Whilst oh, so many other high-budget fantasy series have fallen by the wayside since The Wheel of Time's initial airing of its first season, S2 seems to have released at a rather opportune moment; "Lord of The Rings" crashed & burned in solemn mediocrity, right out of the gates, "Shadow & Bone" seemed to struggle in making any impression on audiences whatsoever & Netflix's other franchise "The Witcher" has irrevocably fallen in to mismanagement & decrepitude with S3; the only viable challenger still left standing remains HBO's "House of The Dragon", which likely shows no signs of abating. However, what's most fascinating is seeing this ironic dark horse of a show rise out from beneath the shadow of others & finally find its feet with the opening episode of the long-awaited follow-up, establishing itself as what may very likely be THE fantasy saga, keeping George RR Martin's universe on its toes for the foreseeable; far maturer, darker, with a distinct & impressive identity... What an improvement from the last.