We're only days away from returning to Westeros, and you know what that means: time to brush up on everything you forgot since your last visit. House of the Dragon debuts its third season this Sunday, June 21, and it will plunge viewers right into the thick of the Dance of the Dragons civil war. By all accounts, the season premiere will hit the ground running with the Battle of the Gullet, a horrific naval clash that ranks among the worst in Westeros' history.
All this is to say, there won't be much time for catching up once the ships begin ramming each other and the dragons take wing. And while HBO is airing an epic marathon this weekend to refresh viewers' memory, that's a large enough commitment that you may want a quicker primer to keep on hand. Fortunately, we've got you covered!
House of the Dragon continues the grand Game of Thrones tradition of having a sprawling cast, each with their own storylines and agendas. With season 3, that cast is spread around the map more than ever. Let's take a quick look back at where everything was placed on the board at the end of season 2, so you can dive right into the season 3 premiere with your eyes firmly set on the horizon.
1. Rhaenyra and Alicent's deal
Probably the single most important development of the season 2 finale was the secret meeting between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), where Alicent decided to commit to helping Rhaenyra take back the Iron Throne. She agreed to order the City Watch and Hightower soldiers to stand down when Rhaenyra arrived in King's Landing, so that the Black Queen could capture the city without bloodshed. She also promised to get her son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his monstrous dragon Vhagar out of the city somehow, and to surrender her horribly maimed eldest son King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) to Rhaenyra for execution. In return, all Alicent wanted was the chance to leave it all behind with her daughter Helaena (Phia Saban), in hopes that they could find some peace away from the horrors of the war.
But even as Rhaenyra and Alicent made this pact, the larger picture of the war was moving in ways that are destined to undermine it...
2. Ships are about to clash in the Gullet
After suffering a serious injury in the Stepstones near the end of season 1, Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) spent most all of season 2 repairing his ship, which he renamed The Queen Who Ever Was during the finale in honor of his late wife, Rhaenys (Eve Best). He also came into contact with his two bastard sons, Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Alyn (Abubakar Salim). While Addam was chosen by the dragon Seasmoke, Alyn takes much more after Corlys as a man of the sea. The season ends with Corlys making Alyn his first mate, and setting sail together to join the Sea Snake's blockade of the Gullet, a crucial waterway through which the vast majority of King's Landings' trade flows.
Unbeknownst to Corlys, the Greens have made a daring move to break the blockade which is starving the city. Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) went to the Free Cities and struck a bargain with the Triarchy, an alliance of Tyrosh, Myr, and Lys. They agreed to send their most fearsome pirate captain, Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) to attack the Velaryon blockade.
Season 2 ended with Tyland and Sharako sailing toward the Gullet, leaving us with the perfect set up for the battle at the start of season 3.
3. Rhaenyra is plagued by unrest
The problems facing Team Black aren't confined to the imminent Battle of the Gullet, either. Rhaenyra spent the entirety of season 2 in her island stronghold on Dragonstone, and frustrations began boiling over. Her advisors disagreed with her practically every step of the way; meanwhile, her son Jacaerys (Harry Collett) was also at odds with her, pushing for more action and for the chance to get into the thick of things himself. Given his success at securing allies for the Blacks early in the season, he wanted to do more than sit protected at Dragonstone.
While nothing explosive happend with Rhaenyra, her advisors, and Jace during the finale of season 2, it is absolutely worth remembering that the lay of the land on Dragonstone is precarious. It wouldn't take much to bring these strong personalities to a head.
4. Aegon and Larys hit the road
The other big thing that is destined to undermine Alicent and Rhaenyra's bargain is that Aegon II, the son Alicent promised to let Rhaenyra behead, isn't even in King's Landing anymore. Afraid for his life after his power-hungry younger brother Aemond scorched him with dragonfire during the Battle at Rook's Rest, Aegon accepted help from Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), the master of whisperers on his Small Council, who offered to spirit Aegon out of the city. We last saw them hopping in the back of a chicken cart, bound for who knows where.
5. Armies on the move in the Riverlands
After spending almost the entirety of season 2 at the haunted castle of Harrenhal, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) finally assembled a massive host of rivermen to fight for him, under the leadership of young Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes). By the end of the season, they were setting out to make war on the Greens' allies in the region.
A few other armies were also on the move in the Riverlands at the end of season 2, setting up this region to become a wartorn morass, just like it is almost 200 years later in Game of Thrones. Lord Jason Lannister (Jefferson Hall), the twin brother to Tyland and head of their house, was leading his army out of the Westlands to a river called the Red Fork. Meanwhile, a contingent of old Northmen marched south and crossed the Twins, thanks to promises Jacaerys secured from both Cregan Stark and House Frey. There's no doubt all these forces will collide in some fashion, so expect carnage in the Riverlands this season.
6. Criston Cole's crisis of faith
The other army heading into the Riverlands is a small force led by Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). Their goal was to retake Harrenhal, with Aemond flying out of King's Landing to help them in case Daemon happened to turn up on his dragon, Caraxes.
