House of the Dragon season 2 finale release time (by time zone) and what to expect

The sophomore season of House of the Dragon certainly hasn't been perfect, but it's still been a pretty awesome watch from start to finish. We've seen several highly anticipated moments from the book Fire & Blood, including Blood and Cheese, the Battle at Rook's Rest, and most recently the Sowing of the Seeds. Book fans might have issues with these moments and others (I've had my share, for sure!) though I can't deny how satisfying it is seeing these events depicted onscreen.

And tonight, it all comes to an end. For now, of course. House of the Dragon has been renewed for a third season, so the Dance of the Dragons will continue! To make sure you don't miss out on any of the action of tonight's season 2 finale, be sure to tune in as soon as the episode is released. Below you'll find our complete watch guide!

Season 2 finale release date and time

Nothing changes in terms of the schedule for the House of the Dragon season 2 finale. The eighth and final episode of the season premieres on HBO on Sunday, Aug. 4 at 9:00 p.m. ET. For folks with an HBO subscription, all you'll have to do is turn on the channel at the premiere time and begin watching. If you can't make the premiere, encore showings will air at 10:13 p.m. ET, 12:05 a.m. ET, and 2:00 a.m. ET, leading into Monday morning.

If you're streaming the season 2 finale, you can start watching on HBO's streaming platform Max at any time after 9:00 p.m. ET. And if you can't access Max due to your region, you can watch the episode on select other platforms. In the UK, for example, the episode will stream on Sky Atlantic. Fans in India can enjoy the finale via JioCinema. To find out if Max is available in your area, check out the list here. If all else fails, you can always try the VPN route.

Release time by global time zone

No matter where you are in the world, you'll want to know when you can watch the finale. We break down the release time by major global time zones:

• Hawaii: 3:00 p.m. HST on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Alaska: 5:00 p.m. AKDT on Sunday, Aug. 4
• West Coast of the US: 6:00 p.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Mountain time of the US: 7:00 p.m. MT on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Midwest of the US: 8:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 4
• East Coast of the US: 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Canada (Crave): 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Brazil: 10:00 p.m. BRT on Sunday, Aug. 4
• Portugal and Western Europe: 2:00 a.m. WEST on Monday, Aug. 5
• UK (Sky Atlantic): 2:00 a.m. BST on Monday, Aug. 5
• Spain and Central Europe: 3:00 a.m. CEST on Monday, Aug. 5
• Bulgaria and Eastern Europe: 4:00 a.m. EEST on Monday, Aug. 5
• India (JioCinema): 6:30 a.m. IST on Monday, Aug. 5
• New Zealand (Sky SoHo): 1:00 p.m. NZST on Monday, Aug. 5

Season 2 episode 7 recap

The seventh episode of the season is a really exciting one, thankfully. The pacing has been a little off this season, with the show spending a lot of time on moments that seem pretty irrelevant rather than getting to the juicy stuff, a.k.a. the war. The characters seem to love talking about the war instead of actually acting, which is a little frustrating. In any case, Rhaenyra finally puts out a call for Targaryen bastards to come to Dragonstone in season 2 episode 7, to see if anyone can claim a dragon.

In a Hunger Games-type scene, supposed Targaryen bastards fight for their lives against the very deadly Vermithor, who ends up killing a handful of people. In the end, Vermithor bonds with Hugh Hammer, who reveals earlier in the episode that he's the bastard son of a Targaryen woman, likely Saera Targaryen. Ulf White, as a surprise to even him, claims Silverwing. Along with Addam of Hull, Rhaenyra now has three more dragonriders, which puts her at a major advantage against the greens.

Elsewhere in the episode, Daemon finally wins over the Riverlands with the help of Oscar Tully, Jacaerys is angry with his mother for trying to recruit Targaryen bastards, and Aegon struggles to walk. The very final moments see Aemond rush to fly on Vhagar, following Ulf riding Silverwing to Dragonstone. But once he sees that Rhaenyra has new dragonriders, he retreats. This war has just gotten much more interesting.

What to expect from the season 2 finale

In the timeline of events in Fire & Blood, a battle called the Battle of the Gullet is up next. But don't expect this to go down in the season 2 finale; we are not expecting any big battle to happen, unfortunately. Instead, the armies will likely all come together for battles to come in season 3. In the season 2 finale preview, we see a shot at Tessarion, Daeron Targaryen's dragon who has recently begun flying, which is awesome. I'm not sure how much she'll be in the episode, but it's still really cool to see her. Daemon and Rhaenyra will likely also reunite, and I'm nervous to see how that'll go down.

Aemond will likely cause some havoc; the preview teases that, at least, and he's going to ask Helaena to fly with her dragon Dreamfyre to battle. We also get a short glimpse at the Triarchy, who will be important in the events to likely come in season 3. There are several dragons shown in the preview, but what will they do in the season 2 finale? We don't have long to find out now!

Watch the House of the Dragon season 2 finale preview to get a tease for yourself:

Only hours to go until we see how House of the Dragon season 2 concludes! I'm crossing my fingers for a satisfying, epic watch.