We've officially crossed the halfway point for House of the Dragon season 3, which means we're likely speeding toward heartbreak and misery as the season's climactic episodes loom ever larger. Episode 4, "Tumbleton," introduced us to a central new location and gave us plenty of time with the Hightower forces occupying it. The episode also checked in with King's Landing, had Daemon visit the Vale, Criston Cole arrive at Harrenhal, and Aegon II finally reunite with his seemingly dead dragon Sunfyre at Rook's Rest. It was a lot to take in.
From the looks of these stunning new images HBO just released for episode 5, that scope is just going to keep expanding. After the bottle episode at King's Landing in the season's third episode, the vastness of the Targaryen civil war is becoming ever more apparent. This week's upcoming episode takes us to even more locations as our cast of characters sprawls across the map. Let's go through all 25 images released by HBO and see what hints we can find of what's in store!
Tumbleton
In addition to introducing the city of Tumbleton, episode 4 gave us a deep dive into the dysfunctional relationship between Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and his ward, Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth). We'll be seeing more of them — and Tumbleton — this week:
I love how the above image visually establishes the power dynamic between the young, abused Daeron and his tormentor/father figure. When last we saw these two, Ormund had just forced Daeron to murder an innocent man, who just so happened to be Hugh Hammer's (Kieran Bew) brother-in-law. It seems like Daeron may still be struggling with the weight of that action:
Ormund and Daeron aren't the only important players in Tumbleton, either. We'll also see more of Bold Jon Roxton (Joplin Sibtain) this week as well, a valiant and honorable knight who serves alongside the Lord of House Hightower:
I'm curious to see if we find out a little bit more about what Jon Roxton thinks of Ormund's treatment of Daeron. Remember, this young Targaryen is still a prince of the realm, which means despite Ormund's abusive tactics he and Jon Roxton and all the rest technically owe him their allegiance. It has the potential for a juicy conflict of interests.
Harrenhal
While we will see Tumbleton in episode 5, it certainly won't be the only focus or even the largest, based on the number of images it gets. That honor seems to go to the Riverlands, where quite a few characters are clashing. We'll check in at least briefly at Harrenhal, where Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) is practicing her needlework as she no doubt waits for a certain other Targaryen prince to awaken from his wounds:
What does Alys Rivers embroider in her spare time, I wonder? Hopefully House of the Dragon actually shows us, because I want to know the inner workings of this woods witch's mind.
That's the only shot we have from Harrenhal this week, but you know we'll see Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) as well. He's been off screen for a quarter of the season at this point, so we're overdue for some more time with the most dangerous member of Team Green.
The Riverlands
Regardless of whether we'll see Aemond or not, the main events in the Riverlands seem like they'll focus on the guerilla warfare between Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and the army of rivermen and Northerners Daemon Targaryen left behind when he flew to King's Landing. Here's Criston and his soldiers, looking a bit worse for wear:
And here's Alicent's brother Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox), looking even worse than that:
Here's another shot of Criston, which really conveys the despair of his doomed endeavor:
In episode 4, Criston made the nihilistic decision to attack the much larger Black army as they tried to make their way to King's Landing, chipping away at their forces and slowing them down. As Gwayne pointed out, this is a fight they are destined to lose. There's no question whether Criston and his soldiers will die, just how long they'll last. That feeling of dread comes through in this image; just look how exhausted Criston and his soldiers appear.
And who can blame them? The other army has more warriors, and some of them are as seasoned as they come. I certainly wouldn't want to face 2,000 battle-hardened Northern greybeards led by Lord Roderick Dustin (Tommy Flanagan):
While Roderick, a.k.a. Roddy the Ruin, leads the Northmen on a final, glorious charge into battle, the rivermen are led by a young man who still has much to learn: Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes). Don't let his age fool you though; remember, he outfoxed Daemon Targaryen last season and forced him to execute Ser Willem Blackwood, despite the man's loyalty to the rogue prince:
Oscar and Roddy appear to be in a tent here, presumably belonging to House Tully, on account of all the netting. That means they're probably still on their march to the Crownlands; I'd assume they're discussing the raids Criston and his men have been running on their army. That does not bode well for Cole.
I hadn't really thought about it before seeing this image, but it's kind of interesting that the Black army in the Riverlands essentially has one leader who is old and at the tail end of his life, and one who is a teenager just beginning to rule. That could make for some fascinating discussions between the pair.
