‘House of the Dragon’ Finally Delivers on Its Most Game-Changing Promise in Season 3

After an anti-climactic end to House of the Dragon Season 2, there’s no better way to reintroduce the Game of Thrones spin-off show to audiences than kicking Season 3 off with a major naval battle, complete with pirates, dragons, and tragedy. In the last few years, House of the Dragon has been no stranger to controversy. From Season 2 being cut short by two episodes to the incendiary comments made by author George R.R. Martin toward the studio and showrunner Ryan Condal, the series has struggled despite a successful start in 2022 with Season 1. But the proof, as they say, is in the pudding, and the pudding really delivers in Season 3.

If there are issues off-screen, they certainly aren’t visible in the season’s final edit, which boasts ultra-long episodes, massive set pieces, powerful performances, and a sweeping epic meant to keep both show fans and fans of Martin’s books on their toes. Of course, this review is only based on the first four episodes of Season 3, which is to say that Season 2 was also amazing up until Rook’s Rest in Episode 4, and things could certainly change in the back half. But as it is now, despite all the stumbling blocks along the way, House of the Dragon is still spectacle TV worth tuning in for.

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Doubles Down on Exactly What Fans Have Been Waiting For

House of the Dragon is based on a period in Westeros’ history called the Dance of Dragons. Up until now, full dragon sequences have been reserved for large fights and major moments. It makes sense, given the fact that these dragons are not only expensive to create on screen, but there’s over triple the amount that Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) had in Game of Thrones. A major complaint that’s been brought up time and time again is that the show has been hindered by the number of dragons they can feasibly and budgetarily show on screen. However, all of that has seemingly gone out the window, as the thing that becomes immediately obvious as you watch even the first episode of the season is that the war has finally earned its Dance of Dragons moniker.

With all the wild and unclaimed dragons now having riders, and thanks to the dragonseeds storyline laying the foundation in Season 2, every conflict and drama has increased tenfold. On top of that, it’s not uncommon to see dragons simply flitting about or flying in formation together as Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) soar over the Westeros skies. It’s clear the show has taken time to give some of these dragons more personality, and including details like a rider giving commands to a dragon that won’t listen is a nice reminder of the fear factor that always comes with these animals. At the end of the day, they are nukes with wings.

Keeping to the skeleton of Martin’s story, House of the Dragon brings the show back to King’s Landing in Season 3, which is the smartest decision it’s made in a while. The issue with Season 2 was that everything was too spread out. Daemon was at Harrenhal, Rhaenyra and the Blacks were in Dragonstone, the Greens were in King’s Landing, but then all the armies were scattered across the kingdom. What made Season 1 of the show so good was the close quarters that these two sides were forced to endure. Bringing that element back in Season 3 is exactly what the show needed; it picks up the series’ pacing and allows drama to brew more naturally.

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Finally Lets Rhaenyra Stretch Her Wings

House of the Dragon Season 2 was hamstrung by tragedy. After the devastating loss of her son Lucerys (Eliot Grihault), Rhaenyra was dealt a painful blow. Add to that the fear that her closest ally, Daemon, had potentially betrayed her, and being trapped on an island where she had too many dragons and not enough riders, and Rhaenyra was backed into a corner. Plot-wise, it makes sense and follows the Fire & Blood book. Show-wise, it made for a bit of a slog of a season, especially as more storylines spun out over the episodes rather than collating into a more streamlined story.

Season 3 gives Rhaenyra back some of her control. Although there are still certain moments early on when Rhaenyra might girlboss a little too close to the sun (at one point she refers to her female body as weak and feeble while saying she has the heart and spirit of a king), she finally feels like she’s on solid ground again. It helps that a number of her issues have been resolved, Daemon is completely loyal to her, and her dragonseeds are putting up a fight that even makes Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) nervous.

D’Arcy is at their best in this season, balancing the madness of a Targaryen — which makes an appearance more than a few times even in the first half of Season 3 — and the hardened ambition of a woman claiming what has always rightly been hers. They have several scenes that show both Rhaenyra’s vulnerability and her strength, never letting one overtake the other. It helps that some of their best scenes are with Smith. While there was a significant drought of Daemon and Rhaenyra scenes in Season 2, Season 3 is more than making up for that. Though Daemon’s loyalty still feels hinged on the prophecy he was shown by Alys (Gayle Rankin) at Harrenhal, the two have never felt more on the same page, delivering scenes that rival even some of the best of Season 1 between the two characters.

Of course, just because Daemon and Rhaenyra are each other’s side right now doesn’t mean that will remain permanent, and Season 3 is already sowing the seeds that will undoubtedly cause trouble once again for the couple. Book lovers might think they have guessed the coming storyline, but Condal and his team have created an intriguing twist that not only benefits the show but also most effectively utilizes the mammoth cast.

The War Between the Blacks and the Greens Feels Uneven in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3

While there’s a lot of praise that can be lauded for the amount of screen time Team Black has on screen, if you’re a fan of the Greens, you’ll likely be far less satisfied. The major downside is how little we get of some of these pivotal characters. Olivia Cooke‘s Alicent is probably the only constant, with Phia Saban‘s Helaena also on the sidelines. But for those who have come to love the performances of Tom Glynn-Carney and Ewan Mitchell, the first half of the season will likely feel disappointing. Mitchell has a minuscule amount of screentime, while Glynn-Carney’s moments are sprinkled across each episode but still feel so brief you might miss them if you took a bathroom break.

On top of that, one thing that’s always been a highlight of the series is how it is able to balance some of the Greens’ more wicked tendencies by showing their flaws and making us sympathize even with characters like Aegon II. However, House of the Dragon Season 3 seems to throw nearly all of that empathy aside. The newest antagonist comes in the form of James Norton‘s Ormund Hightower, Alicent’s calculating cousin, who proves himself to be one of the most cunning and threatening players in this game. On top of all of that, it does seem odd that any threat of sexual assault seems to exist solely at the hands of the Greens or their soldiers. While I’m not saying that the show should depict more assault, it does feel unbalanced to place some of the most despicable acts solely onto one side of the war when the realities of battle are far more complicated.

This imbalance stands as House of the Dragon Season 3’s biggest challenge moving forward. Although the show has shifted its focus to Rhaenyra, it shouldn’t forget that, at the end of the day, this is a succession battle between Rhaenyra and Aegon II. There are two sides to this coin, and while it’s wonderful to finally see Rhaenyra get the upper hand, it no longer feels so much like a battle between two sides. This was the problem with the back half of Season 2, and it’s something the show will always struggle with given its massive cast and limited number of episodes. But, hopefully, as House of the Dragon begins to pare down its ensemble and focus on the main players, the show will find the proper balance that it needs for Season 3 to land and move smoothly into the story’s final chapter.

House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres June 21 on HBO.

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Network

HBO

Showrunner

George R.R. Martin

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  Fabien Frankel

  Ser Criston Cole

Pros & Cons

• Emma D’Arcy finally gets to shine in Season 3, with many of the initial episodes focusing around Rhaenyra.
• The increase in the number of dragons on screen ups the entertainment and intrigue of the show.
• Focusing the plot into a more centralized location brings the story into a more succinct place.

• The lack of screentime for characters like Aegon II and Aemond is disappointing, especially after their build-up in Season 2.
• Season 3 might still suffer from an imbalance in the second half when it comes time to wrap up the penultimate chapter of the story.