Now that House of the Dragon season 3 has reached its conclusion, it’s time to break down all eight episodes and decide how they rank on a worst-to-best scale. While season 2 of the Game of Thrones prequel had a noticeable dip in quality, the show's most recent season proved that the writers had things back on track in a big way. Admittedly, I found myself gasping in shock and awe quite a few times.
That's not to say that every episode was a masterpiece, however. Season 3 did give us some awesome moments, yet there were also some episodes that didn't exactly have me on the edge of my seat, and instead had me checking my proverbial watch. And so — let's see which episodes deserve to have a seat on the council, and which ones should be served rats for dinner.
8. "Tumbleton," Episode 304
Following the discovery of Ormund Hightower's deception at the end of episode 3, episode 4, “Tumbleton,” gives us a peek at what is happening from his side. Hightower soldiers are taking over the homes of the common people in the town of Tumbleton, and Ormund has claimed the best domicile for himself. We get a glimpse of the kind of man Ormund really is, and what he is is a real piece of work.
Ormund is an overstuffed peacock who thinks he is a tactical genius, and it’s obvious the writers were trying to present the next favorite villain. For me, though, he's a bit too cartoonish and over-the-top, making it hard to feel any strong way about him. That being said, James Norton does a decent job of playing a two-dimensional villain akin to Alan Rickman's Sheriff of Nottingham from 1993's Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (a deep cut, I know).
Meanwhile in King's Landing, Rhaenyra names Torrhen Manderly her new Master of Coin, but only so she can put the blame on him for the city's low funds. She then orders the City Watch to put an end to the slanderous graffiti in King's Landing, and sends Ulf and Hugh to stakeout Tumbleton. Basically, there's a whole lot of delegating going on and not much else for Rhaenyra, making her almost obsolete in this episode.
The highlights of episode 4 are the two big reveals in the second half. First, Daemon finds out that Rhaena is Sheepstealer's rider, and has exiled herself in the Reach. Instead of putting his daughter in the path of the queen's wrath, Daemon kills a shepherd and presents the burned skull to Rhaenyra, calming it to be the head of Sheepstealer’s rider.
The other big shocker (not so big, really), is that Helaena is pregnant with Aegon's child, who could be a threat to Rhaenyra's rule. Honestly, this whole subplot feels a bit forced, and ultimately ends up being pointless by the season's end, anyway.
7. "Unbowed and Unbent," Episode 305
Here's another episode that feels like a lot of things happen, and at the same time, nothing happens. In Harrenhal, Aemond recovers from his stab wound thanks to Alys' healing, while bounty hunters attempt to claim his head. I will say, the scenes with Aemond in Harrenhal had me feeling sympathetic towards the character for the first time in a long time. It's rare that we get to see the prince's vulnerable side, as his viciousness and ambition have so frequently won out.
As for Criston Cole, he and his Hightower guerrilla soldiers are having a really rough time. In the race against the Tullys, Cole and Gwayne Hightower walk right into a trap set by Lord Tully's army, hobbling their horses and forcing them to traverse through a hellish marshland. Gwayne tries to convince Criston to give up this fight, and in reply, Criston reveals that he intends to die fighting — even knowing their chances are nil.
Let's see, what else? Tyland Lannister meets up with Aegon and Larys in Rook's Rest and offers to help them find a ship to Essos. Daemon and Rhaenyra argue about priorities in King's Landing, and Alicent and Helaena have two failed escape attempts. I know I'm just rattling off a list at this point, but that's pretty much what the episode is: a checklist of things that had to happen for the plot to move forward, with very little room for interpretation or analysis.
I mean, I get it, I guess. It's midway through the season, and at this juncture it's important to get the main plot points out of the way, so to speak. Unfortunately, as a result, the episode, titled “Unbowed and Unbent,” is definitely one of the season's weakest.
6. "Faceless Man," Episode 306
Conveniently, episode 6 of House of the Dragon season 3, “Faceless Men,” ends up at number 6 on the list. At least it starts out strong, as Criston Cole's men are led into another trap by the Tullys, and Criston finally meets his end. I’m sure there are a lot of fans who feel a certain way about Criston Cole, with his character arc being quite the roller coaster ride. As for me, I was very satisfied to see him get an arrow to the face.
Disguised in a gold cloak uniform, Daemon tracks down the Hightower spy and dispenses Targaryen justice. He then finds a drunken Ulf in the streets of Flea Bottom, and gives him a good thrashing for leaving his post — an act of public humiliation which will come back to bite him later.
