Only three episodes remain in House of the Dragon season 3, but if last week's enthralling episode is any indicator, those final three installments could be something special. We're drawing ever closer to major events like the Butcher's Ball and the First Battle of Tumbleton. Might we even see one of them this weekend?
Perhaps, perhaps, though the bevy of new images that HBO just released aren't giving anything away. They are, however, signaling that the pieces are moving into place for those major conflicts and more. The rough times aren't over yet for Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), as her latest enemy Ormund Hightower (James Norton) still has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.
Let's take a look through all 16 photographs HBO dropped to build the hype for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6, starting of course with the queen herself.
Queen Rhaenyra holds important meetings
Here we have a striking close-up of Rhaenyra sitting the Iron Throne. We haven't seen her take to this vaunted chair since episode 3 of this season, when she lived through a few terrible first days on the job as the new ruler of the Seven Kingdoms. I like that House of the Dragon hasn't overused Rhaenyra on the throne; it makes it feel like this latest episode will have a very good and important reason to put her back in that setting.
Here she is in a wider shot, looking every bit as intimidating as the unflattering nickname "Maegor with Teats" implies:
Whoever's standing before that throne, I have a feeling this may not be the most pleasant meeting.
We get a few other glimpses of Rhaenyra as well. Here she is with her uncle/husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) in the Small Council chamber:
Rhaenyra and Daemon spent a good part of last week's episode at odds, as Rhaenyra wanted her husband to scour the Riverlands for the dragon Vhagar, while Daemon was more concerned with unraveling a deadly conspiracy that led to the murder of numerous Gold Cloaks. As we saw by the episode's shocking conclusion, Daemon had the right of things. How is he faring, now that one of his oldest friends in the Gold Cloaks, Ser Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen) is dead? And what, if anything, is Rhaenyra pressing him for here?
Our last image of Rhaenyra is an intriguing one. Here she is with guards from House Baratheon in the inner plaza of the Red Keep:
Take a closer look:
Following the death of Rhaenyra's son, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) in the sky above Storm's End during the season 1 finale, House Baratheon has made it a point to stay out of the Dance of the Dragons. This is in spite of the fact that one of Lord Borros Baratheon's daughters is supposed to be betrothed to Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), which should technically make them an ally of the Greens. But as we learned through Ormund's storyline this season, Borros hasn't marched to war. What gives?
Perhaps this meeting with Rhaenyra will shed some light. If I had my guess, I'd say Borros Baratheon is trying to play both sides, and doesn't want to back the loser. Rhaenyra may have appeared triumphant after King's Landing, but does she still? It'll be interesting to see House Baratheon's take on the matter.
Aemond and Alys Rivers at Harrenhal
Speaking of Aemond, we also get a few stills of him and his new companion, the witch Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). Above, we see him once more fully clothed, with his signature eyepatch in place for the first time since he left King's Landing. There's a feeling of finality to this image; I wonder if he's leaving Harrenhal here to search for Vhagar (or, perhaps Vhagar finally returned for him).
We also see him with Alys, looking cozy as ever:
I would guess that this scene happens before Aemond is fully clothed and ready to hit the road. We last saw these two bond a bit through a near-death experience when Ironborn raiders came to Harrenhal to collect the bounty on Aemond's head. How will their relationship evolve this week?
Here's another shot of Alys Rivers
The most interesting thing about this still to me is that it doesn't look like Alys is at Harrenhal — or at the very least, not a part of Harrenhal we've ever seen. It looks more like a hut, with forest visible through the open door behind her. The big thing we've known was coming for Alys this season was her meeting with Aemond; now that that's behind us, it's anyone's guess where the show will take her next.
Rhaena Targaryen faces Lady Arryn's judgment
Now we skip around the map a bit, starting with an intriguing image from the Vale that lines up with something we saw in the trailer for this week's episode: that's Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) standing in the throne room of the Eyrie, facing the wrath of Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). Rhaena was supposed to be lying low with her wild dragon, Sheepstealer. Did she come here of her own volition, or was she brought before Lady Arryn for defying that mandate? I have a feeling that neither possibility bodes well for Rhaena.
