House of the Dragon was one of the hits of 2022, becoming the biggest US drama launch ever on Sky and the biggest ever series premiere on Sky Atlantic in the channel’s 11-year history.

The HBO series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and tells the story of House Targaryen.

Released in August 2022, Season One was an immediate hit – earning a 93 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

With season two now out in the world, there’s no better time to hear what reviewers have to say about the show…

“Served up like a five star meal, House of the Dragon's second outing makes a feast of its storytelling, helping to absorb the viewer into its world, much in the same way that Game of Thrones did..

“House of the Dragon's season two also certainly delivers on what it's been promising: vengeance."

★★★★★

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“A soaring, roaring blockbuster to rival anything in the cinema…

"Summer is coming, and for those eager for an alternative to sunburn, football and queues at the airport, House of the Dragon has all you could require for a roaring good time.”

★★★★

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“..edge-of-your-seat stuff that had me peering through my fingers at the screen.”

★★★★

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"House Of The Dragon remains a spiky, acidic human drama; an astute, timely and well-performed study of the way power and wisdom are so often mutually exclusive, and of the tragic consequences that occur when the former is exercised without the latter."

★★★★

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"Now that the series has fully plunged the world of Westeros into war, not only has House of the Dragon surpassed its freshman season, but, based on the first four episodes provided for review, it has the potential to overshadow even the more popular flagship series."

★★★★

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"GoT fans won’t be stunned to hear that the show continues to indulge in gory decapitations, deviant sexuality (including one X-rated brothel scene), and treachery most foul, not to mention out-of-left-field deaths that are designed to shock and thrill in equal measure. And that they do, in the process proving that even when it too closely resembles its legendary predecessor, Condal’s series is a gripping portrait of the eternal hunger for wealth, pleasure, power, and supremacy."

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“George RR Martin’s world struts its way back on to our screens with utter confidence and brio. As captivating as it is gruesome, it’s like a greatest hits playlist of Westeros at its meatiest.”

★★★★

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“The highest compliment I can pay House of the Dragon is to observe how much it feels like Game of Thrones. I remember eagerly awaiting the first Hobbit movie in 2012, nine years after the end of Lord of the Rings, only to find a dizzying film stripped of all the earthy charm of its forebear. House of the Dragon looks and feels like Game of Thrones.”

★★★★

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“It's a fascinating situation, full of understandable motives and moral quandaries, and a ticking time bomb in the form of King Viserys's health. It's pure Games of Thrones – just not in the way you remember.”

★★★★

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“House of the Dragon contains almost all the essential ingredients of Game of Thrones, and in similarly extravagant quantities. Blisteringly graphic violence. Orgies. Prostitutes. Incest. Marriages of the most cynical expediency. Endless plotting and politicking. Misogyny, both casual and brutal. Heroines hell-bent on proving that they can be as strong a leader as any man. Liberal use of the c-word. And, of course, lots of splendidly cod-medieval character names (Lady Alicent Hightower, Ser Vaemond Velaryon, Lord Lyman Beesbury).”

★★★★

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“What is reassuring is that House Of The Dragon feels as though it is walking on solid ground: the bubbling rivalries, the jostling for power, the eruptions of violence; six episodes in, it is all coming together to create a rich stew.”

★★★★

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“The jousting scenes in general are this episode’s finest achievements and the best evidence that House of the Dragon has the capacity to reach the same level as Game of Thrones and perhaps even surpass it.”

★★★★

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“If it remains insulated from the pressure to compete with GoT, House of the Dragon could be a worthy successor in the vein of Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul. Ambitious, visually arresting, and endlessly captivating. It’s good to be back.”

★★★★

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“As cult-like as it may all seem, the unnervingly violent, unwaveringly self-important “Dragon” is a success dramatically, as captivating as any season of Game of Thrones, which was one of the most successful, popular and critically well-regarded series ever to appear on television.”

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