our impressions of the first two episodes of the second season

With the first season of House of the Dragon I didn’t start out with feet of lead, but not even of balsa, that’s it. After all, my career as a television viewer (by the way, how twentieth-century does this definition sound?) is starting to be long, and over the years I have seen too many spin-offs, prequels or appendices of TV series squander the thrust coming from the reference workseven more so if quite famous as – precisely – Game of thrones.

At the time, among other things, I very much loved the television adaptation that David Benioff and DB Weiss made from George RR Martin’s novels, appreciating its growth from a fantasy work created not with a penny, but almost, to the truth and Colossal itself capable of churning out cinematic battles on the level of some orchestrated by Peter Jackson in the film trilogy The Lord of the Rings (with which, moreover, Game of thrones was timidly trying to converse through the presence of Sean Bean).

Precisely due to the aforementioned growth, to return to the bombshell, the first episodes of House of the Dragon they seemed visually so-so to me (compared to the “mother” series they were), and It took me a while to get used to the new context, the new characters but above all to a necessarily more extended development of the narrative, considering that the series covers a decidedly wider period of time than Game of thrones.

Yet after a few warm-up laps I ended up giving in, appreciating showrunner Ryan J. Condal’s ability to use the foundations laid by Martin to develop truly intriguing characters made even more charismatic by the cast choices, as well as the distributed direction between Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel, Miguel Sapochnik and Greg Yaitanes, who drew the proverbial blood from the turnips by making the most of editing and photography, while on the other side of the fence Amazon was buried in money The Lord of the Rings – The Rings of Power.

Where were we?

And in short, while the Prime Video series fell a little short after its excellent start, the “underdog” managed to entertain me until the last episode, which also ended with several unresolved issues and the promise of a war. Yes, because after the death of the good king Viserys (Paddy Considine) Prince Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) placed himself on the throne taking advantage of a, er, misunderstanding, while Rhaenyra, previously designated by her father, had to “settle” of Dragonstone, to the obvious displeasure of both the woman and her uncle-consort (yes, that’s how it works in those parts) Daemon (Matt Smith).

So, to make a long story short, on the one hand we have the faction of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), wife of the late sovereign, mother of Aegon etc. etc., while on the other the one linked to Rhaenyra, who certainly does not intend to remain silent and good, and in fact he sends his children in search of allies among the ranks of the usual Starks, Arryn and Baratheon. Precisely in the headquarters of the latter, Storm’s End, the young Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) is intercepted by the violent prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), ending up killed in a skirmish aboard their respective dragons.

Mothers and children

Precisely from this mourning, which is also regretted by Aemond himself, who did not want to go that far, the second season begins with a relatively staid first episode directed by Alan Taylor which is concerned with redistributing the pieces on the chessboard, reiterating the rivalries between the different sides, yes, but at the same time showing us through a particularly eloquent montage the pity felt by Alicent for the loss of her former friend. Evidently, unlike their respective children or partners, the two have not yet renounced humanity in the name of power, and this partly depends on the strong friendship that bound them in the past, but also on the fact that they are noble, but still women. in a world ruled by men obsessed with revenge, apparently incapable of understanding things like a mother’s pain.

At the end the episode increases in pace until it places a big splash destined to further exacerbate the various conflicts while the second, directed by Clare Kilner, gets into the heart of the action alternating dramatic moments – there is a truly intense sequence that echoes the walk of Cersei’s shame in Game of Thrones – to others that are more tense and even violent.

In all of this the “classic” cast members such as Eve Best, Rhys Ifans, Matt Smith and Olivia Cooke herself have the opportunity to reiterate their skill, while still allowing the “new talents” such as Phia Saban to emergeabsolutely impeccable in the role of Queen Helaena Targaryen forced to suffer the care of her husband-brother Aegon, evidently destined to collect Joffrey’s inheritance.

Overall, in any case, an excellent start: full of events but managed with the right rhythm, as well as reiterating the respect that still binds the two protagonists (but how much longer will it last?) while the various men nearby have no scruples about exploit the worst misfortunes to maintain power, between one dialogue and another he also inserts little gems capable of highlighting the three-dimensionality of the characters, or showing sides that remained unexplored during the first season. All this always sowing the seeds of weakness and corruption to which the Targaryen dynasty is destined, above all due to the “fault” of generational transitions that are not exactly happy.

The staging is also OK: I could be wrong, but probably the good reception of the first installment made the production earn some money, which allows itself a couple of extra touches especially in terms of exteriors, while I continue to appreciate the photography choices devoted to darkness and the management of the music. In short, for me I couldn’t ask for more than that.

The first episode of the second season of House of the Dragon is available on Sky and Now, while the remaining seven will be distributed on a weekly basis until August 5th.