Small Council: Let's debate the season 2 finale of House of the Dragon

DAN: I'm not gonna belabor this: I had some big problems with this episode, but to prove I come in good faith I'll start with a list of things I liked:

• Everything with the new dragonriders was great. I especially loved Ulf White, who went from total coward to big-headed jerk the second he got a dragon. I adored how uncomfortable he was making everyone, especially Jace. House of the Dragon doesn't generally have many laughs but Ulf generated a ton of comic energy. He's my favorite new character of the season, just ahead of Ser Simon Strong.
• Staying on the lighter side of things, I enjoyed the scenes with Tyland Lannister in Essos. They went on for a little too long but I like that they added levels to the episode. You have Rhaenyra and Alicent's traumatic reunion in one corner and a fun subplot featuring mud wrestling and a monkey in the other. Variety keeps things spicy.
• All season long, Alyn of Hull has been stern to the point of inscrutability, so it was cathartic to watch him unload on deadbeat dad Corlys.
• Surprisingly, my favorite scene was Criston Cole's speech about war to Gwayne Hightower. I thought it was quite poetic and poignant. And for a while I didn't think I'd ever like a Criston scene.

Unfortunately, I thought the episode missed with its big thrusts. On a macro level, not enough happened, plain and simple. I feel like we were promised war at the end of season 1 and we're still being promised it now. The season had some great spikes — the Battle of Rook's Rest is the obvious highlight — but I needed another big climax. They didn't give me one.

And what they did give me I have very mixed feelings about. I enjoyed the Daemon-Rhaenyra reconciliation scene, but I don't like how Daemon's character turn was inspired by yet another dream/vision sequence, rather than something internal. I don't know why they want to tie this show so closely to Game of Thrones. Tell me why these characters are worth caring about without shackling them to a story that won't take place for another hundred years.

And then there's the big Rhaenyra-Alicent scene. The acting from Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke was tremendous, but I didn't buy Alicent's character turn. She loves and believes in Rhaenyra so much that she's ready to sacrifice her invalid son? And how did it never come up that Rhaenyra's husband took out on a hit on Alicent's grandchild earlier in the season? I feel like the show wanted these two to reconnect despite all that's happened between them and just forced it through.

It's possible I'm just too close to the source material, George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, to look at this objectively. I'm curious to hear what everyone thought!

JOEL: While I hated the season finale as a whole because of the things it didn't do, there were some good moments here and there. The whole season has felt like a big build-up to a huge moment, but it turns out, that moment will be in season 3. The whole season was a tease without a payoff and that did not please me at all. We had to sit through some very poorly crafted storylines like Daemon's trying to figure out if he should blow the whole thing up, which he didn't.

I've been waiting for Alicent to become a bigger player. We've seen her discarded by Aemond, ignored by his counselors, and betrayed by her allies. We had to go with her on her journey of self-discovery, and again, I don't think there was much of a payoff. Like Dan, I have a hard time believing she's willing to sacrifice her child for whom she's fought so hard, for so long. She does know she made a lot of mistakes in the past, and maybe she just knows there is nothing she can do, but this sacrifice, to prevent massive bloodshed. The scene was beautifully and subtly performed by both actresses.

I have not read the source material, but now we (maybe only me) find out Helaena is a seer. It isn't necessarily a huge surprise, but there haven't been any hints that this was the case until this episode, unless I was too dense to catch them. This season, Heleana has had subtle growth in her character development, and it's been in the right direction. It will be interesting to see how her story plays out.

Something that has taken me by surprise over the last two episodes is the departure from previous behavior by Lord Larys. In the past, he's been the person with his ear most to the ground concerning the goings on around the keep, city, and kingdom. He's been sneaky, manipulative, murderous, and always seemed to have a secret agenda. In episode 6, we saw a tender moment from him with Aegon. Then he didn't believe the news that Rhaenyra had found new dragon riders. In this episode, we see him attach himself to what seems to be the losing side, or at least the side least likely to win anything. Couple that with Helaena's prophecy that she saw Aegon on a wooden throne, and it confuses Larys' storyline even further. What does he know that we don't? Still, considering the agreement struck by Rhaenyra and Alicent, it was a wise move for Larys to flee with Aegon.

While these scenes in and of themselves were good, they were more fitting for an eighth episode of 10, not for the season finale. This episode did not meet expectations set up by the build-up and in truth, overall, the general story was not advanced very much. As a whole, this episode and the season in its entirety was a huge letdown.

ALEXANDRIA: I thought I was the only one who would find the finale underwhelming. There were some interesting moments, but this just felt like a way to set up the third season instead of bringing us something big to wrap up the season 2 story.

One thing I did enjoy was Daemon's last vision. I liked the connection to Brynden Rivers and seeing Daenerys. And I love the way Helaena hijacked that vision, giving us a look at her abilities. I guess it was the end that I loved the most because Helaena has been so underused—although used more than I thought she would be considering what we know of her story. Seeing her tell Aemond how everything will go and it can't be changed made me want to see more of her. She's such a sweet soul, but she also has some guts to stand up against her brother in that way.

Alicent going to see Rhaenyra was a good twist on Rhaenyra going to see Alicent earlier in the season. Alicent is losing everything, and she's realizing that everything she thought was right was wrong. Seeing her sell out Aegon just to protect herself and Helaena was a twist I didn't see coming. She spent so long protecting Aegon, and now she's just going to accept his death? That didn't feel right, especially considering how weak he is now.

One thing I hate is the confirmation of Sunfyre's death. I want that to be wrong, but I can't see how that is possible. It means that a couple of big moments I couldn't wait for won't happen, and can I just say I'm not happy about that? I don't mind some of the changes, but this one is too much. Sunfyre gave off such Golden Retriever energy, and I wanted to see him at least once last time.

There is one thing that I'm intrigued by, and that's Otto Hightower. Who has held him prisoner, and what do they want? I'm still going to watch season 3, of course, but the season 2 finale was not what I expected. Even with a second and third watch, it's still lacking for a season finale.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.