The return of House of the Dragon is finally upon us, with the Game of Thrones spinoff set to premiere its third season on June 21. Though the majority of the fandom is excited to see more dragons in action and political scheming, others (as we see very frequently in the comments section of our social channels) are convinced it won’t be impressive. The second season burned many viewers with its pacing problems and book changes, leading to a lack of trust.
All of that said, we’re cautiously optimistic the third season will deliver, especially because there’s a ton of great things from the source material, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, it should cover. At CCXP Mexico last month, showrunner Ryan Condal declared that the third installment is “the biggest we’ve made by any margin and by a wide measure.” But what exactly does that mean?
We break down the reasons we can expect this to be the biggest—and most important—season of House of the Dragon yet. WARNING: Fire & Blood spoilers are below.
Bigger battles
A major gripe for the second season of House of the Dragon is that it ended on an unsatisfying cliffhanger—not one that had us on the edge of our seats. Instead, the finale felt like a penultimate episode, and that’s because, well, it originally might have been. The second installment was famously cut from 10 episodes to eight, and the very highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet was meant to be included in the second season.
The only good news about that fact is that it means the Battle of the Gullet will take place in the third season, likely in the premiere. This event is one of the bloodiest naval battles in all of Westeros history, and it’s arguably the most devastating one we’ll see all show. HBO has been seriously hyping it up, even promoting a discussion of it as part of the show’s presence at ATX TV Festival later this month.
Last April, Condal shared of the filming process for the Battle of the Gullet:
“I would like to think that this is probably the most complex sequence that's ever been done for television, not necessarily the most expensive or the longest shoot or anything like that, but just based on the number of moving pieces, the amount of different disciplines, media that have to be blended together to achieve success because you're talking about sea and ships and dragons and action.”
In another interview last May, Condal also stated that season 3 has “two enormous, enormous sequence that both eclipse Rook's Rest.” That’s a big claim to make, and we’re ready to see it all unfold.
Of course, the Battle of the Gullet is one of the most buzzed about leading into season 3, but there are more on the way. We’re not sure how exactly the show has adapted them, and they’ve likely have to merge some events together for lack of time/budget, but we can absolutely expect more action and bloodshed than we saw in seasons 1 and 2. With multiple armies set out to fight, this war is about to get nasty.
Shocking deaths
Just dropping in another spoiler warning here: We will be getting into book spoilers!
Throughout the seasons of House of the Dragon so far, we’ve had to endure a few really upsetting deaths. Of course, there was Rhaenyra’s mom Aemma in the very first episode, setting the tone for the amount of bloodshed to come. Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys at the end of season 1 was definitely one of, if not the most, heartbreaking, though that title could be tied with Rhaenys in season 2.
And, of course, this is a Game of Thrones show, so there will be more deaths in the third season as the war takes more lives. As we get further into the story, the deaths become more significant, and we might just be crying over Jacaerys’s death as early as the season 3 premiere. Truly, it’s the most upsetting death to me in Fire & Blood, and I just know viewers will be devastated over this one. Sadly, Jace dies in the Battle of the Gullet, another major blow to Rhaenyra as she loses another son.
In addition to Jace’s death, an alleged leak for season 3 claimed we’d be saying goodbye to Criston Cole, which seems to be very much in the cards—especially considering this is believed to be Fabien Frankel’s last season. In September, Condal revealed the gift he gave Frankel when wrapping on his character, signaling that his time on the show is over. In Fire & Blood, Criston dies during an event called Butcher’s Ball, which has the potential to be positively epic onscreen.
Though we might not be mourning Criston as hard as Jace, the deaths are no doubt going to become more impactful for the Dance of the Dragons.
Standout characters
One of the reasons people love the Game of Thrones universe so much is because of its incredible, complex characters. Morally gray characters are always more interesting, and this franchise proves that. In season 1, we fell in love with Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Alicent, and in season 2, we became obsessed with Aemond and Addam of Hull. This trend won’t be any different in the third season, with new characters like Ormund Hightower and Daeron Targaryen entering the mix.
In particular, Aemond should have a very interesting storyline in season 3, and we’re most intrigued to see how it plays out onscreen. Deciding to leave King’s Landing, Aemond will finally arrive in Harrenhal in the third season, but of course, Daemon is no longer there. In Fire & Blood, he strikes up a romantic relationship with Alys Rivers, which could get messy—but very entertaining.
Without his mother or the Small Council around to tell him what to do, Aemond is a free bird in season 3, and that’s going to make for some good TV. (At least it should; don’t mess this one up, writers!)
We’re also anticipating a change in Rhaenyra after losing another son, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed we start to get a crueler version of the character, like we do in Fire & Blood. Emma D’Arcy would just crush it in a turn like that, and we’re ready to support Rhaenyra’s wrongs.
There’s potential for House of the Dragon to be the best show of the year with season 3, so let’s hope the crew pulls it off. We’re choosing to believe they will!
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on HBO and HBO Max on Sunday, June 21, and will run for eight episodes.
Add us as a preferred source on Google