As we inch closer to the long-awaited premiere of House of the Dragon season 3, all eyes are on the cast and crew to see how well they deliver. The press tour is in full force now, with showrunner Ryan Condal attending the Enders Leaders Conference in London this week and sharing some tidbits about the forthcoming installment.
While speaking with Deadline at the conference, Condal talked all things season 3, including the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet, of course, along with other details fans can look out for. The battle sequence (which is now confirmed to run for 25 minutes long) has continued to be hyped up by the writers and actors, with the showrunner doubling down on comments that it’s “arguably the craziest thing ever attempted on television.”
Aemond, Helaena, and Alyn of Hull will get expanded storylines
Beyond the Battle of the Gullet talk, Condal also teased three characters who will be getting more of the spotlight in the third season, and no, we’re not referring to Rhaenyra Targaryen, Alicent Hightower, and Daemon Targaryen. Though he assures that this trio, who fans have known from the very first episode, are still “very present” in season 3, Condal shared that Aemond Targaryen, Helaena Targaryen, and Alyn of Hull are three other supporting characters to look out for.
If you’ve read the book House of the Dragon is based on, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, this shouldn’t be surprising—but then again, with the number of book changes and creative liberties the HBO show has made, you really never know what’ll happen.
All three of these characters will be entering tense situations at the start of the third season. For Aemond, he’ll be leaving King’s Landing for Harrenhal, a plan he wanted to fulfill last season. Though Daemon will no longer be there when he arrives, he’ll find other threats—and an interesting relationship—at the castle. Meanwhile, Helaena will remain at King’s Landing, and will have to navigate Rhaenyra and Daemon’s taking of the city in an event that is known as the Fall of King’s Landing.
I’m very interested to see how the show expands on Helaena’s storyline, as the show has fleshed her out more to make her more complex. From her prophetic dreams to her mysterious nature, I’m always left wanting to know more about her. Between the chaos at King’s Landing and a scene in the trailer that appears to be Helaena screaming—speculated by fans to possibly be during childbirth—she’s got a lot to deal with in the third season, and I’m glad to hear she’ll be coming more to the forefront of the story.
Last but certainly not least, we know Alyn of Hull will be a key player in the Battle of the Gullet. As the bastard son of Corlys Velaryon, Alyn is not only part of the Velaryon fleet, but he’s also the firstmate. The actor who plays him has continued to hype up his season 3 storyline—and beyond.
“I really wanted to set up myself that challenge of, okay, you’ve got this character who, when we meet in the books, is much younger, much more kind of all over the shop and crazy, but then gets thrown this responsibility and has to then deal with that,” Abubakar Salim shared with Decider of Alyn. “Whereas now with the show, he’s older, he’s had to live with the harsh realities of life. How do we get from that character to the infamous character that we all know? That’s exciting. So that’s something that I really want to kind of dive into.”
House of the Dragon season 3 will be more sprawling than the previous seasons, following groups of characters out in war. From locations like Dragonstone and King’s Landing to The Red Fork and The Lakeshore, we’ll be getting plenty of pivotal moments in a variety of different spots.
Though we’ll be following many different character points of view this time around—as Deadline points out, 19 to be exact—we’ll have a shorter list of standouts. I’m excited to hear that Aemond, Helaena, and Alyn are on that list.
We’re only a few weeks away from the return of House of the Dragon! Keep up with us at Winter Is Coming for more news and analysis as we wait for the season 3 premiere on June 21.
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