Courtesy of HBO.

Warning: major spoilers for “House of the Dragon” season two ahead. 

The second season of the summer’s most anticipated series, “House of the Dragon,” has at last drawn to a close, and honestly, I’m a lot more ambivalent about it than I had expected.

Based on George R. R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the HBO Original Series serves as a prequel to “Game of Thrones,” honing in on a war among the noble House Targaryen, dragonlords and rulers of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.

On one side, we have the Blacks, spearheaded by Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the eldest child of the late King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and named heir to the Iron Throne. And on the other, the Greens — Rhaenyra’s half-brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) now occupying the throne with the help of his mother Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and his grandfather Otto (Rhys Ifans). Both sides are vying for the crown, tearing the realm asunder in doing so.

Earlier this summer, I briefly covered the new season for Staff Picks, when only the first three episodes had aired. At the time of writing that, the season to that point had been seriously pleasing, riding at a breakneck pace toward fantastical battles between the very blond (and very incestual) members of the divided House Targaryen.

Riding on the coattails of a very dramatic season one finale, the first episode opens with a stark reminder of the series’ roots, paralleling its predecessor’s very first scene — taking place at the Wall, at the most northern edge of the Seven Kingdoms. Prince Jacaerys or Jace (Harry Collett), scrambles to secure allies for his mother Rhaenyra’s army against Aegon. While there, he receives information that the audience already knew from the season before — his younger brother Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) is dead, killed by their own uncle Aemond (Ewan Mitchell). And thus the war for the crown begins in earnest. Kind of.

Rhaenyra, in her grieving, is slow to act upon her anger toward her half-brothers (a trend throughout the season). However, her uncle-husband — yes, really — Daemon (Matt Smith) wants vengeance and fast. At the end of the first episode, Daemon hires two loyalists to sneak into the Red Keep, the seat of the realm, and kill Aemond.

This plan goes awry. Instead of (somewhat justifiably) getting back at the Greens by taking out a crucial player on the board, the two murderers end up killing an innocent, Aegon’s young son. The scene, with its horrifyingly realistic sound effects, left a perturbed feeling in the stomach. But it also made a promise that unfortunately was not entirely kept: that the rest of the season would follow similar levels of high emotion and tension.

Before I get to that, though, I must linger here to compliment the incredible performances of the entire cast, as the second episode showcased some of the best acting within the season. Glynn-Carney imbued Aegon, a despicable and pathetic character, with a humanity that very nearly erased my contempt for him as he mourned the death of his son.

A later confrontation between Rhaenyra and Daemon concerning the latter’s impulsive and cruel decision featured gripping dialogue and captivating acting on the parts of both D’Arcy and Smith.

The grief of the sweet and prophetic Helaena (Phia Saban) added depth and nuance to her previously under-explored character. “House of the Dragon” truly matches its predecessor with the strength of its cast.

The episodes afterward vary in excitement until the fourth episode, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” during which the first on-screen battle of the Dance of the Dragons takes place. Rhaenys (Eve Best), a loyal relative to Rhaenyra, volunteers to ride her dragon Meleys to a besieged keep, Rook’s Rest, as a show of the Blacks’ strength. Instead of emerging victorious, she is ambushed by both Aegon and Aemond, and is killed, while Aegon is also severely wounded. Both sides lose a little, but there is one triumph taken away — and that is on the part of the CGI team, who hit it out of the park with the dragons and the destruction they casted down on the soldiers below.

Unfortunately, the stamina of the season dies after the Battle of Rook’s Rest. I can’t even quite remember what happens in episodes five and six past Daemon’s dazed staggerings through the haunted halls of Harrenhal, broody because his wife yelled at him, Alicent’s shock at being displaced when Aemond becomes Prince Regent, ruling in his brother’s stead, and Rhaenyra’s impatience with her council.

These episodes blur together, but there is one notable beat that signifies a wonderful step forward in Hollywood as a whole — the canonization of Rhaenyra, arguably the most central figure, as queer. While “Game of Thrones” did not lack in queer characters, only side characters ever served as outright queer representation. With “House of the Dragon” being one of the most popular series running at this time, it’s refreshing that a major character doesn’t fall into typical showrunners’ heteronormative tendencies.

While most of the second half of the season is indeed slow, as war often is, one episode does stand out among the rest. The seventh episode, “The Red Sowing,” ups the intensity as the fourth one had, depicting characters attempting to become dragonriders and failing, violently so. This episode truly reminds you what you’re really here for — magic and spectacle, with bloodshed a mere backdrop to the magnificence of the creatures that lend the series its name.

With the seventh episode closing on such an exhilarating note, and the knowledge that the next one was the last, my hopes were at an absolute high. What could possibly fit into the finale’s running time of 70 minutes? A battle? A major character death, or the turning of the tides?

To the great dismay of many viewers, myself included, none of these things happened. A tension builds up throughout the final episode, but it never culminates into anything significant. If it had been, say, the second-to-last episode, it may have functioned very well, piquing the audience’s interest and layering all of the plotlines that we’d been following since the season premiered last June.

A season finale with a confirmed renewal for another season should indeed leave some questions unanswered, but it foremost should close the current season in a recognizable and definite closing, or at least should end with a new inciting event for the upcoming season, as the first season for this series did.

Eloquently summarized by The Daily’s Arts + Culture editor Anikka Stanley, the finale is best described as “a giant trailer for season three.” The writers abandoned stakes and drama for the anticipation of the future storylines, which only works well in tandem with the drama that should inherently pervade a finale. By taking for granted the assumed hype for season three, writers forced season two to leave audiences vastly unsatisfied, wanting more and not exactly in a positive way.

It’s unfortunate to see the second season lose so much of its momentum when its start was incredible. Though I don’t doubt that season three may compensate for this disappointment, audiences will likely wait two to three years before the next season premiere. In that space between, only exists disappointment, at least until fans have the tangibility of an upcoming premiere.

I want to be clear — all in all, this season of “House of the Dragon” was wonderful, holding up to the nuance, magic, and overall magnificence of the “Game of Thrones” universe. I fear, though, that if the writers continue with this weak approach to crucial plot points, that could be an ill omen for a repeat of its predecessor’s infamous conclusion. And no one wants that again.

“House of the Dragon” is currently streaming on Max.