House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 8 review: A series of facepalm moments occur in the last episode of House of the Dragon Season 2. A bedridden Aegon proclaiming his crotch was set on fire during the fight that almost killed. The prince being told not to pout during a serious exchange. Daemon having another of his lurid vision. Some five-minute-long mud wrestling. I really want to say these are bad jokes, but they are not. Is this the season finale that kept us hanging around the dragons for eight weeks?

Spoiler Alert

House of the Dragon delivered the weakest send off in its last episode, filled with jarring tonal swings and misguided character glimpses. Dragon action? There was no promise of that, surely. Episode 8, titled The Queen Who Ever Was, is like actually a bad joke that runs for over an hour. Expect nothing and there's still room for disappointment.

The episode begins without any heft. We are expected to patiently wait until Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) makes an appeal for his case to the Tyroshi leaders, prove his merit through wrestling Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) in the mud. Then there is Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) who is enraged, and wants Helaena (Phia Saban) to lead. Alicent (Olivia Cooke) stops him right there. There's also Daemon (Matt Smith), who finally finds his way back to show solidarity with the queen. These scenes were already in establishment for the last few episodes and required no more dallying to fill up the last episode.

Expect no dragon, no payoff

The breadcrumbs were all there, and were still manageable in the previous build up that the season showed in the last few weeks. Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), the only character who seems to make any sense, is as surprised to see Alicent again as us. Then, there is Aemond's awful and treacherous plans to ascend to power. The problem is how the season ends literally without proceeding to do a pay off on these points. Where do these actions lead to? A full-blown war with the dragons, as was anticipated. Not a repetition of the same dialogues sprinkled with foolish character arcs. This episode in particular, directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, chooses to move around the same circles, and is extremely frustrating to watch. It undoes so many previous character arcs with its ridiculous dialogues, particularly for Cristan Cole (Fabien Frankel). Why was he sniffing Alicent’s handkerchief in front of everyone? Perhaps it is better not to ask because he will waste another 5 minutes in a soliloquy.

So, the deal is we wait until 2026 and till then memorise the slogan, ‘To the Gullet on the morrow!’ Sure. Season 2 of House of the Dragon is more like a filler season for the next to come in Season 3. This season not only lacks insight but also believes the viewer can be fooled with a rousing montage, which is much worse.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is available to stream on JioCinema.

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