I’m back with my House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 review, and this week we get to see a dance with dragons. That’s right action lovers, if Season 2 has been slow for you, then this week it heats up. The first 3 episodes of Season 2 have been setting up a true skirmish. In Episode 4 we see those pieces moving into position, and…..
Let’s start with pointing out this is a SPOILER Free review. So I’m not going to get into the nitty gritty of what happened. Let’s just say that some talking turned to action and some fateful decisions were made. We got fire and blood, and we lost some people, potentially more.
So what was good and was anything less good?
Dancing Dragons
Normally I praise this shows quieter character moments and there’s only a few in Episode 4. Though, it would be fair to say we didn’t need much this week since we’ve had lots of set up for this clash prior. In fact, I do sometimes wonder about modern fans attention spans?
I always like to chat online with fellow fans, and some of the criticisms I saw this week just baffled me. Criticisms about the show not explicitly spelling out reasons why character A thought this, or character B thought that. Yet, as I pointed out to some of those who wanted more explanations, the show already gave them what they are asking for. It happened in Episode 3. Apparently, that’s too long ago for some fans these days to remember. (7 days people!)
I guess now perhaps I understand why Hollywood is dumbing everything down for the masses. Still doesn’t make better stories though.
Anyway, I think where I’ll focus my praise this week is on some proper Hollywood set pieces and drama. We do get action, and that means fighting, and we do have dragons involved finally. I really enjoyed the action set piece at the end of the episode. I won’t get into details, but I appreciated the thought that was put into having dragons fight one another. Dragons fighting could be handled so badly. Therefore, I like they’ve chosen to model the style on birds of prey fighting. It makes sense and works because we see it in reality.
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We did also get some casualties, I won’t say whom or how many. However, I appreciated one characters end greatly. Fantastic body language acting again. We the audience understood the thought process without a word needing to be said. They shall be missed as a character, even though I knew this was coming.
The gloves are now off and the Dance of Dragons has begun. Some fans criticise differences from the text, as usual. This week I cannot find myself agreeing with those criticisms. The text is written as a real life history by the victors. It seems very obvious that things would happen quite differently in reality, than what was written by those not even there. I found it satisfying without being absolutley budget breaking either. Though, this is the most expensive single episode yet, you can bank on that. I’d be surprised to find out it was not save by something not yet broadcast.
I really enjoyed Episode 4. Even though I kinda knew all the writing on the wall from the book, I was still on the edge of my seat. How would it all play out in the show? I personally was not disappointed. If you’re all about the dragons, you’ll be at home in Episode 4. Not only the action, but we also see some nice moments between several dragons and their riders, showing the connection they have.
I had no real criticisms this week. Unless you’ve not liked the rest of the show you’re gonna love Episode 4. This was not my favorite episode of the show so far. However, it may be my favorite big budget episode so far of the series as a whole.
GRADE: A
What do you think if my House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 4 review? As always, feel free to disagree with me, or leave your own review below.
