At long last, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) got what she wanted—she now sits the Iron Throne. By House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2, she and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) take back King’s Landing, killing anyone who stands in their way. But what Rhaenyra quickly realizes, as evidenced by the most recent episode, “Rhaenyra Triumphant,” is that there’s much more work ahead to maintain that seat.
Beyond the demands of the castle, the city, and the people around her, Rhaenyra now has to look beyond King’s Landing to plan her next move. As she learns at the end of season 3 episode 3, Ormund Hightower (James Norton) has taken Tumbleton, a market town not far from King’s Landing. What is he doing there, and how should Rhaenyra respond? That’s what we’ll find out in this week’s episode, which also marks the halfway point of the season.
Ahead of the new episode on Sunday, July 12, HBO has just shared 22 new images, giving us a closer look at what we can expect next.
Contemplations in King’s Landing
Rhaenyra has a changing mindset going into the fourth episode. As actor Emma D’Arcy has explained, Ormund’s trickery “marks the beginning of a kind of paranoia for Rhaenyra.” We don’t believe she thought the war would end just with her taking the Iron Throne, but she’s certainly shocked to hear of what Ormund’s up to. She must now make some big decisions.
And, of course, Rhaenyra will speak with her closest confidant on the matter. But as proven just with last week’s episode, Rhaenyra and Daemon don’t see eye-to-eye on how to rule. Daemon has huge ambition, not caring who gets hurt in the process. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra wants to follow in her father’s footsteps. This is bound to cause more friction between the couple.
Expect much contemplation from Rhaenyra in episode 4, but hopefully not too much. Girl’s got to do something!
As the Grand Maester while Aegon sat the Iron Throne, Rhaenyra may look to Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) for answers. Although he was kept in the dark when it came to some of the Greens’ planning, he does know the family—and the Seven Kingdoms in general—very well. Rhaenyra would be smart to take advantage of his wisdom.
Another person close to Rhaenyra is Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who should be very happy with her queen after feeding the smallfolk in last week’s episode. As Rhaenyra’s Mistress of Whisperers, it’s Mysaria’s job to keep her ear close to the gossip to figure out information that’ll give Rhaenyra a leg up in the war. Does Mysaria know anyone in Tumbleton, perhaps?
Outside the castle, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) should be contemplating just as much as Rhaenyra, but for different reasons. Alicent does not need to plot future plans, but she’ll no doubt be questioning how she got here.
Alicent’s main priority now is her daughter, Helaena (Phia Saban), hoping one of her children comes out of this relatively unscathed. As for Helaena, she’s worried about protecting her remaining child, Jaehaera—and dreaming about raising chickens.
We don’t know who Helaena is looking at here, but she seems concerned. Do not put her in harm’s way just yet, House of the Dragon writers! She’s too pure for this world.
Elsewhere in the castle, Ulf White (Tom Bennett) is no doubt proud of himself for becoming a knight. He might not be able to call himself a Targaryen, but he’s moving up in the world!
And it doesn’t take long for him to brag to his old friends about it. In this photo, we see Ulf pay a visit to one of the pubs he used to frequent, chatting it up to other patrons. With the smile on his face, we can assume he’s giving them the rundown of what they’ve missed.
Armies move ahead
It looks like Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) is getting ready to leave the castle after being snubbed by Rhaenyra in episode 3. Is this at the command of Rhaenyra, or at his own accord? We’re not sure, but either way, his armor looks awesome.
Alongside the army of House Velaryon, Corlys speaks with his son Alyn (Abubakar Salim), likely about their plan forward. Rhaenyra refuses to legitimize Alyn and his brother Addam (Clinton Liberty) in last week’s episode, and we can’t help but wonder if that decision will cause a rift between them that can’t be fixed.
Alyn is left looking stunned by whatever Corlys tells him. We’re not sure where the army is headed, but it could be Tumbleton. Someone from Team Black must head there to see what’s going on, right?
Speaking of armies, we’ll be reuniting with Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and his men in this week’s episode. His army, which also includes Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) seem to be headed to Harrenhal.
Of course, Criston will be looking for Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) when they reach Harrenhal, but is he alive? Aemond is noticeably absent from both the episode 4 trailer and this batch of photos, leaving us to wonder if he’ll appear at all this week. But we know who will be there…
Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) is apparently now overseeing Harrenhal after the death of Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale) and his grandsons, and she looks like she means business in this photo. Has she aided in Aemond’s recovery? Could she have killed him? The latter is less likely, but in any case, we’re curious how she’s going to respond to Criston.
And while Criston looks a bit inquisitive in Harrenhal…
…Gwayne looks sullen. It seems the war hasn’t been as Gwayne has expected, and he might be getting fed up with Criston’s leadership.
Ormund’s lead to Tumbleton
Moving along, we have two pretty sweet images of Ormund Hightower this week. This one above shows him screaming, pointing a sword—not at anyone, just at a table—and we wonder what’s going through his mind. Norton has teased playing the character in a “camp” style, and we’re excited to see him continue to bring that to life.
Ormund’s seemed to have gone a bit rogue, but with Rhaenyra sitting the Iron Throne and Aegon nowhere to be found, who’s supposed to be giving him orders now? Aemond isn’t accounted for, and Alicent has no communication with him now. But what exactly is the Hightower army doing in Tumbleton?
We get one glimpse of the people of Tumbleton in the shot above. We don’t know who most of the people in the photo are, but we do recognize one woman: Kat (Ellora Torchia), Hugh Hammer’s (Kieran Bew) wife. She leaves King’s Landing because of the lack of resources, and she now lives in Tumbleton. The poor woman can’t catch a break! We hope nothing bad happens to her, but it’s Game of Thrones, so we’re not exactly betting on her survival.
Last but not least, Jeyne Arryn:
And a miscellaneous photo comes in last, showing Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin) in the Vale. Last we saw of the character, she was angrily sending Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) away after the fatalities she indirectly caused during the Battle of the Gullet.
It’s possible Rhaena has returned to beg Jeyne for asylum again, though she doesn’t seem thrilled in the photo above. We also know that Daemon is sent to secure funds from the other houses in episode 3, so Jeyne could very well be speaking with a demanding Daemon here.
Whoever Jeyne is looking at, she doesn’t look pleased to see them.
The Dance of the Dragons continues in unexpected ways when House of the Dragon season 3 episode 4 premieres this Sunday, July 12 on HBO and HBO Max.
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