On Sunday, August 4th, the Season 2 finale of the critically acclaimed ‘House of the Dragon’ show was released to the public, with the initial feedback being incredibly mixed.

Over the course of its Season 2 run, the fandom of House of the Dragon has become increasingly divided
on their opinions of the show’s direction, pacing, and writing.

On one side of the divide are the seemingly more hardcore ‘Book Purists’, and on the other, the more ‘casual viewers’.

House of the Dragon is an adaptation of George R.R Martin’s ‘Fire and Blood Novel’. Fire and Blood is a lore-building book which covers much of the history and past of the Westeros prior to the events of the
main story in the ‘A Song of Ice and Fire Novels’, and the TV adaptation ‘Game of Thrones’.

Many Book Purists have become upset with House of the Dragon’s adaptation of Fire and Blood
novel, which they see as unfaithful to the source material.

From as early as Season 1 of the show, key changes have been made in the adaptation, such as the age gap and relationship between protagonists Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, alongside several character deaths such as Joffrey Lonmouth and Laenor Velaryon.

Many of the casual viewers and the general audience, however, have been far more accommodating to the changes made by the chief writers of House of the Dragon: Ryan Condal and Sara Hess. The resulting clashes, in my opinion, have become apparent on the various social media platforms, such as YouTube, Discord, Reddit, Facebook, and X.

A major complaint about Season 2 of House of the Dragon, in addition to poor writing and adaptation,
has been the issue of pacing. Many fans of the series have expressed their disappointment in the
seemingly slow pace of the show.

Season 1 ended with the promise of war, as it seemed that a point of no return was reached with the death of Lucerys Velaryon by Aemond. In spite of this, aside from the midseason finale showcasing the Battle of Rooks Rest, the perspective and feeling of war have been lacking in the story.

On Tuesday July 30th , several scenes from the season finale were leaked early, meeting a mixture of
enthusiasm and dread. Once again, a major point of contention was the path of Alicent’s and Rhaenyra’s
character, which is seen by book purists as having no relation to the Fire and Blood novel and unrealistic.

In the scene, Alicent once again pleads with Rhaenyra for peace, despite the fact that her grandson was killed on orders of Rhaneyra’s husband. Rhaenyra also treats her, even though Alicent’s son Aemond killed her son Lucerys.

Another issue has been the inclusion of references and call backs to the original Game of Thrones show.

Many casual fans have loved these scenes and the connection to Game of Thrones; however, it has also
reminded and linked House of the Dragon to the almost universally hated later Game of Thrones
seasons, leading many to say the show is incapable of standing on its own without its predecessor.

Now that the finale has officially premiered, the conversation in the media that was already
controversial after the leaks were first released has exploded even further, as book purists and the
general audience bicker on the performance of the episode and season as a whole.

On several sites, claims have been made that this episode, alongside the rest of season 2, is on par with or even worse than seasons 7 and 8 of Game of Thrones.

The episode itself is currently receiving less than positive reviews, with the current IMDB rating being a
6.5 out of 10 and falling.

In spite of this, House of the Dragon has been renewed by HBO for a third season, with the story to
conclude after a fourth. Additional ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ projects and adaptations have also been
greenlit for HB0, with some, such as ‘A Knight of Seven Kingdoms’, already in production.