House of the Dragon - Season Two (UHD Blu-ray) review

[David Vaughn]

Studio: Warner / HBO
Release Date: November 19, 2024
Rating: NR
Film: 4.5/5


Plot
Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, set 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones,” tells the story of House Targaryen.  Following King Aegon II’s coronation and the death of Queen Rhaenyra’s son, House Targaryen is divided in two. In King’s Landing, Aegon II rules from the Iron Throne, supported by Alicent and the Green Council, under the protection of the largest dragon in Westeros. From exile on Dragonstone, Queen Rhaenyra and her Black Council are considering their next move. Civil war looms as both sides seek support from the great houses of Westeros, ultimately amassing armies — and dragons. 

My Thoughts
I was late to the Game of Thrones party because I could never get my wife to sit down and watch it. We tried two times unsuccessfully due to the highly sexualized and violent beginning of the show, but ultimately, we powered through and thoroughly enjoyed the first six seasons. The last two, well, not so much. As soon as David Benioff and D.B. Weiss ran out of material they could adapt, the quality of the writing dropped from excellent to barely average, and the ending of the show left an awful lot to be desired. Regardless, the show has remained hugely popular and there was no way HBO was going to let this cash cow die.

HBO was considering two different concepts to revive the franchise and ultimately decided in 2019 on a prequel based on Martin’s book, “Fire and Blood,” that digs into the history of the dragon-riding Targaryen family about 200 years prior to the events depicted in Game of Thrones. I watched the first season on a loaned Kaleidescape system and my wife and I both loved the show. In fact, she liked more than Game of Thrones, which is quite the compliment although after one season I wasn’t ready to go that far—I’d need to see another quality season before anointing it with that honor.

Well, season two has arrived on UHD and I can happily say, it’s every bit as good as the first six seasons of Game of Thrones. In fact, in some ways it’s better because frankly, there’s dragons from the outset and while I know where the story eventually leads, the ride thus far has been outstanding.

Season two begins immediately following the cliffhanger ending of the first and its action-packed throughout its eight episodes. The acting is outstanding and the CGI is seamless, even in 4K. My wife and I couldn’t get enough of it and finished the show over three nights and if not for my work schedule, we could have probably done it in two—that would have been 4 hours of the same show each night. Not many shows can hold my attention for that long over such a short period of time.

My only complaint about season two was the number of episodes—the first had 10 so I feel a bit robbed by losing two hours of action, but the supplements lay out why they ended this season how they did and season three is lined up to be arguably the best of the trio. 

Thankfully, the video presentation is improved in season two versus the first, although I’m still miffed that the aspect ratio is 2.0:1 instead of 2.35:1. Regardless, the detail is what you’d expect from a 4K presentation and as I mentioned earlier, the CG effects don’t stick out like a sore thumb, which isn’t uncommon with the higher resolution that 4K offers. Primaries definitely jump off the screen, especially green and red, and the detail in the dragons is a sight to behold. As expected, the Dolby Atmos presentation is a crowd pleaser and I really enjoy the opening credits due to Ramin Djawaldi’s theme song. Dialog is intelligible and firmly rooted in the center channel and the surround presentation is very active, especially when the ghosts of Harrenhall make their presence known.

Video 9/10 (AVC)

Audio 9/10 (Dolby Atmos)


Special Features:
·      Extended versions of the 8-part featurette: The House That Dragons Built
·      Family Tree
·      Divided Kingdoms
·      8 Collectible Character Cards




 
 Conclusion
As much as I enjoyed the first season, I am truly hooked after the second. I hate to think that it will be nearly a year before I can watch the third, but I see myself signing up for Max just to see it a couple of months earlier than waiting for the next 4K release. I’ve read that the third season my be delayed until 2026 because of another Game of Thrones spinoff series starting in 2025, which I think is a mistake—or maybe I’m just selfish. Regardless, this is a great show and easy to recommend.

Reference Review System:
 JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
 (Calibrated with Portrait Displays CalMAN color calibration software & C6-HDR Meter from Portrait Displays)
 Stewart Filmscreen - Firehawk 110” 2.35:1 Screen
 Trinnov Altitude 16 Audio/Video Processor
 ATI AT527NC Powering Bed Channels
 ATI AT524NC Powering Atmos Speakers
Zidoo UHD8000 Media Player
 Panasonic DP-UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
 System Controller: URC MX-990
 M&K S-150 THX Ultra (R-C-L Speakers)
 M&K SS-150 x4 (Surround Speakers)
 Atlantic Technology IC6-OBA x 4 Overhead Speakers
 Dual Rythmik FV15HP2
 Mini DSP HD controlling all subwoofers
 Audioquest and Monoprice - Audio/Video/Speaker Cabling
 PureAV PF60 Power Conditioner

[Paul Heroy]

My wife & I were also big GoT fans - she didn't have quite as much of an issue as me with the decline in writing & characterization quality in the last couple of season, though. We've gone through the series a couple of times (well, most of it for me... I couldn't stand to watch the final season another time it was so terribly written compare to the first 5-6) so were looking forward to seeing how HotD came out. 

The first season was hard to follow in part due to the shifting cast members and timelines, where some characters changed actors while others didn't. The story wasn't quite as cohesive either. Maybe it would benefit more than most TV seasons from a rewatch. IMO it wasn't up to the quality of GoT S1. S2 however, seemed much more cohesive and flowed better, and we really enjoyed it. Thinking it was also 10 episodes but not checking, we were stunned at the end of Ep 8 to find that was IT. That's the sign of a strong season though - we wanted MORE!

[David Vaughn]

My wife & I were also big GoT fans - she didn't have quite as much of an issue as me with the decline in writing & characterization quality in the last couple of season, though. We've gone through the series a couple of times (well, most of it for me... I couldn't stand to watch the final season another time it was so terribly written compare to the first 5-6) so were looking forward to seeing how HotD came out.

The first season was hard to follow in part due to the shifting cast members and timelines, where some characters changed actors while others didn't. The story wasn't quite as cohesive either. Maybe it would benefit more than most TV seasons from a rewatch. IMO it wasn't up to the quality of GoT S1. S2 however, seemed much more cohesive and flowed better, and we really enjoyed it. Thinking it was also 10 episodes but not checking, we were stunned at the end of Ep 8 to find that was IT. That's the sign of a strong season though - we wanted MORE!

We did watch season 1 a second time before watching season 2 and it was MUCH better the second time through. As you say, there were a lot of characters and the "evolving" cast certainly played a part. By doing that, we went into season 2 fully up to speed and not playing the "who is that" game

[Ralph P.]

Greetings,

Nice review Dave!

[David Vaughn]

Greetings,

Nice review Dave!

Thanks Ralph.