House of the Dragon (Season 2)

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⭐7/10

We waited 2 years for this?? 

I have been defending this show all season long. No, it's not quite as dynamic as peak Thrones, but it has its own strengths and I consider this show to be the closest thing we have to appointment viewing. I've also felt it's held to an impossible standard. It has a huge budget, and it does a lot right with the settings, costumes, writing, acting, etc. 

After the finale, I found this show hard to defend. Every episode felt like it was setting up a huge confrontation. There was a lot of positioning all season long. Meetings, hushed conversations, posturing, strategizing. In fact, it did this to a fault and it got completely formulaic, something Thrones never did; 50 minutes of setup, then hopefully ten minutes of conflict at the end. Except then the conflict stopped happening, and it was all setup. But that's okay, because the finale will pay it all off... Right? 

I don't consider it a spoiler to say that there simply was no payoff. The finale may as well have been episode 4. Just more setup, now for season 3. We didn't really move anywhere this season, and we're at the same spot we were to begin this season. Who's idea was this? Rhaeynera did nothing, Daemons arc was comically boring, Allicent had nothing to do. Loooots of standing in halls talking. 

So yeah, I hate to say it, but this season was often boring. Boring! That's the worst insult you can give a piece of entertainment, I think, and yet I was finding my eyes glazing over as I watched yet another character I'm not invested in having conversations about their desire to play a role in the war that we never see. 

This is an incredibly negative review, so I should point out that there are still some terrific moments. Nobody does fantasy atmosphere like these showrunners, so there's that. There is also the best scene of TV that I've seen since... Well probably the finale of season 1. This season proves they can still produce those high highs, but they were very few and far between this season. I'm hoping things can be made whole next year (plz no 2 year break), but this felt like an entire season of filler episodes. 

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