House of the Dragon Season 2 has come to an end, and as usual, some episodes were better than others. There were some important moments throughout the story, leading us into the upcoming third season, but that doesn’t mean all episodes were exciting.
What’s the ranking of the episodes? While fans will have their own, we’re taking a look at the individual episodes and ranking them from worst to best. Let’s see if you agree.
Episode 8, “The Queen Who Ever Was”
We start with the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale. While this could have been a good episode on its own, it didn’t work as a season finale. There were too many quiet parts, giving us buildup to the third season but not in a dramatic way.
There were some good scenes, such as when Alyn of Hull is honest with Corlys, Daemon sides with Rhaenyra, and Alicent goes to see Rhaenyra in the hope of saving herself and her family. I also liked Criston admitting that he realizes that this war is between dragons now and the people have zero hope of surviving.
Helaena sharing her vision with Aemond was, by far, the best moment of the whole episode. It was so small, though, which shows just how quiet and slow this episode was.
Episode 5, “Regent”
This is one of those episodes that is easily forgotten. To be honest, I’d have put it as the worst if it wasn’t for “The Queen Who Ever Was” being the Season 2 finale.
The biggest moment in this episode was Criston and Gwayne parading Meleys’s head through the streets of King’s Landing. It was a shocking moment for the smallfolk, and we could sense their unease at it all.
Other than that, nothing really happened. This was about recovering after the big battle at Rook’s Rest, and it was just a little too slow.
This was the point where I started to get bored of Daemon’s visions as well. This one wasn’t the worst one, but it did set the tone for things to come for Daemon’s storyline.
Episode 6, “Smallfolk”
We continued with Daemon’s lack of storyline and visions in this episode. The only exciting part for Daemon was to see the Riverlords make it clear they had no interest in following him. It would take a lot to get them back on his side.
I expected to see the start of the sowing of the dragonseeds in this episode. In a way, it did start with Ser Steffon attempting to mount Seasmoke, but it just wasn’t quite the push I needed for that storyline. Although, I will admit that Seasmoke choosing his rider rather than the other way around was beautifully done.
We also have the Rhaenyra/Mysaria moment. I loved their chemistry from the start, and this seemed like such a natural progression of things. It wasn’t too far-fetched for the book if you know the stories about Rhaenyra, and it showed us just how much Mysaria trusted Rhaenyra as a queen and as a woman.
Episode 1, “A Son for a Son”
I didn’t realize on the first viewing of this episode that Rhaenyra only spoke three words throughout the episode. Yet, we could feel everything she was feeling. It was a great start for her coming off the back of that devastating Season 1 finale.
As much as I’m glad some of the Blood and Cheese story was changed, it has a knock-on effect with the rest of the series for Helaena. In the book, Helaena goes through something much more devastating, making her decent into madness much more believable. I worried what it meant for her and how believable it would be with the change.
Well, the show has changed things for Helaena considerably, and in a good way. We get to know her more, so it means this episode isn’t as low down as it could have been.
This episode does a good job of setting things up for the next three episodes. We see how Daemon tells Rhaenys that she could have prevented all of this, and we start to see how Daemon and Rhaenyra are worlds apart in their decisions.
I did enjoy the opening sene at Winterfell and then The Wall. I would love to see more of Cregan Stark.
Episode 3, “The Burning Mill”
One of my favorite moments of the whole of House of the Dragon Season 2 is the end of Episode 3. We get that moment where Rhaenyra finally hears what her father’s last words were, and she’s able to make it clear that Alicent mistook them. It starts off a huge storyline for Alicent, as she realizes that her mistake has cost her everything.
Meanwhile, Daemon gets to Harrenhal. I still look at this episode without thinking about the visions to come. After all, the inclusion of Young Rhaenyra to allow Daemon to start his quest of inner truth was a great way to start. The vision was mysterious and intriguing.
Then there’s the opportunity to see Baela on her dragon. Baela is so much like her mother and grandmother. It’s a beautiful way to show that as she rides Moondancer around Westeros to look out for any movement from the Greens. Seeing her move in for an attack shows her courage and willingness to step up in the fight.
Then there’s the opposite with Rhaena. She wants to fight, but she doesn’t have the skill or the dragon. This episode sets up her storyline as she is sent to the Vale. She may not be happy, but the Gods have a path for her to follow.
Episode 7, “The Red Sowing”
Look, the end of the episode is great. While I was worried about House of the Dragon leaving the sowing of the seeds to the end of the season, we got this brilliant payoff with Vermithor taking out all of the dragonrider wannabes.
We also got to hear Hugh Hammer’s story, learning who his Targaryen parent is. This was a great Easter egg for fans of Targaryen history, and something that even the book fans didn’t know.
The problem for me was the buildup to this. It’s why it’s only third in my ranking and not a little further up. Daemon’s visions continued to cause problems for the episode, disrupting the flow and still not giving Matt Smith anything to do.
Seeing Alicent head out to the woods was a nice touch, though. She has a lot of thinking to do, and she needs to figure out if acting out of duty has always been the right thing. While for Alicent, it’s a royal issue, there is something similar that a lot of women go through as they get older. What are they when they’re not wives and mothers?
Episode 2, “Rhaenyra the Cruel”
I adored the aftermath of the Blood and Cheese moment, although my heart does break for Cheese’s dog as he watches his master get strung up. That is one loyal pupper.
We get to see Aegon turn to the wrong people for advice in ruling the country. At first, he listens to Otto, who is very good at manipulating the smallfolk. That’s not enough for Aegon, though. He wants revenge for the death of his son. We’re not just seeing him as a king here, but as a father.
Then there’s the scene between Rhaenyra and Daemon. I loved watching Rhaenys figure out that it was Daemon, and then there’s a shot when Rhaenyra looks at him and figures it all out. While people are blaming her, she realizes that her husband was completely to blame, and she’s surprised but not all that shocked.
It leads to her questioning his actions. Does Daemon want the throne? He’s going to lose it for Rhaenyra if he goes on like this. There’s an argument that isn’t quite finished, starting the questions of which side Daemon is really on.
Finally, we have the moment that many had been waiting for. The Cargyll twins end up fighting to the death, and it’s a brilliant fight as we have no idea which one is which throughout the fight. We’re in there with Rhaenyra as all she can do is watch. Ending it with one brother killing the other and then killing himself was perfectly done for what killing kin means in the world of House of the Dragon.
Episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold”
Finally, there is only one episode that can sit at the top of the list of best House of the Dragon Season 2 episodes. It’s all about The Battle at Rook’s Rest.
I hate the fact that we’ve lost Rhaenys. As a character, she was a powerhouse. She really deserved better, but Baela was right in the next episode. Rhaenys went out the way she wanted. She knew that turning back was a suicide mission, but she did it anyway. She couldn’t return without attempting to take down Vhagar.
This episode also makes it clear that Aegon and Aemond are not on the same page. Aemond is tactical, and he is willing to play the long game. He sees a chance to get rid of his brother, and he takes advantage of that. It doesn’t quite play out the way he wanted, but it’s enough to eventually make him Prince Regent.
We also see how poor Aegon’s choices are. He runs on emotion and alcohol. Poor Sunfyre deserved better. That dragon gives Golden Retriever vibes. To be honest, I wish we could see better for all the dragons, but that would not a dramatic story make.