This text accommodates spoilers for the “Home of the Dragon” season 2 finale.
“Home of the Dragon” season 2 simply ended a lot sooner than it ought to have. The season had a diminished episode order and ended up with eight episodes fairly than the ten it was alleged to have. As collection author Sara Hess informed Leisure Weekly, “it wasn’t actually our selection” to chop down the variety of episodes, even when HBO insisted to Deadline that the episode depend trim was “story-driven.”
TV seasons getting shorter is not new, it has been occurring for years. We have gone from 22 episodes a season all the way down to 13, then 10, and now eight is regular. It is a dangerous development that is include hyper-inflating budgets and the diminishing of writers rooms, which additionally means there’s much less time for the sort of experimentation that made reveals like “Misplaced” a cultural phenomenon. The shorter seasons additionally implies that many reveals can really feel rushed these days, as we go from huge second to huge second in an try to prioritize binging with out letting the story breathe.
In relation to “Home of the Dragon,” the primary season felt like an ideal adaptation for this specific story, fleshing out the story and the characters in order that we cared in regards to the individuals and never simply the large fights. Season 2 has had a few of that, incorporating new scenes so as to add context, however principally it looks like table-setting. The season finale, particularly, simply finally ends up doing lots of build-up for occasions we can’t see till season 3. And the factor is, it did not should be this fashion. “Home of the Dragon” would’ve virtually definitely ended its sophomore season in a grandiose and fairly bloody method if the episode depend hadn’t been trimmed.
Battle of the Gullet defined
All through season 2, we have spent a considerable period of time exploring the consequences that Staff Black’s naval blockage on King’s Touchdown has had on its populace. The blockage brought about famine, which led to the riots we noticed earlier within the season. It additionally led to Tyland Lannister searching for the assistance of mercenaries from the Triarchy to interrupt the blockade. Within the season finale, he secures a big fleet to battle the Sea Snake in what guarantees to be fairly the rematch after the battle towards the actual Prince That Was Promised, the Crabfeeder.
The Battle of the Gullet, because it’s identified, has huge repercussions within the present’s supply materials, marking a turning level for the Dance of Dragons that shifts the hierarchy of energy in Westeros. And but, as huge because the upcoming battle appears to be to the story, we do not get to see it within the season 2 finale. It is an unlucky growth that leaves the episode with none type of actual payoff. As a substitute, by ending with either side getting ready their armies and searching for our allies for a future battle, the entire issues performs like a repeat of Rhaenyra and Otto Hightower sending out phrase to their vassals and calling them to help within the upcoming conflict again within the season 1 finale (a conflict which we’re nonetheless ready for, an entire season later).
At the least that episode had the large shock of previous Vhagar killing Lucerys Velaryon like she was having a dementia episode that made her assume she was again in Dorne committing conflict crimes. The season 2 finale? Nothing practically as surprising, save for a wild imaginative and prescient of occasions we already noticed in “Recreation of Thrones.”
Rhaenyra desires King’s Touchdown
Then there’s the opposite huge occasion teased within the season 2 finale — Rhaenyra conquering King’s Touchdown. We spent a considerable quantity of the season 2 runtime exploring Rhaenyra’s hesitation to win the throne via bloodshed, however she takes a pointy flip within the finale and decides to simply go on the assault regardless of the casualties. Toss in Alicent’s promise to have the gates huge open for her, and it definitely looks like we’ll be getting a battle for King’s Touchdown sooner or later.
However why does it should be the long run? Each of those occasions had been clearly structured to be the centerpieces for season 2’s authentic ninth and tenth episodes. The Battle of the Gullet, particularly, is the sort of epic naval battle that we got here to count on from the penultimate episode in any season of “Recreation of Thrones.” After that, episode 10 would have culminated with Rhaenyra arriving at King’s Touchdown, kickstarting the following section of the Dance of the Dragons.
Because it stands, nonetheless, season 2 feels incomplete and missing in decision. Worse but, if eradicating the ultimate two episodes of the season and transferring their occasions into season 3 was meant to be a cost-cutting measure, then HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery simply shot themselves within the foot. On prime of no matter battles or huge VFX-heavy moments season 3 was already alleged to have, including the Battle of the Gullet and the Fall of King’s Touchdown will make issues extremely costly. Should you begin the season with two huge battles, the place the hell are you able to go from there to make the arc of season 3 satisfying?
“Home of the Dragon” will return for season 3 at a yet-to-be-announced date.