It's the dawn of a new era for Westeros. The second episode of House of the Dragon season 3 saw Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) realize her long-held ambition to claim the Iron Throne, and now at long last, her reign can begin in earnest. What will her first actions as queen be? And how will they be received by her subjects, great and small?
These are questions we need answers to, even as Rhaenyra reels from losing her son Jacaerys (Harry Collett) at the Battle of the Gullet and the violence of her own ascension. And it looks like we'll be getting them in the next episode of HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, because the studio has just released a ton of beautiful new photographs from House of the Dragon season 3 episode 3, and nearly all of them center around Rhaenyra and King's Landing. Just like we did last week, we're going to run through them all and glean what we can about what's in store.
Daemon and Ormund parley in the Reach
Out of 23 photos that HBO released for episode 3, only three of them aren't in King's Landing, so let's start there. These stills show a meeting between Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Ormund Hightower (James Norton), which, as we saw in the trailer for the episode, will be used as a way to introduce Daeron Targaryen, Alicent Hightower's youngest son. Above, we have Daemon with his dragon Caraxes, looking spectacular as always. And below, Ormund with his second-in-command, Bold Jon Roxton (Joplin Sibtain):
I love that Ormund brought his entire army to this meeting, and Daemon arrived with just a dragon. Ah, the power dynamics of the peak Targaryen dynasty. Here's a shot of Daemon and Ormund discussing what comes next:
Given that the Greens are out of power in King's Landing and Rhaenyra now sits the Iron Throne, one can assume Daemon is probably feeling pretty good about this meeting. We haven't seen enough of Ormund yet to know where his head might be at, but I'm hopeful we get some quality time with him this week.
But however much we'll see Ormund, there's no doubt who the star of House of the Dragon episode 303 is: Rhaenyra Targaryen. Here she is abiding over the Small Council:
Queen Rhaenyra rules over King's Landing
This shot gives me chills, because it calls back to one of the very first photos that was ever released of Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra's father, King Viserys, sitting in that exact chair in a similar pose. How far we've come.
Ah, but who's on that Small Council? Our next image provides an answer:
That's Daemon, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), and Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), all in the Small Council chamber. Judging by Mysaria's side-eye, she and Daemon are still going at it here. It's also worth noting that there's no sign of Bartimos Celtigar or Maester Gerardys, Rhaenyra's advisors on Dragonstone. We'll have to wait and see if she brings them along or gives them the boot, after the debacle with Ser Lorent locking her in her room during the Battle of the Gullet.
We get quite a few more shots of Rhaenyra, both alone and with others. Here she is in what appears to be her bedroom, gazing at a fire; you can see the glow lightening the side of her that's closest and casting shadow on the rest:
And here she looking fraught in what appears to be a different room. Note the back of the chair in the second image; that's not the Small Council chamber:
We can say with some certainty that more than one day will pass during episode 3 while Rhaenyra rules, because we get multiple shots of her at dinner in different locations. Here she is holding a feast for the gathered nobility. I wonder what's on the menu?
And here she is hosting Corlys and his two bastard sons, Alyn (Abubakar Salim) and Addam (Clinton Liberty) for a more private engagement:
HBO also bequeathed a few close ups from that dinner. Here's Corlys:
And Addam and Alyn:
These three — Alyn and Corlys in particular — just served Rhaenyra well at the Gullet. It makes sense that they'd want to regroup after everything the lot of them have been through, but it is curious to see them at what essentially feels like a family dinner. Remember, up until last episode it was a secret that Addam and Alyn were Corlys' sons. But now that he's decided to legitimize them as Velaryons, it looks like he'll be more comfortable being open about their relation.
Here's one more shot of Rhaenyra with Corlys, this time discussing something in a hallway. That's the newly introduced gold cloak captain Ser Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen) standing with them:
Continuing our tour of a day in the life of Rhaenyra Targaryen, here she is dressed for bed, further supporting the idea that we'll see multiple days pass in episode 3:
Is that the same bed that Viserys died in, and Aegon II lay crippled in for weeks on end before he was driven from the castle by his power-hungry brother Aemond? If so, Rhaenyra should have that thing burned and get a new one. Who wants to sleep with that many ghosts?
And who knows, perhaps she will burn the bed at that — or at the very least, every banner sporting the Greens' version of the Targaryen livery she can find. Check out this stunning shot of the queen standing before a raging pyre:
Corlys isn't the only familiar face hanging around King's Landing with the new queen, either. Here we see more shots of Daemon Targaryen in the capital, this time lurking about the Red Keep:
And having a moonlit conversation with Rhaenyra:
It's been nice to have these two core characters back together again, after spending most of season 2 and the start of season 3 apart. I'm very much looking forward to more scenes with Smith and D'Arcy as Daemon and Rhaenyra.
And that's not the only core character pairing we'll see this week. Here's Rhaenyra with none other than Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke):
Based on the fact Rhaenyra's sitting, I'm inclined to think this scene takes place in her room. That would mean she has Alicent brought to her — or that Alicent is in a position to request to see the queen. Considering the queen dowager is now Rhaenyra's prisoner, that hints at an interesting dynamic between these two women in the coming weeks.
Above we have another, different scene with Rhaenyra and Alicent, this time with Alicent's daughter Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) in attendance as well. This looks to me like a different room than the previous image. Considering that the previous episode ended with Alicent and Helaena walking into the throne room right after Rhaenyra beheaded Alicent's father, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), I'm expecting some uncomfortable conversations in episode 3.
The above still is an interesting one. It shows Rhaenyra with a character we haven't seen since the show's first season: the High Septon, played by Simon Chandler. The last time we saw him was during Aegon II's coronation in "The Green Council." Now that Rhaenyra has assumed power in King's Landing, she'll have to contend with all sorts of factions, including the Faith — especially if she wants a proper coronation herself. This is our first confirmation that she'll meet with the High Septon, and sooner rather than later.
Our next few shots seem to be setting up Rhaenyra's first time actually holding court. Above, we see her being prepared for the occasion, with two serving girls helping her don her gown and crown. Below, we see another character we haven't seen in a while:
That's the brothel madam Sylvi (Michelle Bonnard), who helps Rhaenyra and Mysaria incite the ire of the smallfolk against the Greens during the worst of the blockade against King's Landing, which deprived the city of food for months. The only real reason she would be standing in the throne room, and with Luthor Largent and Corlys Velaryon — the Hand of the Queen — at the base of the throne besides, is if Rhaenyra is hearing petitions. Recalling how that went for the rulers on Game of Thrones, I'd say Rhaenyra's tired but steely expression as she sits the throne in our final image is probably warranted:
We'll see how this and more goes for Rhaenyra in the next, very King's Landing-centric episode of House of the Dragon, premiering this Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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