‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 2 Review – The Fallout From Tragedy

While episode one of season two of House of the Dragon mainly served to set up the events of the season, episode two is where things really take off. After the horrifying tragedy that occurred at the end of episode one, we see how the Greens and the Blacks deal with this first real blow in the war. If Lucerys’ death served as a reminder that the Targaryens don’t really control their dragons, Jaehaerys’s slaying serves as a reminder that it is the innocents who often suffer most in war.

Is Aegon a Good Character?

Aegon Targaryen was widely thought to be the Joffrey Baratheon of the House of the Dragon series. However, despite being Team Black myself; I found Aegon’s reaction to his son’s killing completely tangible. Aegon Targaryen, on a normal day; is a vile and dislikeable character. However, Tom Glynn-Carney did a phenomenal job this episode. And in an episode where Aegon and Helaena were the most sympathetic characters, it highlights even more how utterly dislikeable people like Criston Cole are. Obviously, the death and gore in the show are unsettling, but it was the way that Otto Hightower and the others in the show used Jaehaerys’ death as propaganda that really didn’t sit right with us.

Daemon Has Always Been Selfish

On top of seeing how the Greens reacted to the death, it was good to also get Team Blacks’ insight on this. Rhaenyra’s reaction to the death and finding out that Daemon inadvertently caused it was the right kind of reaction to have and it felt good to hear Rhaenyra acknowledge that not only would she not want a mother to go through the death of a child like she had, but that Helaena least of all deserved it. The scene between Rhaenyra and Daemon was tense and touched upon a lot of things fans have been wondering for a while. Does Daemon truly wish to champion for Rhaenyra because he believes she’s the rightful heir or is it so he can just be close to what he feels is his birthright? Will we ever see Daemon and Rhaenyra share a screen again or is their relationship now over?

While he had significantly less time than he did in episode one, Jacaerys is becoming a standout and his small scene with Baela was a nice and natural break in the episode. Even the small mention of Harwin Strong spoke volumes, despite it being so short. In addition, Otto Hightower finally acknowledged (though not mentioned by name) Alicent’s fourth child with Viserys, who resides in Oldtown; was nice too. Fans who just watch the show will probably be confused, as a fourth child was never mentioned in season one, but fans of the books and literature will know all about Daeron Targaryen.

Blood Will Continue to Be Spilled

The biggest and best moment in the episode is the fight between Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk. A significant moment in the lore, this fight between twins is a reminder that it’s not just the Targaryen family that’s split up in this Dance of the Dragons. It was an intense and well-choreographed scene that was a nice way to bowtie the episode. Blood is being spilled and if there was any hope of this not becoming a full-scale war, that hope is now lost.

In the end, this episode is a lot more action-packed than episode one. Criston Cole still remains a tool. And while fans may know who ends up on top at the end, this is still a tense and surprising journey getting there.

What do you think of House of the Dragon season two episode two?

House of the Dragon is now available to stream on Max. New episodes will debut every Sunday on HBO.