Fans Split Over House of the Dragon Finale: 'Worst Season Ever' or 'Politically Exhilarating'?

Television By TooFab Staff |
Warner Bros.

The HBO drama wrapped its Season 2 with what some viewers felt was a rather anti-climactic finale episode.

Some disappointed fans have been quick to label this season of House of the Dragon as the "worst season" in the Game of Thrones universe, as it wraps up Season 2.

Many felt the show -- based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood -- took a somewhat anti-climactic approach to the material with Sunday's hour.

Though some viewers hoped some kind of battle between the Blacks and the Greens would take place during the final episode, swords were mostly left undrawn and dragons remained largely un-used.

After a season trying to recruit armies on both sides, those alliances were solidified in the finale -- as the new recruits began to march across Westeros for battle during the episode's closing montage.

That came after Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) learned Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) welcomed three new dragon riders to her side, ready to defend the realm. This lead to a tense standoff between Rhaenyra and Alicent (Olivia Cooke), following their earlier meeting in King's Landing.

After sneaking to Dragonstone to meeting with Rhaenyra in secret, Alicent revealed her plan to have Halaena take the throne in King's Landing after Aemond leaves for the Riverlands -- before paving the way for Rhaenyra's return. However, Rhaenyra knew the only way she'd ever be accepted to take over the throne is by killing Alicent's son, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).

The latter is something Alicent surprisingly agreed to.

Surprisingly, the crucial conversation was one that was not included in the book.

"What was interesting was that Ryan and the writers decided to only see them together twice," she told TheWrap. "There's something just chilling about them not being near each other, but you feel them in the room together and you’re just anticipating them coming together."

Patel further explained the last big scene between the friends turn enemies.

"It's about two people who love each other, who think they loved each other and they're trying to pretend that they don't," she said. "That's what keeps us at the edge of our seat."

Other notable moments included Daemon (Matt Smith) bending the knee to his wife, following a vision that included a ton of Game of Thrones footage ... and Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) finally finding a wild dragon, but not actually riding it.

Despite the heavy conversations, tense moments, a surprising Daenerys cameo and a final montage, fans were still unhappy. Though there were some very popular tweets from those disappointed by the hour, there were also many viewers still very excited about what the finale set in motion for Season 3.

On Monday, show-runner Ryan Condal confirmed the show will end with Season 4, with the third season going into production early 2025.

House of the Dragon season two is now streaming on Max.

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