House of the Dragon, season 2 finale review: a thumpingly disappointing denouement

The second series of the sprawling Game of Thrones spin-off has been solid, if unspectacular

You have to credit House of the Dragon (Sky Atlantic) for keeping its foot on the pedal. In just two seasons, it has achieved what Game of Thrones required eight years to accomplish. After a bright beginning, the prequel to the Westeros blockbuster has signed off with an underwhelming series two finale sure to draw comparisons with the dreadful fizzling out of Game of Thrones in 2019.
There’s no need to be hyperbolic, and it is important to point out that the episode was nowhere near as wretched as the conflagration of cack-handed twists and turns that tanked Thrones five years ago. But it was nonetheless a thumpingly disappointing denouement in which several key players in this chronicling of an ancient civil war within the dragon-riding Targaryen dynasty acted wildly out of character. 
The biggest victim of the personality do-over was Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), who infiltrated the castle of her best friend-turned-mortal enemy, Rhaenyra (a perpetually peeved Emma D’Arcy), to propose a peace deal. 
Deal? More an abject capitulation by Alicent. Her murderous son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) – de facto ruler of the Seven Kingdoms by virtue of owning the biggest dragon – was soon to fly off to battle. Once he had taken his leave, Alicent would open the gates to King’s Landing and surrender her “green” forces to Rhaenyra’s “blacks.” 
It was a generous offer – but not generous enough. Rhaenyra pointed out that she would also require the head of the king – Alicent’s maimed oldest son, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) – to seal the bargain. 
Alicent permitted her lower lip to wobble briefly and then agreed. Contrasted with the steely figure she presented in series one, Lady Hightower had ended up in a low place. Was this the most ludicrous character transformation in the Game of Thrones universe since Jon Snow turned into a moping teenager when offered the chance to rule all of Westeros? Answers on a raven to King’s Landing.
The bodysnatchers had likewise got at Matt Smith’s Prince Daemon. Having been plotting to overthrow his wife Rhaenyra from his digs at the haunted fortress of Harrenhal, he had a change of heart when local witch Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) had him slap his hand against the roots of a mystic tree so that he could experience a vision.
It was a trippy, narcotic flash forward to the events covered in Game of Thrones – a bong of ice and fire chucked in as an Easter egg to fans. Daemon saw zombie bigwig the Night King plotting mischief north of the Wall, followed by the silhouette of the Mother of Dragons, Daenerys Targaryen.
This put the frighteners up the cruel and haughty Daemon (he wasn’t to know the events wouldn’t occur for nearly 200 years). He immediately cancelled plans to usurp Rhaenyra and bent the knee when she turned up at Harrenhal with her dragon ready to fry him to a crisp. “My queen,” he said – a display of docility that betrayed Smith’s diligent work portraying Daemon as a supreme cad. 
The finale’s other flaw was that it failed to deliver the much-anticipated conflict between the greens and blacks. The battle lines were drawn, and there was a dramatic closing montage of dragons, soldiers, etc, marching toward the frontline. But the decisive face-off won’t be until the next season – at least two years away, given the length of time it takes HBO to bring to life its huge dragons. 
The anti-climax was deafening. House of the Dragon has had a solid second series, and a few big, splashy dragon fights have been up there with the best of Game of Thrones. But after all that build-up, this was a bloodless conclusion. Game of Thrones fans who have already watched that original Song of Ice and Fire adaptation go down in flames may wonder if they can bear to have their hearts broken a second time. 
House of the Dragon episode 8 is now available to watch on NOW and Sky; it will air on Sky Atlantic on Monday August 6 at 9pm