It’s been a week since the last episode of season two, House of the Dragon, aired and it continues to haunt the internet and the minds of viewers, leaving fans divided.
Some argue that it was a brilliant season thanks to the slow burn and explosive episodes four and seven, the epic dragon battle of Rook’s Rest and the sowing of the dragon seeds at Dragonstone. Others see season two as a repetition of the erroneous seasons seven and eight of Game of Thrones. Some fans wanted to see more character development as well as more dragon battles.
Obviously, you can’t have everything, especially when it comes to the world of Westeros. Besides, the reason why so many Thrones fans are upset about this latest instalment might be a more social-political reason. They might have wished, as many have said after the release of episode eight, to have seen more dragons and dragon battles, simply more fantasy and escapism and fewer real-life issues.
Instead, season two was all about dialogue regarding the end of the world, leading to horrible decisions and culminating in the violent deaths of main characters. It might have been exactly this setup that upset many fans, leaving them with too much reality.
Because, whether you liked season two or not, no other Thrones season has been so close to real political issues at a real time pace. Game of Thrones was all about warring medieval houses, violent kings and dragon queens fighting for the throne, and a supernatural frozen threat to the north. And except for the political intrigue, most of it felt very much removed from the real world.
However, the very premise of House of the Dragon reminds the viewer immediately of our world. Westeros is given a choice. Do the noble houses want to be ruled by a wise and just queen, or do they want to be ruled by an impulsive and violent king? It doesn’t come as a surprise that the majority of Westeros’s noble houses choose the latter because of the simple fact that he is a man.
In our world, we were given the same choice in 2016, and we too chose a misogynistic and dangerous old man rather than a woman who was the most prepared candidate for the job. Now, in 2024, the United States get to choose again, and it’s very likely that the outcome will be the same. As Princess Rhaenys Targaryen says in season one of House of the Dragon: Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne.
While fantasy gives us the opportunity to escape into a wonderful world of dragons and valiant knights, it also shows us so very hauntingly, how our world does not differ at all from the violent, bloody, misogynistic and sexist Westeros. But maybe for some fans, it was too much?
It’s not the only aspect of season two that reminds us of the real world. Its culmination comes in the final moment of episode eight. Throughout season two, both factions, the greens and the blacks, tried to avoid a war with dragons, as they both knew that this would mean total annihilation, as seen in the first dragon battle at Rook’s Rest in episode four. For both sides, it is a horrific example of how things will end if they continue fighting in this way.
Yet, after more debates between enemies and after new alliances are forged, it becomes crystal clear that both sides are so set in their ways that their only possible option is to march to war. However, none are marching to victory, as the dramatic music and the gloomy light of the final scenes imply. They are marching towards destruction.
Dragons fly behind armies marching from the north and from the west. Armadas sail from the south and from the eastern continent of Essos to eventually collide and fight. Diplomacy and reason are gone, replaced by empires readying for battle, each assuming they will win.
Empires and dragons collide in Westeros, as they do in our world. One dragon in our world sits in the east, growing larger and fatter every year. His scales are red with specks of gold. The Chinese dragon is ready to rise and cover Taiwan and other realms under the shadows of his wings.
Our largest dragon, however, the most fearsome and violent, sits in the west. Her scales are white, red and blue and she is always hungry. The United States of America, slowly but steadily losing her influence around the world, will certainly not go down quietly, defending her political interests with fire and blood. She breathes fire every day, killing thousands in her path. As tension rises, the Chinese dragon will eventually dance with the American one, humans turning to dust beneath their wings.
To the north is another dragon, weakened with age, yet hungrier and angrier than ever before. His scales are white like snow, his wings are blood red and greedy ice-cold blue eyes look to the south. He breathes fire without mercy. Russia’s imperialist desires have claimed countless lives already, and it doesn’t look as if this dragon will go to sleep anytime soon.
And another dragon, growing stronger every year, decorated in blue and golden scales, prepares herself to strike at anyone who tries to harm her. She likes to lure humans to her lair, promising food and shelter, yet, once within her grasp, she devours them without mercy. The European Union, very often claiming to defend human rights, is just as much a draconian empire as the others to the north, east and west.
To the south, today’s most aggressive dragon flies. Her scales are white and blue. She is not large but cruel and unforgiving. Since the second half of the 20th century, Israel has devoured and burned an entire population and will not end her rage until satiated.
These are just a few of the many more dragons roaming our world. Sooner rather than later, the large dragons will take to the sky and cover the world in fire and blood. Because when dragons dance, humans turn to ashes, and when you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die, there is no middle ground.
Fabian's Writing 