The second episode of House of the Dragon season 3 has arrived, and it kept the momentum from its epic season premiere going strong. "Queen's Landing" is another sweeping hour of television that utterly upends the balance of power in Westeros. Since the end of the show's first season, the Greens have held the Iron Throne and the city of King's Landing. Now, they're on the back foot as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'arcy) has finally ascended to her rightful place as Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.
Originally, the Fall of King's Landing was believed to have been planned as the ending for the show's second season, before it was cut from 10 episodes to eight and the final two were shifted to the beginning of season 3. As such, "Queen's Landing" feels like it has the weight of a season finale. We check in with nearly every major character, long-running plotlines are tied off in stunning fashion, and when the dust settles, we've reached a point of no return that will propel the Dance of the Dragons to ever darker depths.
While there were plenty of parts of this episode that left me torn, one thing in particular that I was left sitting with as the credits rolled was an appreciation for the show's real stars. For as much as Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) have been at the heart of events, for as much chaotic charm as Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) projects, there's no denying that it isn't any of the Targaryens or Hightowers who steal the show on House of the Dragon: it's the dragons themselves. And "Queen's Landing" gave every single active adult dragon we've seen in the series to date its due.
House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2 gave the dragons the spotlight
This deep into the Dance of the Dragons, we've already had a few heartwrenching dragon casulaties. Last season saw the fall of Meleys and Sunfyre (though we're still waiting to confirm the latter's fate), while the season 3 premiere featured the death of Jacaerys Velaryon's mount Vermax. And of course, we can't forget the dragon death that started it all, when Aemond's gargantuan mount Vhagar chomped the young Arrax and Lucerys Velaryon to bits over Storm's End.
No matter how much House of the Dragon gets us invested in its human cast, few deaths hit as hard as the dragons. They're majestic, magical, primordial creatures, and to see them meet grisly ends doesn't ever seem to get easier.
Fortunately, "Queen's Landing" doesn't feature the death of any dragons, but it does give them plenty of screentime. This episode features substantial appearances by Vermithor, Silverwing, Seasmoke, Moondancer, Sheepstealer, Caraxes, Syrax, and Vhagar. Excluding the dragons which are either dead, hatchlings, or horribly wounded (looking at you, Sunfyre), this accounts for every adult dragon left standing at this point of the war outside of Tessarion, Daeron Targaryen's blue dragon who we haven't had a proper introduction to yet, and Dreamfyre, Helaena Targaryen's dragon who we only caught a few brief glimpses of during the show's first season.
When putting House of the Dragon up against the other two Westeros shows, Game of Thrones and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, the one thing that truly sets this series apart is its dragons. Thrones had better, bigger battles, a more sprawling cast of characters and locations, and more refined political scheming; AKOTSK has heart and focus and charm and knightly valor. House of the Dragon has bits of each of those things, but the dragons are the one area where the show is truly breaking ground in a way that no other fantasy series on television can comes close.
From the individualized design for each of the fire-breathing monsters that appears in the series, to the incredible sound design and VFX that brings them to life, there is no doubt that the dragons on House of the Dragon are some of the most impressive ever committed to the screen. "Queen's Landing" is a good reminder of that fact. From awe-inspiring sequences like the dragonseeds at the Gullet, Vhagar's assault on Harrenhal, and Rhaenyra's conquest of King's Landing, to quieter moments like Baela and Moondancer's forlorn journey back to Dragonstone and Caraxes taking a water break in the Riverlands, this episode stands as one of the most dragon-heavy of the entire series.
Considering that we're only on episode 2 of the season, that's promising for what else House of the Dragon may have in store. New episodes premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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