'House of the Dragon' doesn't need big battles to make a good finale — and that's not what the show is about anyway

• "House of the Dragon" season two ends on a muted note without a big finale battle or death.
• But criticism that nothing happened this season misses the point — the show is more about people than war.
• On that front, the season two finale delivered, and its emotional beats set the stage for battles to come.

Warning: Major spoilers ahead for the season two finale of "House of the Dragon."

From the start, "House of the Dragon" has been a show not only about war, but about how interpersonal betrayal can sow the seeds for mass destruction.

The series tells the story of the Dance of the Dragons, a bloody succession war between members of the Targaryen family. "House of the Dragon" has taken its time getting us to the actual war, and by the end of season two, we're still not fully there. The season two finale "The Queen Who Ever Was," directed by Geeta Vasant Patel and written by Sarah Hess, deliberately leaves us on the cusp as its cast prepares for battle — and that's okay. Instead, it focuses on the show's most important characters and relationships.

Season two has been filled with discussions of deterrence and delay, as supporters of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) weigh the cost of going to war. With the exception of a few key sequences, like the Battle of Rook's Rest in episode four or the Red Sowing in episode seven, there hasn't been much grisly action this season. The popular criticism is that over the course of eight episodes, nothing really happened.

That's simply not true, and it displays a dissonance between what fans expect and the kind of show that "House of the Dragon" actually is.

'House of the Dragon' isn't rushing into war

Rather than beating audiences over the head with spectacle or action, the series is taking great pains to stage a war that actually feels inevitable both to the characters doomed by its narrative and the audiences watching at home.

The season two finale embodies that ethos, delivering big character payoffs that set the stage for future tragedy. But its anticlimax also makes a deliberate point: this is the true story. The lack of action, the hemming and hawing over going out to battle — that's the point.

It's possible to rationalize that season two's anticlimax was a function of its limited episode count, down to eight from the 10 in season one. Showrunner Ryan Condal told reporters at a press conference Monday, per Vulture, that he had to "rebalance" the story in season two. That meant that some highly anticipated conflicts, like the looming Battle of the Gullet, fell on the season three side of the divide.

Deadline reported in May 2023 that the original plan for the season was 10 episodes, necessitating script rewrites. An HBO spokesperson told Deadline that the change was story-driven, but writer Sara Hess later told Entertainment Weekly in a season two cover story that the reduced episode count "wasn't really our choice."

But regardless of any formulaic restrictions, it's important that we take the season two finale on its own merits.

The show is far from a one-to-one adaptation of "Fire and Blood," and that's largely dictated by the source material itself. The book is a summary of frequently conflicting historical perspectives, and it intentionally provides a limited, unreliable account of Targaryen history. That means that "House of the Dragon" has the opportunity to fill in the gaps and take us inside the room where the biggest decisions of the war take place.

To that point, the season two finale takes its time, using its 70 minutes to tie up some loose ends and tug at future threads.

Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), fresh off a full season of being tortured by the ghosts of his past, sees one final vision that convinces him to accept Rhaenyra as his true ruler. Prince Jacaerys stews in his frustration as he's confronted with three common-born dragon riders who prove that his one claim to Targaryen legitimacy — his ability to ride a dragon — isn't unique. Prince Regent Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), struggles to consolidate power while his brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) turns tail and flees King's Landing to preserve his own life.

But it's Rhaenyra and Alicent who form the backbone of the episode. By the season finale, Alicent is a broken woman on the cusp of admitting her own role in perpetuating the war she seeks to flee. She confronts Rhaenyra as if they were once again children, clad in the soft blues of her adolescence rather than the greens of wartime. And she does something she hasn't yet been able to do: She agrees that her son, Aegon, is a necessary sacrifice for Rhaenyra to take the throne and restore peace.

Checking in with Rhaenyra and Alicent isn't just a whim catered toward fans who want to see those characters together more — it's crucial time with the show's most important relationship.

At its core, "House of the Dragon" is a story about two women torn apart by conflict, who attempt to consolidate, maintain, and exercise power in a system that's working against them. Together, Rhaenyra and Alicent strip each other down to the girls that they once were, putting the coming war in perspective.

It's a bleak picture. As much as any of these players have agency, and as much as they sacrifice, they are all still cogs caught in the war machine. "House of the Dragon" season two is laying the groundwork for the sacrifices to come, just as it effectively did for Rhaenys' death in episode four. It's crucial work to ensure that we actually care about the people who are damaged by this conflict, from smallfolk, to knights, to queens.

The spectacle, after all, will never truly go away, and "House of the Dragon" has proven that it can handle it well. But it's these quiet moments where "nothing happens" that make the series something that you can feel, and not just consume.

"House of the Dragon" season two, including the finale, is now streaming on Max.