REVIEW: ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 1 — “A Son For A Son”

The season finale of House of the Dragon Season 1 was astounding. It was emotionally resonant and electric. Hosue of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 is titled “A Son For A Son,” and it takes time to build up to that threat. This premiere episode slowly shows the beginning of the Dance of the Dragons and, more importantly, deepens the connection between House Black and Green and the rest of Westeros.

House of the Dragon Season Episode 2 captures two movements between the dueling mothers and queens. While Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) struggles to accept her son’s murder in King’s Landing, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) grows concerned that Aegon’s Small Council may lead them to an all-out war. All while the conniving Larys suggests Aegon needs a new Hand.  arrives at a fateful decision.

For Alicent, she worries about her voice being devalued by Aegon’s small council. But for Rhaenyra, she has decided to go to war, claiming a son for a son. Where Alicent worries endlessly about her status as a respected voice with her children, Rhaenyrys’s small council is filled with women. The only concern for the Blacks is the worry of making too many choices pushed by revenge, while the matriarch of the Greens becomes a pawn.

The inner workings of King’s Landing are frustratingly soft. They look too weak and too broken to keep moving forward. In every way, the Hightowers seem to be flailing children, whereas Rhaenyra and her court are powerful, lacking only the resources and people the Greens have. However, at this point, peace and stability are what concerns the Hightower court, whereas revenge and atonement are what the Blacks seek, with Rhaenyra’s motherly devotion propelling it. Rhaenyra’s want for Aemond’s head, as vengeful as it may be, is not reactionary. It’s not made in her grief but rather when she is on the other side (or as much as a mother can get through the death of her child).

However, outside of the connections with the larger world, House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 is painfully slow. The pace could be bearable if it took big swings consistently. However, that just doesn’t happen here. It’s all set, dressing for what is about to happen. But it isn’t devoid of emotion, particularly where Rhaenyra is concerned.

The most emotional part of the season premiere is how much pain Rhaenyra carries in her performance. She rides her dragon, searching the ocean and the beaches and looking for mere pieces of her child. At this point, Emma D’Arcy’s performance is miles above the rest of the cast. At the same time, there isn’t a bad performance in the bunch. D’Arcy as Rhaenyra is heartbreaking—even when she isn’t speaking.

Mostly quiet for the entirety of  Hosue of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1, we see her grieve, we see her lead, and we see her be a mother. She is a ruler with a ferocious dragon, she is a leader ready for war, but she is above all else a mother who has lost her child. It’s heartbreaking but a choice that grounds this series in a way that its predecessor lacked. D’Arcy brings a vulnerability to Rhaenyra, sure. But there is something more to the moments filled with tears. There is a deep seething rage. As she lays her son to rest, she is soft about how she acts toward her remaining children. But a fury steels her resolve when she sits at the top of the Small Council table.

Lady Jeyne Aron has come to Rhaenyra’s side, Lord Cregan Stark has pledged 2000 Greybeards, and all of this has been gathered by Rhaenyra’s last surviving son Jacaerys Valaryon (Harry Collett). We see Jace commanding the conversation with Stark in the opening, and as the episode continues, it’s clear how much he is trying to enter the fray.

Truly, everything around Rhaenyra and her children and court is where the beauty and power of the series comes from. Alicent is a remnant of the woman we saw last season; her ignorant children are beyond frustrating. Outside of our time spent with House Black, the rest of the House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 echo the series’ early seasons. It is a prequel, too. It echoes characters like Tywin and Cersei, but they lack the charisma or chemistry that others do within the story. It is Game of Thrones on the surface, but it is hollow underneath.

The last season of House of the Dragon reminded me I fell in love with George R.R. Martin’s world and its adaptation to the screen. However, House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 doesn’t capture that same magic. It’s slow-moving and offers little impact other than set dressing. There is something there, of course, but it is not as striking as the series premiere or any of the aired episodes from Season 1.

With critiques still in mind, the implications of the end of House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 are the most rousing element of it. The choice to kill a child is unsettling and cruel in a way that leaves a mark on Rhaenyra’s bid for the thrown. But it is made by Daemon’s wishes, not his queen’s. In a gruesome scene that happens entirely off-camera, the showrunners allow you, the audience, to fill in the gaps in a terrifying way. What comes next is sure to be bloody, but how quickly it flows remains the question. Extremely slow and banal to start, Episode 1 ends with a bang.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 1 is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBO Max) with new episodes every Sunday.