House of the Dragon’s Season 2 finale hasn’t gone down well with fans, with many criticizing its “underwhelming” conclusion and lack of action.
Were you hoping to see the Battle of the Gullet, the biggest and bloodiest naval battle in the history of Westeros? Too bad!
Had you predicted the finale would end with the fall of King’s Landing, with Rhaenyra and Daemon swooping in to take control of the city in Aegon and Aemond’s absence? Unlucky!
House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 8 is a pivotal chapter: Rhaena finally finds Sheepstealer, Tyland Lannister secures the help of Sharako Lohar, and Alicent and Rhaenyra’s meeting at Dragonstone recenters the story (it’s always been about them).
However, it does have a lot of set-up for Season 3, which won’t be released until 2026. Understandably, people have been left a little disappointed.
“This really feels like Episode 8 of a 10-episode season. I swear, they didn’t do anything except hasty edits and call it a day. This is not a finale,” one user wrote. “I genuinely don’t understand why Season 1 has 10 episodes and Season 2 has eight episodes,” another commented.
This is a fair criticism. According to The Hollywood Reporter, showrunner Ryan Condal reduced its episode count to eight in order to give it a “good opening and a good ending.”
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Warner Bros Discovery has insisted the strikes didn’t impact the series, but many remain suspicious, especially after a “major battle” was moved to Season 3 (this is believed to be the Gullet).
“It’s basically building up to a finale with none of the finale or payoff… I seriously wonder if HBO told them they only get eight episodes this year late in the running or something, prompting them to merge the first two episodes and lop off the entire finale to be repurposed as the S3 premiere,” another user speculated.
“What a shocker. Constant talking and retreading of an old friendship we all stopped caring about a season ago… looks like we have to wait two years for an actual battle to happen. That’s the worst blue balls of a season finale I’ve ever seen,” a fourth wrote.
“What a terrible season finale, the show wasn’t nearly as good as GOT to begin with, and now this episode just made the show even worse for me,” another commented.
If you’ve watched the finale, check out our House of the Dragon Season 2 ending explained, 5 shows to watch while you wait for Season 3, and everything you should know about Tessarion “the Blue Queen.”