In Harrenhal, Alys reveals her true intentions to Aemond, as well as a hidden cache of dragon eggs. Her hope, she tells him, is for the two of them to be Lord and Lady of Harrenhal, possibly with a small horde of dragons at their beck and call. Look, to be honest, there is so much more interesting stuff going on elsewhere that the show kind of loses me with the Harrenhal subplot.
There are a few enjoyable moments in this episode — mainly ones that indulged my personal sense of schadenfreude. Besides Cole's death, I admittedly got a kick (no pun intended) out of Daemon shaming Ulf in Flea Bottom, as I think he is one of the most irritating characters in the series. It was also fun to see Ormund's delicate sensibilities tested when a group of stinky so-called "Baratheons" showed up at his door, and he was forced to grin and bear it.
5. "Queen's Landing," Episode 302
Okay, I'd say we've got the worst of them out of the way, and now the episodes start to improve exponentially. At the start of episode 2, “Queen’s Landing,” we have Rhaenyra's reaction to Jace's death following a bittersweet victory at the Gullet.
Rhaenyra's emotions are a devastating mix of rage and despair, as she beats on her son's corpse and sobs, "What have you done?" while demanding an answer from him. She then hugs him tightly in her arms, feeling the loss that only a grieving mother can know. While difficult to watch, the scene is expertly executed on Emma D'Arcy's part.
In happier news, Lord Corlys Velaryon is found alive after the sea battle by his sons Alyn and Addam of Hull and his granddaughter, Baela. Corlys tells Alyn of his decision to legitimize his sons and give them the Velaryon name, much to their gratitude.
In King's Landing, Alicent makes good on her promise to Rhaenyra from last season by telling Lord Luthor of the City Watch to open the gates for Rhaenyra's dragons when they arrive. At Dragonstone, Rhaenyra manages to put aside her grief when she learns that Aemond has left King's Landing and the time is right to strike.
The Blacks' takeover of King's Landing is nearly seamless, but the reality of ruling hits Rhaenyra hard when she learns that Aegon is missing, and she must execute Otto Hightower in his place. Her inner conflict is palpable, and it shows in her clumsy swing into Otto's neck. On the lighter side, there were some pretty hilarious memes to come out it.
4. "The Dragon in Winter," Episode 307
The penultimate season 3 episode, “The Dragon in Winter,” gives us a lot of dragon action, which is always a good thing. But before we get to the really good stuff, I'd like to take a moment to talk about the compelling character scenes in this one.
First, there's the opening scene with Helaena, our tragic Ophelia who sadly has been the pawn of nearly everyone around her. The interaction between her and Rhaenyra was performed masterfully by both Emma D’Arcy and Phia Saban, as the new queen first tries a gentle approach before resorting to more aggressive tactics to learn what Helaena knows about the future.
Sadly, Helaena's ability as a dreamer doesn't work that way, and the mistreated former queen is forced into subservient silence, leaving Rhaenyra without answers.
Then there's Alicent's arrival at Harrenhal, and her reunion with Prince Aemond. The first thing Aemond does is murder her escort, Adrian Redfort, which I think we all saw coming. Aemond says it's because he can't trust anyone, which is ironic, since the last person he should trust is mummy dearest. Sure enough, despite Alys' warning to Aemond, Alicent poisons her son and flees.
In Tumbleton, Ormund has captured Lord Corlys, hoping that his hostage will prevent an attack by Rhaenyra's army. Behind closed doors, Gwayne and Daeron fear that Ormund's tactics have no chance of stopping the attack. However, Ormund has an ace up his sleeve, in the form of Ulf the White, whose humiliation by Daemon and his tight restrictions from Rhaenyra have him considering switching sides.
Now let's get to the good part: the dragon fight! Daemon tracks down Rhaena with Sheepstealer near Fairmarket in the Vale, and at the same time, Rhaenyra and Addam show up. There is a tense standoff as Rhaenyra and the others discover Sheepstealer's true rider, while the dragons are eager to spill some blood. A three-against-one bout follows, with Caraxes, Syrax, and Seasmoke ganging up against Sheepstealer, leaving him grievously wounded before he barely manages to escape.
Action, betrayal, plot, and a shocking twist before the end credits roll — episode 7 has a little bit of everything for hungry House of the Dragon fans, which leads us into the top three on the list.
3. "Rhaenyra Triumphant," Episode 303
Episode 3, “Rhaenyra Triumphant,” is one of my personal favorites. It has amazing tension throughout, and some awesome acting by Emma D'Arcy.