The major complication, however, is that Criston seems completely resigned to the fact this is most likely a one way journey. After witnessing the horror of dragon combat at the Battle at Rook's Rest, Criston spiraled into utter nihilism. His final scene of season 2 sees him open up to Gwayne, and reflect on what a relief it will be to die after everything he's seen and endured. Whenever we catch up with Criston in season 3, he's likely to be a slightly different character than we were used to from the first two seasons.
7. Rhaena and Sheepstealer
Leaving the Riverlands behind, there were a few interesting developments in the Vale of Arryn as well. One of Daemon Targaryen's daughters, Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), was sent to the Vale early in the season along with Rhaenyra's two youngest sons, Aegon and Viserys. By the end of the season, little Aegon and Viserys, along with their dragon hatchlings, were sent off to the Free Cities aboard a merchant cog called the Gay Abandon. Rhaena was meant to go with them...but rumors of a wild dragon in the Vale drew her away from her duty, since she never had a mount of her own and always wished for one.
Season 2 ended with Rhaena discovering that dragon, named Sheepstealer, on account of its penchant for gobbling up the flocks of local shepherds. The book features a totally different character interacting with Sheepstealer, so how the show is going to handle it is a mystery at this point. But we can bet pretty firmly on seeing Rhaena and Sheepstealer together again in season 3.
8. Regent Aemond and King's Landing
King's Landing underwent a great deal of change in House of the Dragon season 2. Following his fall at the Battle at Rook's Rest, King Aegon spent most of the season bedridden, until his escape in the finale with Larys Strong. Prince Aemond Targaryen claimed the throne in his absence, serving as Regent and the de facto ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
By the end of the season, Aemond retains his place of power. And while he has plans to go to the Riverlands to rendezvous with Cole, it's unclear how the disappearance of Aegon will factor into those events. However things play out, Aemond holds a great deal of power at the start of this season.
9. The Hightowers march through the Reach with Daeron Targaryen
While we've spent plenty of time with Alicent Hightower and her father, Otto, we haven't seen much of the actual lord of House Hightower, Otto's nephew Ormund. Played by House of Guinness' James Norton, Ormund Hightower will make a splash in season 3 as the most substantial new role the show is adding, with showrunner Ryan Condal going so far as to compare his presence to that of Tywin Lannister from Game of Thrones.
We only got a few passing mentions of Ormund making war in the Reach during season 2, but the finale ends with a montage that finally shows his Hightower army marching along the Honeywine River. Most exciting of all though is Ormund's ward, Daeron Targaryen, the youngest son of Alicent and King Viserys who lived in Oldtown for most of his life. We caught a glimpse of Daeron's brilliant blue dragon, Tessarion, flying over the army as well. Expect to see a lot more of these characters in season 3, including a proper introduction for Daeron at last.
10. Otto Hightower is missing
Speaking of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), it's also worth remembering that he disappeared completely after the second episode of season 2, when King Aegon dismissed him as Hand of the King and elevated Criston Cole in his stead. Alicent thought she had convinced Otto to head for the Reach to join up with Ormund, but later in the season we discover he never wrote Alicent to let her know he'd arrived, an uncharacteristic lapse for the meticulous Hightower patriach.
We find out why in the closing moments of season 2, where it's revealed that Otto has been imprisoned somewhere. But where? That's a question season 3 will have to answer.
11. The dragonseeds
Late in the season, Rhaenyra attempts a dangerous gambit by inviting Targaryen bastards to try to claim some of the riderless dragons making their home on Dragonstone: Vermithor and Silverwing. What followed was a horrific massacre that comes to be known as the Red Sowing, where most of those bastards ended up dragon food.
In the end though, Rhaenyra's plan paid off. A blacksmith named Hugh (Kieran Bew) and a mouthy drunkard peasant named Ulf (Tom Bennett) claimed Vermithor and Silverwing, respectively. Together with Addam of Hull, who bonded with the dragon Seasmoke earlier in the season, these three new riders make up the dragonseeds, an important new part of Rhaenyra's military might.
12. Who has what dragons?
Last but not least, let's take a quick glance at the dragons fighting for each side of this war. With the dragonseeds, the Blacks outnumber the Greens significantly. Rhaenyra has seven combat-ready dragons on her side: her own dragon Syrax, Caraxes (ridden by Daemon), Vermithor, Silverwing, Seasmoke, Vermax (ridden by Jace), and Moondancer (ridden by Baela Targaryen). By contrast, the Greens really only have Vhagar and Tessarion at this stage of the Dance, as well as Helaena Targaryen's mount Dreamfyre. But since we've never seen Helaena ride Dreamfyre a single time in the show, she's probably not about to start fighting battles any time soon.
These dragons and more will dance when House of the Dragon returns for its third season this Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max. We'll be covering the show extensively, so check back for more. See you in Westeros!
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