Power comes in many forms in Westeros, but the one thing any hopeful ruler needs to secure in order to establish their legitimacy is the Iron Throne. Whoever controls the capital city of King's Landing holds a massive advantage over any other contenders to the crown, and can dismiss other claimants as usurpers with much more ease than their rivals who may be trying to carve out a path to rulership from the outkirts. The city and its Red Keep have played a central role in House of the Dragon so far, but in season 3, their importance is going to be elevated yet again as power changes hands in dramatic fashion.
It's hardly a spoiler at this point to say that Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) will seize the capital this season. We've seen her there in trailers, and all the key art has her on the Iron Throne for the first time in the show's run. But how will it happen?
The crucial event known as the Fall of King's Landing is all but assured to happen early in House of the Dragon season 3. Whether you've read George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood but need a refresher on the details, or you're a show-only viewer who simply wants an idea of what's in store, it's a good time to break down exactly how this event plays out in the source material.
There will be SPOILERS for Fire & Blood beyond this point.
What causes the Fall of King's Landing?
Rhaenyra has had her eye set on King's Landing for some time, but has thus far shown restraint in outright attacking the city with her dragons, since she will have to rule there after she captures it and wholesale slaughter will hardly endear her to the masses. But that restraint is drowned out by bitter fury that finally pushes her to act following the Battle of the Gullet, where her eldest son and heir, Jacaerys Velaryon, is killed.
Right around the time Jace dies, Aemond Targaryen leaves King's Landing on his dragon Vhagar, in hopes of meeting up with Criston Cole's army, capturing Harrenhal, and flushing out his uncle Daemon in the Riverlands, where the rogue prince has been winning victory after victory with his army of rivermen. However, this is exactly what Daemon wants. The minute he gets word from his spies in King's Landing that Aemond has taken flight, he sets off on his dragon Caraxes to rendezvous with Rhaenyra, and together with the dragonseeds Nettles, Ulf, Hugh, and Addam of Hull, they fly their dragons to the capital to seize it. While the dragons command the skies, Corlys Velaryon sails what remains of his fleet into Blackwater Bay, capturing the harbor.
Compared to many of the other battles in the Dance of the Dragons, the Fall of King's Landing happens with minimal bloodshed. Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower takes up command of the defenses of the city, but she's swiftly betrayed by the gold cloaks, whose rank and file soldiers all owe allegiance to Daemon, since he is the man who founded the city watch and recruited most of them. They throw open the gates and murder many of those still loyal to Alicent, including her brother Ser Gwayne Hightower. Only a small contingent of Hightower knights and men-at-arms hold out at a single gate of the city, and since King's Landing has seven gates, the resistance accomplishes nothing but getting the last remaining Hightower fighters killed.
With the defenses overrun, the dragons descend. Sheepsteeler, Vermithor, and Silverwing take up posts around the capital, while Addam of Hull keeps watch from the sky on Seasmoke. Daemon lands Caraxes right inside the Red Keep, and signals Rhaenyra and Syrax to join him once the coast is clear.
Seeing the day is lost, Alicent surrenders — though not without some resistance, first trying to manipulate Rhaenyra into summoning a Great Council to decide the succession, and when that fails, promising that her son Aemond will return with fire and blood.
None of that matters for now, though, because Rhaenyra Targaryen is able to claim the Iron Throne uncontested. And so begins the period of the Dance of the Dragons where she reigns from King's Landing.
How will House of the Dragon change the Fall of King's Landing from the book?
While I'd expect the main beats of the Fall of King's Landing to play out similarly in House of the Dragon, there are a few very notable differences that the show has already set up. The biggest is of course Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra's secret deal, where Alicent agreed to surrender the city without a fight and turn over her horribly wounded son, King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). In the book, Alicent and Rhaenyra remain bitter enemies throughout the attack on the city.
In the show, however, Aegon has already undermined that deal by fleeing King's Landing with Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) out of fear of his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who covets the throne for himself. We saw Aegon and Larys hit the road in the back of a chicken cart in the House of the Dragon season 2 finale, so we know they're already gone — whereas in the book, their disappearance happens in the middle of all the chaos as the city falls. Aegon flees because of Rhaenyra, not Aemond. Both of his remaining children, Jaehaera and Maelor, also escape.
Then there's Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans). In the aftermath of the Fall of King's Landing, Rhaenyra takes a number of important captives, including Alicent, her daughter Helaena Targaryen, her father Otto Hightower, Grand Maester Orwyle, Lord Tyland Lannister, and Lord Jasper Wylde. She subsequently orders the death of Otto and Jasper Wylde, with Tyland sent to the torturerers for his part in hiding the crown's treasure earlier in the war.
Some of these characters are no longer in King's Landing in the show, so it's hard to know if they'll factor into the Fall of King's Landing at all. Otto Hightower was last seen leaving the city in the second episode of season 2, only to briefly reappear in the finale locked in a prison cell. Not even actor Rhys Ifans knew where Otto had gotten off to, so it's anyone's guess. Tyland Lannister was also away from the city, securing an alliance with the Triarchy to attack Corlys Velaryon's fleet at the Gullet. He was still with them by the end of the season, so I don't expect him to make it back to King's Landing in time for the Fall.
The Fall of King's Landing is a bitter test for Rhaenyra Targaryen
If there can be said to be one true mid-point for the Dance of the Dragons civil war, it's the Fall of King's Landing. Before the Fall, Rhaenyra scrabbled for influence from her remote keep on Dragonstone, while King Aegon II and his family members made their attempt at ruling the Seven Kingdoms. After the Fall, their roles are reversed. Members of the Greens are imprisoned or scattered across the map, while Rhaenyra consolidates her power in King's Landing and attempts to rule as the rightful Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
However, ruling is no easy task for Rhaenyra in the book. Her struggles and eventual decline are one of the key storylines of the Dance of the Dragons, so I'd fully anticipate House of the Dragon leaning into it in season 3.
Through the Fall of King's Landing, we see Rhaenyra Targaryen finally ascend the Iron Throne and claim her place as a ruler. Then, we have to see if she has what it takes to keep it.
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max. Read our early spoiler-free review of the season here.
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