The third season of House of the Dragon has officially entered production, and details are squeaking out. This latest comes straight from showrunner Ryan Condal, who revealed it on a new episode of his podcast The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.
On this podcast, Condal and cohost David Mandel geek out about famous props from movies and TV shows. It's a pretty niche topic, but sometimes they drop some interesting tidbits. For instance, Condal just revealed that the upcoming season of House of the Dragon will introduce three more Valyrian steel swords.
"There are three new Valyrian steel weapons that are being made for this season," Condal said, gushing about the way the weapons are being crafted. "There's some real works of art being made, and I think we're even kind of outdoing ourselves as we roll forward into season 3 and 4 of this crazy show we're making." He added that theres "one in particular that books fans will be very excited to see."
Valyrian steel swords are super-special blades that are very rare in Westeros. Not only are they durable and sharp beyond what you can get from an ordinary blacksmith, but having one entitles you to bragging rights. We've seen a few already on House of the Dragon, including Dark Sister, a famous Valyrian steel blade wielded by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).
What three new blades will we see in House of the Dragon season 3? Two of them are easy to guess. We know of a couple new characters being added for season 3: Ormund Hightower, played by James Norton, will be one of the biggest new roles added for the new season. Ormund is the current head of House Hightower and the cousin to Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). In George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, Ormund wields the Valyrian steel blade, so that's an easy pick.
We've also heard that the character of “Bold” Jon Roxton will join the cast in season 3, although we don't know who's playing him yet. Jon Roxton is the head of House Roxton, which like House Hightower hails from the Reach. Both Ormund Hightower and Lord Jon Roxton will march alongside newcomer Daeron Targaryen in the Green army, fighting for King Aegon II Targaryen agains his half-sister and rival Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen.
In the book, Jon Roxton wields the Valyrian steel blade Orphan-Maker, so that's another sword down. Also, points for the incredibly melodramatic sword name.
Will Rhaenyra Targaryen get her own Valyrian steel blade in House of the Dragon season 3?
The third Valyrian steel sword is harder to guess at. The most likely option seems like Lamentation, a blade wielded by Willam Royce, a knight loyal to Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen. Royce and Lamentation specifically play a part in an event I doubt the show will get to in its third season, but I can see Ryan Condal bringing them into play now to set them up.
Another option is that Condal will make up a new Valyrian steel sword and give it to Rhaenyra Targaryen, who has talked about needing to wear a sword if she's going to cut a convincing figure as a leader. And actor Emma D'Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra, has talked about wanting to wear some kind of blade going forward. It doesn't have to be a Valyrian steel blade, but those are the most impressive kind. Condal does say "weapons" rather than "swords" in the podcast. Plus, when asked about whether all three weapons are from the books or if any are made up for the show, he says it's "maybe a little bit of both." The odds that one is for Rhaenyra don't seem bad.
Personally, I hope they give Rhaenyra an ordinary sword that isn't made of Valyrian steel rather than make up a new one, but we'll see. Right now, my predictions are that we'll see Vigilance, Orphan-Maker and Lamentation in House of the Dragon season 3.
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h/t @housethedragons