House
Of The Dragon: The Complete Second Season 4K
(2024/HBO/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Set)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: A- Picture: X Sound: A- Extras: B-
Main Programs: B
Legendary
writer George R.R. Martin's House
of the Dragon,
the first prequel to the Game
of Thrones series,
returns for a Second
Season
(2024) and lands on 4K UHD disc from HBO and Warner Bros.
Season
2
picks up after King Aegon II's coronation and the grisly death of
Queen Rhaenyra's son, House Targaryen is divided on two fronts after
the unexpected assassination of a small child as an act of revenge.
Civil war looms as both sides seek support from the great houses of
Westeros, ultimately amassing armies and dragons where all hell
breaks loose and history in Westeros is made. It is ultimately a
story about a family fighting amongst themselves with both sides so
full of hatred and resentment that they don't care who gets caught in
the crosshairs - even innocent children.
You
can check out my review of season one here:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16230/AfterEffects:+Memories+Of+Pittsburgh+Filmmakin
The
award winning series stars Emma D'Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith,
Matthew Needham, Harry Collett, Franken Frankel, Steve Toussaint, and
Ewan Mitchell to name a few.
Directors
for this season include Alan Taylor (a Game
of Thrones
veteran who also directed Terminator
Genisys
and Thor:
The Dark World),
Clare Kilner, Loni Peristere, and Geeta Vasant Patel.
The
eight episodes here include A
Son For A Son, Rhaenerya the Cruel, The Burning Mill, The Red Dragon
and the Gold, Regent, Smallfolk, The Red Sowing,
and The
Queen Who Ever Was.
Season
2
sadly doesn't pack the same punch as Season
1.
Many of the episodes seem like filler and a lot of drama and long
meetings and squabbling rather than action based elements. The
show's high production value and great performances continue, but its
questionable how long the show can keep up its momentum to keep fans
interested. It did seem like this season came and went without as
much hurrah from fans as the first season. Not to say that there
isn't plenty here to enjoy. The last two episodes are pretty
enjoyable and I'm definitely on board for another season. I like
Olivia Cooke and Emma D'Arcy really carry the series with Matt Smith
being the toughest soldier in the bunch. The endless talent onscreen
is apparent and that the show has been crafted with a lot of thought
and cinematic planning.
House
of the Dragon
is presented in 2160p on 4K UHD disc with a HEVC / H.265, Dolby
Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition
image and widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and a lossless audio
tracks in Dolby
Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) in each episode.
The 4K UHD transfer is a vast improvement over streaming with a lot
more texture and detail in the image and of course no threat of it
going to an annoying ad every ten minutes (depending on what service
you pay for of course.) The digital VFX are top notch and up there
with the biggest budget Hollywood movies. Of course, the Dragons are
the main attraction and they continue to be realistic and beautifully
crafted. This series looks better than most big screen box office
movies like Gladiator
2
with a more realistic blend of real sets and digital elements.
Special
Features
:
Family
Tree
and
Divided
Kingdoms
featurettes.
House
of the Dragon
could have been a major disaster, especially after the mixed
reception to the last season of Game
of Thrones.
Luckily, the brilliant writing of George R.R. Martin accompanied
with top industry talent from around the world in front of and behind
the camera all came together to craft a solid new series that feels
like an extension of the franchise that is necessary, and not just
something throwaway to make a buck. This is definitely a series that
benefits from 4K UHD and could serve as a good comparison piece in
quality when put side to side by streaming.
You
can read more about Game
Of Thrones,
starting with the 4K box set we covered, at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15811/Catherine+The+Great+(2019/TV+Mini-Series*)/Ga
It
has many links to the rest of the coverage we have of the franchise
prior to this series.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
