House of the Dragon season 3 has officially come to a close. The series' third outing ends with the eighth episode of the season, "The Treasons at Tumbleton," focusing on the long anticipated (First) Battle of Tumbleton. This climactic clash features the forces of the Greens fending off Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and his advancing troops. Although Daemon's side breaches the city, the battle proves to be a decisive victory for the Greens, despite some heavy casualties, in large part due to the betrayal of Ser Ulf the White (Tom Bennett), a dragonseed initially allied with Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) who turned his dragon against her after growing frustrated with her mistreatment and striking up a deal with Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton).
Ultimately, the Battle of Tumbleton made for a fantastic finale for the season. It helps bookend House of the Dragon season 3, creating a parallel with the season's first episode that feels unusual when compared to the beginning and ending to most seasons of A Song of Ice and Fire shows.
The Battle of the Gullet kicks off the season
House of the Dragon season 3 also opened with a big battle episode. The season premiere, "Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood," picks up where season 2 left off, resuming the Dance with Dragons at the Battle of the Gullet.
The Battle of the Gullet pits Corlys Velaryon's (Steve Touissant) Rhaenyra-aligned fleet against the temporary alliance of Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) and Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn), whose Triarchy armada fights for Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) side. While Corlys' forces win, they ultimately suffer heavy losses, including Rhaenyra's son and heir, Jacaerys "Jace" Targaryen (Harry Collett), and his dragon Vermax. Jace joined the battle against his mother's wishes, but found himself accidentally slain, in part by his cousin, Lady Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell), who had trouble controlling her newly-claimed wild dragon, Sheepstealer, catching Jace and Vermax in her literal crossfire.
Beginning and ending the season with big battles
House of the Dragon season 3 both opens and closes with a big, epic clash, with the Battle of the Gullet kicking the season off and the Battle of Tumbleton ending it. Additionally, its worth noting that both the season premiere and finale feature the death of one of the series' main characters' children, with Jace, Rhaenyra's son, dying during the Battle of the Gullet, and Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban), the daughter of Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), committing suicide during the Battle of Tumbleton.
This placement of big battles feels unusual when compared to previous seasons of HBO Westeros shows. Game of Thrones traditionally structured its seasons to place its biggest battles in its penultimate episode of the season, with the season finale then dealing with their fallout. This rings true for the second-to-last episodes of seasons 2 ("Blackwater), 4 ("The Watchers on the Wall"), 6 "The Battle of the Bastards"), 7 ("Beyond the Wall"), and 8 ("The Bells"), as well as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' fifth episode of six, "In the Name of the Mother." While a handful of major battles in the franchise take place towards the middle of the season, rather near the end, such as "Hardhome" in season 5, "The Spoils of War" in season 7, "The Long Night" in season 8, and "The Red Dragon and the Gold" in House of the Dragon season 2, they rarely happen during the very beginning or very end of the season, contrasting House of the Dragon season 3 with the rest of the franchise's pacing.
What does this mean for House of the Dragon season 4?
Sadly, House of the Dragon fans will have to wait until 2028 for the show's fourth and final season. This proves to be a detriment to ending the season with a big battle sequence, since the audience will have to wait around two years in real time to explore the aftermath of the conflict they just saw. This argument works in favor of the franchise's traditional seasonal structure, allowing the fallout of the big battle to be explored immediately, striking the narrative anvil while it's still hot.
However, ending the season on the Battle of Tumbleton clues fans in to what the beginning of season 4 will look like. The show's final outing will almost certainly pick up where season 3 left off, amid the ruins and carnage of Tumbleton, delving into the implications of the battle, Ulf's betrayal, and the death of Lord Ormund.
Season 4 will also likely continue the trend of not waiting towards the end of the season for a major battle, as, per the series' source material, George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood, the Second Battle of Tumbleton, in which Ser Addam Velaryon (Clinton Liberty) leads an effort to retake Tumbleton, happens not long after the first battle. As such, it will likely take place during the first few episodes of the season, potentially setting season 4 up for a similar bookending to Season 3.
All eight episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 are streaming now on HBO Max.
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