"Soon, they won't even remember why they started the war." Rhaenys Targaryen has lived long enough to know that when violence is chosen there is never a winner, but she cannot imagine the darkness lurking in the future of her dynasty in the anticipated Dance of Dragons that brings the second season of House of the Dragon.

"That the shadowy, turbulent, and bloody events of this period be defined as a 'dance' leaves us perplexed by its grotesque inaccuracy. 'The death of dragons' would be a much more precise name." This is how Fire and Blood, the novel by George R.R. Martin introduces the series, the violent civil war for the Iron Throne that is underway.

For us to grasp the dynamics between the characters, their fears, motivations, and for us to care about their losses, it was necessary to have a first season with temporal jumps of several years amounting to a total of two decades that gave us a baggage of personal stories.

This controversial structure had its pros and cons, as it had to cover so much time that at times it felt rushed, but so much time passed between episodes, and sometimes so little actually happened, that at times it felt slow. However, for its final stretch, the series was able to start reaping the rewards of all the little seeds it had sown, heading towards a very satisfying climax.

In this second season (of which I have been able to see the first four episodes), and after its long but necessary prologue, now finally House of the Dragon can be the series it wanted to be. One that will lead its characters to a tragedy of epic proportions that will be much more violent, cynical, and darker than Game of Thrones.

Daemon Targaryen

The first season was exceptional, but in this one is the series that fans have been waiting for. All fans, whether they prefer death and destruction or have a fondness for palace intrigue, political strategies, and backstabbing.

Furthermore, it expands its horizons beyond King's Landing, Dragonstone, and Driftmark, settings in which the action was confined in the first season. Something the viewer will be able to see from the first shot, which will particularly excite fans of the original series, as the action begins in Winterfell, more specifically at the Wall.

'House of the Dragon' visits Winterfell

Readers of the books will soon discover that some of the most twisted, impactful, and anticipated plots from Martin's book will arrive much sooner than they imagine. And also that, despite being based on a story they already know, the series knows how to keep them in suspense by altering and rewriting parts of the tale very effectively and dramatically.

The intimate scenes remain epic, but those waiting for fire and blood will have it. Imagine the best battle you saw in Game of Thrones. Now add several dragons fighting mercilessly in the air against each other. In the first half of the season of House of the Dragon, you'll see a scene like that: brutal, dramatic, intense, and moving, which kept me on the edge of the couch for 15 minutes despite some visual effects not being finished yet.

Knowing what will happen in Westeros 200 years later gives everything that is to come in House of the Dragon an ominous and sinister air, because this family that devours itself from within will be responsible for its own extinction and that of its dragons, which would have served as the great threat coming from the cold and long winter.

With the second season - at least the half we have seen - I venture to say that House of the Dragon has not only surpassed its first, but it has the potential to overshadow the original series. Whether you agree with such a hyperbolic statement or not, what is undeniable is that watching each episode will be an event in these weeks, and in the Targaryen civil war the winners are the viewers.