House of the Dragon season 3 has come to an explosive end with the Battle of Tumbleton, perhaps the largest setpiece the show has yet produced. With multiple dragons and two very large armies in the mix, the battle was thrilling to watch, with all the action, plot twists, and brutal betrayals a Game of Thrones fan could want. When the dust settled, the market town of Tumbleton lay in ruins and several key characters were dead.
Unlike a usual Game of Thrones season, which had its biggest battles in the penultimate episode, the Battle of Tumbleton goes right up until the closing minutes of season 3. That means that we won't find out the full ramifications of it until the show's fourth and final season airs. For example, Rhaenyra Targaryen has no idea about Ulf's betrayal, or that the battle was lost. Judging by her dark turn, I doubt she'll take any of that well.
But the biggest cliffhanger is the fate of Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). After being knighted Ser Daeron the Daring early in the episode by Ormund Hightower (James Norton), Daeron chafes at his inability to prevent the carnage around him. He makes the decision to take wing on his dragon, Tessarion, who has spent more than half the season locked up in the sept at Tumbleton.
When last we see Daeron, his uncle Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) is trying to convince him to abandon this endeavor. Then Ulf the White begins burning the Black army. Gwayne and Daeron rush out to see what's happening, experience a glimmer of hope when they see the tide turning, and then watch that hope vanish as Ulf turns his dragon on the defenseless city of Tumbleton. Gwayne is knocked out in the chaos. When he awakens, Daeron is nowhere to be found. He begins crawling across the rubble-strewn ground, calling for his nephew. We never see Daeron or Tessarion again the episode.
Did House of the Dragon just pull a shocker death on its newest dragonrider? Let's get into some spoilers from George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood to speculate.
Does Daeron die in the Battle of Tumbleton in the book?
In Fire & Blood, there are two battles that take place at Tumbleton, appropriately called the First Battle of Tumbleton and the Second Battle of Tumbleton. Daeron flies his dragon Tessarion in the first; in the second, which happens some time later, both he and his dragon meet their demise. Daeron's body is never found after the battle, which has led to no small amount of speculation both in-world and among fans that he secretly survived and went on to live a life of anonymity, though there is little to support that theory.
The House of the Dragon season 3 finale roughly lines up with the First Battle of Tumbleton from the book, with a few major differences. One of those is that Daeron never takes flight on Tessarion. If the show did decide to kill him off here, struggling with his dragon's chains as Ulf sets the city around them aflame, it might line up with the ambiguity of his ending in the book, where his body is never discovered.
Is Daeron still alive in House of the Dragon?
Personally though, I don't think House of the Dragon has gone that route. It's strange to me that we had a whole season where Daeron barely ever interacted with his dragon, let alone flew her into battle. It's hard to imagine the show not wanting to get the young prince into the saddle at least once, and since we never see any solid evidence that Daeron died, I think it's much more likely that he survived the Battle of Tumbleton in the finale.
After all, showrunner Ryan Condal teased earlier in the season that Daeron's dragon Tessarion has a "great role to play in the story yet to come." I think we can probably all agree that thus far, Tessarion hasn't lived up to that promise. The only way Condal's words don't come off as totally false is if we haven't seen the last of Daeron and Tessarion.
Following the First Battle of Tumbleton in the book, there's a substantial storyline about what life in the city is like with people like Ulf the White in charge. Daeron plays a major role in that story, which leads directly into the Second Battle of Tumbleton. Since the show didn't include any of the major beats from the second battle — which is the last large-scale battle of the war that features dragons — I'd say it's very likely we'll see it adapted on screen. When we do, the chances are very good Daeron and Tessarion will be involved.
So while House of the Dragon clearly wanted to keep us guessing about Daeron and Tessarion's fate, we can probably rest easy that we'll see them again. The big question is how Daeron will blossom now that Ormund is no longer around to keep him constrained and separated from his dragon.
The House of the Dragon season 3 finale is now available to stream on HBO Max. Check out our extensive coverage for the series here. Season 4 is due to land sometime in 2028, so get in those rewatches and prepare for the long wait ahead.
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