House of the Dragon Episode 2 Recap/Review – The Seeds of War Have Been Planted.

Episode 2 of House of the Dragon has aired, and much like the episode prior, it soars high.

Much like the previous episode, Episode 2, entitled ‘The Rogue Prince’, has numerous callbacks to Game of Thrones. In particular, Season 2, 7,  and 8 stuck out the most.  In regards to Season 2, the emphasis on the sea fairing aspects stood out the most.  This is tied together by the use of Dragonstone, which Daemon now uses as his base.  Fans likely remember Stannis resided at the location during the War of Five Kings, Danerys would reclaim in Season 7.  But the callback which stood out the most was the use of the bells of King’s Landing.  The bells are infamous for their association with Season 8 of Game of Thrones, in particular the fifth episode.  The episode, fittingly titled ‘The Bells’, showed Danerys’ fall into madness, as the bells of King’s Landing rang.

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Thankfully, the use of the bells is far more clever.  It’s a bit tricky to notice at first, but as the episode goes on, it becomes clear that the bells will ring when a decision of great importance is presented.  For those who watched Game of Thrones, the knowledge of what the bells represent is evident.  The viewer is seeing events unfolding which will lead to suffering and turmoil, or fire and blood, more accurately.  Much like the bells signalling Danerys’ madness in Season 8 of Game of Thrones, the bells are signaling the oncoming madness that is to come.

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As with the previous episodes, the performances are excellent.  Matt Smith’s Dameon has a minor presence in this episode, allowing his costars to shine this episode.  In particular, Milly Alcock’s performance as the young Rhaenyra Targaryen is eerily evocative of Emilia Clark’s Danerys.  Her encounter with Dameon in particular is truly tense, and she has so much weight to her performance.  Despite how serious she takes her duties as heir to the throne, she still maintains the youthful energy a fifteen year old would have.  Alongside her Paddy Considine’s Viserys is also a highlight.  It truly feels as though the weight of his decisions is beginning to catch up with him, and he is trying desperately to please as many people as possible.  As such, he unwittingly plants the seeds for the conflicts yet to come.

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The cinematography also feels more epic in this episode.  Although there were certain moments which stuck out from the first episode, there weren’t many shots that stuck out.  In this episode, there are many shots which feel grand and epic.  That’s not to say it’s a negative on the first episode.  The first episode was meant to focus on the characters and get the viewers to engage with them.  This episode is foreshadowing and building up the grand conflict to come.

Overall, ‘The Rogue Prince’ continues House of the Dragon’s goal of winning back fans of Game of Thrones, while setting up a new story.  Like the first episode, it uses the callbacks to Game of Thrones to foreshadow the dark times to come.  Also like the first episode, it lets viewers familiarize themselves with these new characters and conflicts.  Slowly, but surely, it’s regaining the spirit of Game of Thrones, while carving out its own, bloody path.