Ever since it was first announced, House of the Dragon always had a vast amount of attention on it considering the colossal success it was following in Game of Thrones. With Season 2 just around the corner, you get the feeling that the first season was some of sort of warm up or build up to something… with at times (at least I felt) some of the sequences being rushed especially the character development which when compared with Game of Thrones (that did so expertly) is no contest. That is to not to say however it wasn’t a success in its own right otherwise the brilliant HBO stable wouldn’t have bothered with a second season or confirmed that already it’s been renewed for a third season, yes you read that correctly.
Speaking of HBO, there’s just something about the studio that has somehow set it apart from the rest and despite new competition, it’s managed to stay in its lane and pivot when required (the launch of HBO Max being a great example) whilst continuing to deliver quality content such as True Detective, The Sopranos, Game of Thrones and much more like our main focus today.
In House of the Dragon the studio has given Game of Thrones fanatics something to fill the void left when the last episode aired on May 19th, 2019. Also based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the spinoff series set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen. Interestingly though the first episode of the new season kicks off in a different but familiar setting which most who have watched Game of Thrones will be familiar with and is perhaps a sign of yet another potential spinoff in the works (we can only hope).
The upcoming second season (which we were kindly afforded access to the first 4 episodes of by the Showmax team) kicks off in an enthralling and fast-paced manner that is vastly different from the first season. It immediately gives you what you want right off the bat and as mentioned prior, if the first season was the build-up then the second is where the real action and drama ramps up. It ups the ante and picks up where Season 1 left off by further chronicling the war between two warring factions of the Targaryen family led by King Aegon II and Queen Rhaenyra in the fight for control of Westeros – a heart pumping civil war that promises to rip the Seven Kingdoms apart in the battle for the Iron Throne.
We were made to promise to not reveal too much and we’re holding true to that, what we will say instead is that if you’re looking for House of the Dragon to deliver and consequently stick close to the winning Game of Thrones formula, then you’re in luck with Season 2 which flies express to Showmax and M-Net from 17 June 2024.