House of the Dragon has “ruined” one huge event before we’ve even seen it

Fans are slamming House of the Dragon as the show “ruined” one of the most important events in the Dance of the Dragons that happened off-screen.

The House of the Dragon Season 2 finale was panned by viewers as it’s currently the second lowest-rated ending in Game of Thrones history.

Episode 8 received a huge wave of backlash, leaving viewers with an unexpected cliffhanger instead of the bloody battle they were promised from the source material.

But the lack of warfare isn’t the only reason some fans are not happy with the Season 2 finale. One Reddit user pointed out how the fall of King’s Landing seemed to be rushed through and not given the weight it deserved.

“The fall of KL was probably one of the only real wins the Blacks get before Rhaenyra’s death! I mean, it wasn’t really a battle but still!” The Redditor wrote. “But now, the enemy has just handed over the capital to them just like that! The one big Black win has just been gifted to them by their stupid ass enemy queen!”

In Fire & Blood, the book House of the Dragon was based on, King’s Landing was taken by the Blacks thanks to a mixture of strategy and loyalty.

Aemond Targaryen and Criston Cole marched with their vast army to overtake Harrenhal, leaving the capitol defenseless. The Blacks then rode on their dragons, including Caraxes and Syrax, to take King’s Landing along with Corlys Velaryon’s fleet.

Once at the gates of the city, the gold cloaks, the protectors of King’s Landing, allowed safe passage to the Blacks because of their unwavering allegiance to Daemon Targaryen, as he was their leader for many years.

After their siege was complete, Otto and Gwayne Hightower were dead, King Aegon Targaryen fled the city with Larys Strong, and Alicent was taken prisoner along with Helaena.

The show took a different route with these events as each was shown mainly through dialogue and not given the same level of attention and focus as in the book.

Aegon left King’s Landing with Larys to save himself from his brother’s murderous wrath and Alicent practically handed King’s Landing to Rhaenyra on a silver platter by telling her the city could be overtaken while Helaena was technically the ruling queen.

Many fans took issue with the Blacks’ greatest victory being undermined as one fan wrote, “It’s supposed to feel so triumphant for the Blacks and this incredible feat on their part and instead has been changed into something they were gifted rather then won.”

Another viewer commented, “It doesn’t seem like a tactical war story anymore. It seems more like a soap opera.

A third Redditor summed up most of the fans’ frustration, writing, “So **** to be honest. The fall of KL is meant to be a strategic move for the blacks outsmarting the greens and they’ve changed it to ALICENTS idea in general. I was very let down by the season finale.”

House of the Dragon Season 2 is now available to stream in its entirety, but Season 3 is on the way. In the meantime, check out the 5 shows just like it to watch, and don’t miss our breakdown of the Season 2 ending explained.