Rook's Rest
We'll also return to Rook's Rest in episode 5, which is welcome news after how good Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Larys' (Matthew Needham) story there was in the previous episode. Above, we see Aegon is still reeling after discovering the body of his dragon, Sunfyre. If only he was as confident the beast is still alive as we are.
Aegon and Larys' misadventures will continue, and it's doubtful they're going to get any easier for them, as the two crippled men try to blend in and avoid attracting the attention of the local warlord:
King's Landing
For as many locations as we'll be visiting in episode 5, there's one that has the lion's share of these photos: King's Landing, which takes up more than half of the image drop from HBO. Whether that means the capital of the Seven Kingdoms will take up a roughly equivalent amount of screentime or not remains to be seen, but either way it's a testament to how many important characters are in the mix there. Of course, we'll see plenty of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy). Here she is with Daemon (Matt Smith) in the halls of the Red Keep:
And here the queen and king consort are again, this time lighting candles and whispering secrets in the Great Sept:
It's intriguing to see Rhaenyra and Daemon in this setting, because both are Targaryens who don't hew especially closely to the Faith of the Seven. I wonder if Rhaenyra is trying to get in the High Septon's good graces after he refused to anoint her as Queen?
We'll see Daemon in a few other settings as well, it seems. There are a few images of him with the gold cloaks in their barracks. Remember, he is the original founder of the City Watch, and they owe him their loyalty. I wonder how he feels about their reign of terror in the city during the previous episode in their attempts to stop the graffiti proclaiming Rhaenyra the "Queen of Bastards."
There's no doubt that many of the gold cloaks still hold Daemon in high regard. Among them is Ser Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen), their commander:
And here's one more shot of Daemon for good measure:
Where is this staircase, that he needs a torch to see what lies below? Mysteries, mysteries, and we'll be eagerly awaiting the next episode to solve them. Personally, I'm hoping this means Daemon will be going into some part of the castle we haven't seen in a while, perhaps which was once occupied by himself or King Viserys during its heydey.
We'll also get at least one Small Council scene this episode. Here's Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), settling into his father Corlys Velaryon's (Steve Toussaint) seat as the acting Hand of the Queen:
And here's a beautiful photo of Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), looking suspiciously at someone as always:
I'm ready for the White Worm to start doing a bit more manipulating, especially now that she knows Daemon lied to Rhaenyra about killing Sheepstealer's rider.
A few more members of Team Black will appear this episode: Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) and Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia):
I imagine that if these two are being called to some sort of meeting together, it means Rhaenyra has a specific task for them as dragonriders. My bet would be that she's going to dispatch them to the Vale to try and find proof that Sheepstealer's rider is actually dead. Instead, they're probably going to discover that the wild dragon's rider is still very much alive, which will send Rhaenyra spiraling even farther into paranoia when she realizes Daemon deceived her.
Daemon's lie isn't the only betrayal Rhaenyra stands to endure in episode 5, either. After spending the past few episodes as the Black Queen's prisoner, Alicent HIghtower (Olivia Cooke) and her daughter Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) are going to finally make some moves:
Episode 4 contained a veiled confirmation that Helaena is pregnant, a fact which stands to put her and her unborn child in extreme danger, since they now represent a much larger threat to Rhaenyra's legitimacy as queen. How Alicent will react to that is one of the more intriguing questions heading into episode 5. At the very least, it seems she'll corner her reluctant daughter in the Godswood to try and formulate some kind of plan to ensure her and the child's safety:
Right now, Helaena's pregnancy is a secret. But how long will it stay that way? How long until the former queen begins to show, and it becomes impossible to hide it from Rhaenyra?
These questions should loom large, and will seemingly propel Alicent toward an uneasy ally: Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan):
Remember, in season 2 when Alicent was worried she might be pregnant with Criston Cole's child, she enlisted Orwyle to brew her some moon tea. It seems likely that she might resort to the same tactic here, though I doubt Helaena will be willing to take it after losing her son Jaehaerys in the horrific Blood and Cheese incident.
Whatever happens to Helaena, one thing is certain: she is now in the most danger she's ever been in since that fateful night claimed her son's life.
These glimpses of House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 give a good feel for what's ahead, though there's certainly going to be plenty of things that HBO has held back. It should make for a good hour of television, bringing us ever closer to its explosive season finale.
House of the Dragon season 3 episode 5 premieres this Sunday on HBO and HBO Max.
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