Back to King's Landing, we get new looks at two of Rhaenyra's Small Council members. Above is the latest addition to this group, Lady Sabitha Frey (Sarah Wooward). Sabitha came to King's Landing because Rhaenyra went back on Jace's promise to grant her Harrenhal for her help in the war; she ended up settling for a Small Council seat. Crossing House Frey tends to go badly in Westeros, so hopefully Rhaenyra manages to get on Lady Sabitha's good side now that they're getting a bit more face time.
Below, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) gazes from a balcony, expression suspicious as always:
Episode 5 was an interesting one for the White Worm. After catching Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) trying to escape the castle with her pregnant daughter, Helaena (Phia Saban), Mysaria was seemingly swayed into keeping the attempt a secret from Queen Rhaenyra. This strains belief a little, but Rhaenyra is buckling under the pressure rather badly, and Mysaria has historically served her own self interest first. Is she keeping that secret, especially now that Alicent and Helaena actually did vanish into the tunnels beneath the Red Keep?
Personally, I doubt it. The second Alicent and Helaena actually go missing for real, I think Mysaria is pretty much guaranteed to speak with Rhaenyra about what's going on. How much she keeps to herself, however, is still very much an open question.
Pieces assemble in Tumbleton
Outside of King's Landing, the next setting we see the most of in both the trailer and new photos is Tumbleton. Above, Ormund Hightower (James Norton) considers his options at a table in the city's castle. Here's a close up:
Ormund is back in his well-behaved mode here, at least until something goes wrong for him. That's good new for his ward, Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), who has often found himself uncomfortably close to the Hightower lord when these outbursts happen:
Daeron's expression is guarded in the above image, and of course, he's wearing Hightower green rather than anything associated with his paternal lineage as a Targaryen. Hopefully he at least gets to give his poor dragon Tessarion a brief visit in this episode. Daeron is emerging as one of the more tragic figures of the season, but I still have hope the show will give him a few chances to exhibit his heroic side as he finds his own footing outside of Ormund's control.
Next we have the most intriguing Tumbleton shot of all:
That's Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) and Hugh the Hammer (Kieran Bew) on a hill, which no doubt overlooks Tumbleton. Hugh arrived there during episode 4 to stake out the city on his dragon Vermithor. The plan was for him and Ulf to keep watch in shifts, but this is the first we've actually seen Ulf in the setting, so it's possible he's just arriving after Rhaenyra revoked his tavern privileges.
Ulf and Hugh have a major part to play in the First Battle of Tumbleton, which is imminent. I doubt we'll get it this week, but having both of these crucial dragonriders in place means that we're one step closer to the big confrontation. Now we just need to get one last army in place, if they can just finish dealing with the thorn in their side...
Criston Cole's last stand
The final two images HBO released feature Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who spent all of episode 5 marching through the Riverlands as things got progressively worse for his small company of soldiers. Their plan was to harry the much larger army of Rivermen and Winter Wolves who were trying to make their way south to root the Hightowers out of Tumbleton. By the end of the episode, the tables had been turned, with Cole's force stuck in a disadvantageous position where they were all but certain to walk into an ambush that would be their doom.
That ambush is known in the book as the Butcher's Ball, and it's very likely that the show will adapt it in episode 6. Without getting too deep into spoilers, it doesn't go well for Criston. We could very well be looking at some of his final images in House of the Dragon here. Above, we see him standing in the ruins of a battlefield, so I imagine we'll get more clashes for Criston than just the Butcher's Ball in episode 6.
The stakes are rising, and if the Black army wants to get to Tumbleton in time for the battle there, they have to get rid of Criston Cole, first. Whatever lies ahead for the Kingmaker, it should make for a standout episode.
We'll get to watch it this Sunday, when House of the Dragon season 3 episode 6 premieres on HBO and HBO max.
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