Fallout, and Shogun.
If you enjoy our takes, consider buying us a coffee! Your support will help us continue producing excellent pop culture writing in English and Japanese for a true East-meets-West entertainment experience! Arigatō gozaimasu!