The official premiere of the second season of «House of the Dragon» is just over a week away, but specialized publications have already reviewed it and given their first ratings — on Rotten Tomatoes, the «freshness» level currently reaches 91% based on 22 reviews.
The reviews mostly praise the sequel, noting the perfect combination of intrigue and action, powerful visuals, and a «Game of Thrones-worthy story», but criticize the confusion in certain elements of the narrative. Here are some direct quotes from the reviews:
Theresa Laxon, Collider: «With this kind of complexity and visuals, Dragonsong» could easily be the best fantasy television show of the decade and more than lives up to the legacy of this franchise.
Livy Scott, Iverse: «The meticulous melodrama finally gives way to a brutal civil war — and while the bloody battles fans have been waiting for are still slow, the cast and terrific tension allow this season to be much hotter than its predecessor».
Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone: «In its second season, Dragon’s Den» remains a show that mistakes confusion for complexity, throwing waves of thinly defined, often interchangeable characters at viewers, hoping no one will mind because there are dragons».
Jacob Hall, Slashfilm: «New episodes of House of the Dragon are great, a perfect blend of slow-burning intrigue, big-scale action, and trickery that walks a fine line between feeling like a soap opera and being strangely historical».
Tessa Smith, Mamas Geeky: «The second season starts with a hard-to-watch (in the best way) episode, and the story doesn’t slow down. Full of betrayal, family feuds, love and lust — just like Game of Thrones should be».
Based on the book by George R.R. Martin «Fire and Blood», the series «House of the Dragon» tells the story of the Targaryen dynasty in Westeros almost 200 years before the events of «Game of Thrones» and about 100 years after the Targaryens united the Seven Kingdoms.
The first season aired on HBO from August 21 to October 23, 2022: the debut episode attracted almost 10 million viewers and became the largest HBO series premiere in history. The second season will be released on Max streaming on June 16 (in Ukraine, you can watch it on Megogo).