House of Dragon Finale Is Intense and Messy, As it Should Be
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON FINALE OF HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
Game of Thrones had a knack for finales. Most of them give some satisfaction in closing narratives while also leaving you anxiously anticipating the next season. It is something so many other big shows failed to do this year. So how did House of the Dragon do it? By making a mess.
Stories are built on conflict and resolution, from something as small as someone’s own internal struggle to a the beginning of a war. Some stories have mysteries that get resolved at the end, the pursuit of truth. Others are love stories that create suspense as two must somehow end up together.
Then there’s George R.R. Martin and his inspirations from history. History is messy. People are messy, and things can go wrong any number of ways. It is that potential for chaos that leaves you on edge. Right as you feel things are calmer, stable, and moving toward a clean resolution, shit goes down.
In season one, House of the Dragon moved steadily toward a war over succession: Princess Rhaenrya against Prince Aegon and the families and political factions that backed each. King Viserys and Queen Alicent made gestures toward peace in episode 8, only to have that glimmer of hope dashed in the next episode.
Queen Alicent misunderstood her husband’s incoherent ramblings to be a deathbed declaration changing the line of succession. The scene and subsequent episode depict Queen Alicent as honestly believing the declaration to be real but we also know she and her family wanted Aegon to be the heir. Either way, she spoke his dying declaration out loud and the small council revealed their secret plot to install Aegon as King anyway.
Things definitely got messy in that episode yet still, the two sides were not officially at war. In episode 10, Princess Rhaenrya seeks a peaceful resolution to keep the realm intact so that it is strong enough to defend against the threat from the North: Aegon’s dream.
One critique for the show: the Song of Ice and Fire presented in the show is a flimsy motivator. It is depicted as a family secret based on an ancestor’s dream, or prophetic vision of a great evil that could destroy Westeros. It is seldom spoke of again until Princess Rhaenrya asks her father if he truly believed the prophecy. Drugged and disoriented, he does not say either way. So, really it is just a family story that we are given little reason to believe is true (within the show, of course we see it is true in Game of Thrones).
It is also strange that a King who believed in such a prophecy created a succession crisis so severe that it likely would leave Westeros vulnerable. Neither Viserys nor Rhaenrya did much to keep the realm strong, nor secure her claim. It makes one question if either truly believes the prophecy.
Any hope of peace died with Prince Lucerys. Instead of moving toward a resolution, we’ve now moved to a much bigger conflict. No more political tension or family drama. We are now at war. The inciting event was not the death of the King but the murder of Prince Lucerys, second in line to the throne behind his brother.
We didn’t get resolution. Instead, the messy conflict we had before has been supersized into a massive conflict that presents no glimmer of hope for peaceful resolution. How’s that for a season two hook?
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON ONE OF RINGS OF POWER
One last time, let’s compare House of the Dragon to Rings of Power. The forging of the rings save the elves from having to leave Middle Earth, resolving a major plot line. The Southlands are now controlled by Adar and the orcs, giving them their desired homeland. Do they threaten war on the rest of Middle Earth? From what we’ve seen, they’re not a large force nor do they seem to have aims of conquest. Sauron reveals himself and then leaves for Mordor, presumably to take command there but that is left for season two.
Numenor intends to continue the conflict with Adar. The show portrays them as weak and ill-prepared for war but Tolkien’s works described a powerful kingdom that vastly outmatches the paltry bands of orcs we saw in season one. Instead of portraying two powerful factions with compelling leaders on each side, we have two underwhelming combatants.
So, instead of setting the stage of an escalated war or conflict to come, we are left with… two small forces over a thousand miles apart…
As for not-Gandalf, he defeated the three wraiths easily with the staff in the final episode. He now heads east for… reasons. A mystery could’ve generated some anticipation for next season but we don’t know what he’s looking for, why he’s in Middle Earth, or any idea of what is in the East.
So… who cares?
The Rings of Power resolved a number of conflicts and failed to develop new ones to generate anticipation for season two. That, among other reasons, is why House of the Dragon succeeded in its first season, and Rings of Power failed.
Going forward, I hope the show either ignores the Song of Ice of Fire or it demonstrates why the characters believe in it and how they’ll take action to defend against the threat from the night king. So far, it’s been a flimsy motivator. The war itself, and the potential for dragon vs. dragon combat is exciting enough.
Game of Thrones shied away from battle set pieces and CGI until the last couple seasons. My guess is House of the Dragon will focus more on the war and action. Whether it becomes a full fantasy action show or tries to balance its traditional political/family intrigue narratives with battle is not clear.
Either way, I am excited for season two and glad to see one of the great TV shows of my lifetime have a worthy spinoff.