smallfolk – Simon’s Incoherent Blog

House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 6 – Smallfolk

“There are older things in this world than you, or I, or living memory. You are not the player, but a piece on the board.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

It was another… shall we say, leisurely paced episode for House of the Dragon this week, which may not win it many more admirers from those who find the show very slow going. To be fair, this week, even I had my reservations. I’d expected a lull in the pacing after the Big Battle of ep4, but with only two episodes of the season to go, it feels like the show should be upping its pace.

House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 5 – Regent

“Do not underestimate your subjects. They are a thousand thousand living in the shadow of the Red Keep, and forgotten for too long.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

After last week’s Bloody Big Battle, it was back to House of the Dragon’s trademark political scheming this week – but with some justification. The fallout from the Battle of Rook’s Rest is seismic, and even if you find the show’s predilection for men with beards arguing in dark rooms tiresome, given last week’s events it was entirely necessary dramatically.

House of the Dragon: Season 2, Episode 2 – Rhaenyra the Cruel

“I would remind you only that when princes lose their temper, it is often others who suffer.”

(SPOILER WARNING!)

The politicking continued in Westeros this week, despite the last ep ending in an act of provocation that seemed certain to spark all-out conflict. House of the Dragon continues to be a more low-key show than its all-guns-blazing parent, a fact lamented in the Guardian this week, as they declared the show “boring”.