House of the Dragon's action-packed third season came to an end with a fiery battle at Tumbleton and the rantings of heretic in King's Landing.
For eight episodes, we followed an incredible group of characters around Westeros as the Dance of the Dragons continued. While the third season was an incredible achievement in TV storytelling, the show does leave one thing to be desired, and it's how little time we get to spend with important characters.
If there's one flaw in House of the Dragon, it's that there are too many characters and too little time to give them all the screentime they deserve. Ryan Condal and the writers are forced to sideline characters and make changes from George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood to create a compelling narrative within a budget.
I understand all the pitfalls of making a sprawling, epic fantasy series like this, but I still wanted to see a few characters a little bit more throughout the seasons. I picked six House of the Dragon characters who deserved more screentime and story in season 3.
Alicent Hightower
Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke, is the one character of this bunch who had a considerable amount of time on screen. Alicent, though, just didn't have a lot to do this season. After Alicent orchestrated the fall of King's Landing with minimal bloodshed, she was held prisoner, sharing scenes with only Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), and Helaena (Phia Saban), basically, until Rhaenyra set her free to try to kill her son, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), at Harrenhal.
Cooke deserved more to work with than that. She's such an insanely talented performer who has given us some of the best moments in the series so far. Unfortunately, this part of the story just didn't lend itself to Alicent's strengths. While that's not anyone's fault, it would have been interesting if the writers could have made a few key changes to Alicent's story to get her in the mix more often.
Perhaps, it's an indictment on Rhaenyra that she could not find a way to use Alicent's judgment and skills to rule.
Oh, and don't even get me started on that Alicent-Aemond scene. How could they make Cooke and Mitchell do that?!
Aemond Targaryen
Speaking of Aemond, Alicent's second child had basically nothing to do for most of the season. After venturing back to King's Landing after Aegon (Tomy Glynn-Carney) flees, Aemond flies to Harrenhal to take the castle. When he arrives, he's injured in a fight with the Strong family, whom he kills.
For two episodes in the middle of the season, Aemond is largely absent. We don't know if he lived or died. Then, he wakes up, injured but alive, thanks to Alys Rivers, who nursed him back to full strength. Unfortunately, Aemond just hangs out at Harrenhal for the rest of the season. He's unfit to fight his way out of trouble, and his dragon, Vhagar, allegedly abandoned him. Aemond also grows close to Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who wants to have Aemond's child.
Aemond is part of a few crucial scenes at the end of the season, including an incredible revelation from Alys and a reunion with his brother. It's just not enough to make up for his absences in the middle of the season from all of the action.
It's peculiar the series chose to play Aemond's story this way. At this point in Fire & Blood, the civil war is in full swing, and Aemond is basically flying Vhagar all around the riverlands, burning towns and cities and trying to fight against those loyal to Rhaenyra. All of the Harrenhal stuff does happen, but he's not just a prisoner the whole time.
Roddy the Ruin
If there's one character who needed more screentime, it's Ser Roderick Dustin, played by Tommy Flanagan. Roddy the Ruin was an important part of some key moments in the season. He shows up with the Winter Wolves and helps Daemon (Matt Smith) dispose of the Lannisters. Then, he teams up with the rest of the Rivermen who are loyal to Rhaenyra, including the Tullys. He is part of the Butcher's Ball with Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes), which is the end of the story for Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
Most importantly, Roddy leads the charge in the First Battle of Tumbleton, and he nearly kills Ormund Hightower (James Norton) until Ulf (Tom Bennett) and Silverwing finished them both off. It's probably the most entertaining sequence of the entire finale.
There's no doubt, when you see the performance Flanagan gave in that finale, that Roddy should have been more involved. He was just fun to have around. He stole every single scene he was a part of.
Unfortunately, Roddy and the Winter Wolves were also robbed of one of their best moments in season 3, the Battle by the Lakeshore, also known as the Fishfeed. The battle wasn't shown in season 3, but it's literally the bloodiest battle in the Dance of the Dragons, and the Winter Wolves are at the very center of it, driving the Lannisters and Greens into the Gods Eye.
Addam of Hull
Addam of Hull, played by Clinton Liberty, is a great character, but he absolutely got a raw deal in House of the Dragon season 3. Addam wasn't really a part of anything of note this season, despite being one of a handful of dragonriders. Ulf White and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) had complete arcs this season, but Addam was basically reserved to the sidelines while everything was happening.
Sure, he and Baela (Bethany Antonia) searched the countryside for Aemond and Vhagar. He also was part of the weird dragon fight that ended with Rhaena's capture and Sheepstealer's near-death experience. That's not a lot, though, for, again, one of a few people who can actually ride a dragon in Westeros.
Hopefully, we'll get to see more from Addam and Seasmoke in House of the Dragon season 4. Addam does have a key role in the Second Battle of Tumbleton, which should take place early next season.
Daeron Targaryen
Daeron Targaryen, played by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth, absolutely deserves a spot on this list. The youngster with kingly aspirations basically does nothing for the full season except get bossed around by Ormund.
It's especially frustrating because Daeron isn't anything like this in Fire & Blood. During this part of the war, Daeron is in the mix, flying into battle with Tessarion and earning his "Daeron the Daring" name. He basically saves Ormund in the Battle of Honeywine, which allows Ormund and his men to continue marching to Tumbleton. He burns a whole town, Bitterbridge, after Prince Maelor is ripped apart.
In other words, Daeron just isn't like this character who we saw in House of the Dragon season 3. He plays a much bigger role. Perhaps that role will be played in season 4, assuming he lived, but seeing as most of Daeron's big moments come before Tumbletone and not after, it's going to be really interesting to see how Daeron's story continues. On top of that, Aegon and Aemond, Daeron's big brothers, are still in the mix, as well.
Black Aly
Last but not least, Allysanne Blackwood (Annie Shapero), also known as Black Aly, makes the list of characters who deserved more in House of the Dragon season 3.
Black Aly is part of Daemon's force in the Riverlands, who joins with the Winter Wolves early in the season. She is also responsible for taking out and killing Criston Cole at the Butcher's Ball. We see a glimpse of Black Aly at the Battle of Tumbleton being a badass, but that's about it during season 3.
Black Aly's role in season 3 is likely setting up a story that happens in season 4, and the show is just getting a jump on including her character in the season. Black Aly is also getting a lot of story from other characters, notably Red Robb Rivers, who is described as the best archer in the Seven Kingdoms in Fire & Blood.
I don't totally understand introducing Black Aly and including her in this part of the story if you're not going to give her much to do. I would have loved to learn more about her before the final season, but here we are.
So, those are the six characters I would have loved to see more in House of the Dragon season 3. Overall, it was an incredible season, and it could have been just a little bit better with a few tweaks to these stories. Outside of my guy Roddy, we should see much more of these characters in season 4.
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