Now that Rhaenyra has officially established herself as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms following a smooth takeover of King's Landing, the real work begins. However, she quickly realizes that being queen of a broken kingdom isn't all it's cracked up to be. The royal treasury has been emptied, Aegon is still missing, and everyone is looking to her to solve the city's problems.
To her credit, Rhaenyra deals with certain issues with grace, cunning, and creativity. When she learns that the nobles were stockpiling food during Aegon's tyrannical rule, she holds a feast for the upper class, serving rats as the main dish. This not only drives her point home to the nobles, but helps with the Red Keep's serious rodent problem.
Not everything is smooth sailing, however. Without proof of Aegon's death, the High Septon refuses to anoint Rhaenyra as Queen, causing doubt among the faithful. She then refuses Corlys' request to legitimize his sons, and in so doing angers one of her closest allies.
The best thing about the episode is the space between the action, when everything goes quiet and the pressure rises. We can feel Rhaenyra almost reach her breaking point, as she struggles to be the peaceful queen her father wanted, while the audiences waits and wonders if her darker nature will win out.
2. "The Treasons at Tumbleton," Episode 308
What's a Game of Thrones spinoff without a huge battle in the finale? Episode 8, “The Treasons at Tumbleton,” shows a turning point in the war of the Blacks and the Greens, as well as a scary turn for Rhaenyra, as the Targaryen penchant for ruthlessness begins to rear its ugly head.
In King's Landing, Rhaenyra is done playing Miss Nice Dragon Lady. She forces food down Helaena's throat when she refuses to eat, fires Mysaria (the last voice of reason), and has the High Septon murdered by Alyn inside the walls of the Sept itself. She then pulls a third reich move by making a speech on the steps of the Sept, declaring her divine right to rule.
In the final scene, Rhaenyra enters Helaena's room to find that she has jumped from the window to her death. She also finds the tapestry that Helaena has left behind, which depicts Rhaenyra sitting on the Iron Throne surrounded by fire and blood (a nice callback to the original text). The expression on Rhaenyra's face as she looks upon the image is chilling — rather than appearing shaken or disturbed, her determination seems to solidify even further with her stoicism, as if to say, "So be it."
As for Tumbleton, the face-off between the Hightowers and the Tullys has to be one of the most exciting battles in the series so far. The show's writers took the original text a step further with some welcome additions, including Daemon's duel with Jon Roxton, and Ormund's death by dragonfire. And, of course, we can't forget Ulf the White's ultimate betrayal, as Silverwing burns both Tully and Hightower armies alike, and Ulf gives the metaphorical middle finger to both the Greens and the Blacks.
With the Battle of Tumbleton ending without a clear winner, and the beginning of Rhaenyra's facist regime, the season 3 finale of House of the Dragon leaves us with baited breath, wondering what the final season will have in store.
1. "Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood," Episode 301
Okay, so it may seem like a gutsy move to have the first episode at the number one spot, but hear me out. Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon fans have come to expect an epic battle to close out the season, but rarely have we been given one to start it off. Season 3 didn't pull any punches with its premiere episode, “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood,” jumping right into the action with the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet.
With his son Alyn of Hull as his first mate, Lord Corlys and his fleet make ready for an attack from the Triarchy, led by the pirate captain Lohar, who has a personal vendetta against the Sea Snake. After years of being ignored as a bastard by his father, Alyn finally has the opportunity to show what he can do — and he can do a whole heck of a lot.
I have to bring special attention to Abubakar Salim in this one, who really shines in his scenes as Alyn. Where the son of the Sea Snake has proven that he is primarily a gentle soul with admirable restraint, the Gullet battle — particularly the one-on-one fight with Lohar — has Salim showcasing Alyn's prowess as a powerful leader and adversary.
Before we get to the episode climax, can I just say that I really hated Jacaerys in season 2? I mean, the kid was constantly second-guessing his mother's every decision, and whining about the bastard dragon riders was a childish reaction on his part. It may have been a mask to hide his own insecurities about being a secret bastard, but come on — there are bigger things to worry about!
That isn't to say that Jace's death wasn't a tragedy, but it was his insolence and arrogance that ultimately led to his entirely predictable death at the start of season 3. Locking Rhaenyra in her room and flying to the Gullet with Baela was never about protecting the future queen — it was always about Jace's pride, and naturally, it got him killed.
But I digress. The first episode is a strong start for the third season, one that rivals even the series premiere back in 2022. We go beyond King's Landing and Dragonstone, and focus on the many pieces across the chess board of Westeros. The action beats are excellent, the thrills are thrilling, and overall it's a fantastic start to a fantastic season of House of the Dragon.
Watch all eight episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 on HBO Max.
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