House of the Dragon is back, and its era of crafting historical context and laying groundwork is finally over. The Dance of the Dragons is here. The Targaryen war for the Iron Throne has begun in earnest. The first episode of season three picks up immediately where season two left off, so all the characters are already in motion.
That means you need to remember precisely where season two ended (here’s io9’s catch-up); if you haven’t thought about House of the Dragon since August 2024, you might find yourself a little lost in Westeros.
But if you’re ready, it’s time to jump right in!
We open in the Vale. The wild dragon Rhaena had finally tracked down at the end of season two lands and barbecues itself a meal. None of the Westeros dragons are friendly, but this one seems especially hostile and skittish. That doesn’t stop Rhaena from tentatively approaching and urging “calm” in High Valyrian. She touches the creature’s scaly neck, and when it doesn’t instantly incinerate her, she makes her move, scrambling onto its back and shrieking as it flaps away.
In the Red Keep, Aemond has discovered that his inconveniently still alive brother, King Aegon, is missing. He threatens to chop off Grand Maester Orwyle’s head unless he starts talking. The genuinely confused Maester is saved when Lord Jasper Wylde yells out that Ser Larys Strong has also gone AWOL.
We know, of course, that Aegon and Larys snuck out of King’s Landing—and they’re still on the road, jostling along in a cart full of raven cages. “I need milk of the poppy,” Aegon whines, but Larys tells him he forgot to pack any. Sure he did. “These are dark hours, but brighter days lie ahead,” Larys assures him.
“I am the king of nothing,” Aegon moans. He’s just getting started on his complaints when the cart is pulled over by Rhaenyra’s soldiers. It would have been so easy to bend the knee and pretend to pledge loyalty to the queen, as Larys does, but Aegon just can’t bring himself to denounce… himself.
Larys’ fast-talking saves them from certain doom, even after he identifies his traveling companion as “the usurper,” Aegon Targaryen. He may be scarred and weak, but it’s definitely him, with the crown to prove it. The guards take them hostage, intending on shipping them to Rhaenyra on Dragonstone.
Speaking of Team Black HQ, we cut to Rhaenyra, still reeling from her surprising meeting with an unexpected visitor. “I have to believe that Alicent’s offer was genuine,” she declares. Jace smells a trap, even after Rhaenyra tells him Aemond and Vhagar have flown to Harrenhal and Aegon is bedridden. (Both of these pieces of information are now out of date—something Alicent didn’t know when she shared them with Rhaenyra.)
The queen’s small council is also skeptical. Even Mysaria raises caution. But Rhaenyra’s on a high, thinking of how wonderfully easy it will be to swoop into King’s Landing, kick Aegon out, and take back the throne. She almost smiles!
We see Alicent returning to the Red Keep. She’s told “the king requires an audience,” and she’s confused when she’s directed to the throne room rather than Aegon’s chamber. She’s even more confused when she sees Aemond sitting on the Iron Throne.
From his perch, Aemond petulently informs her that Aegon has abdicated the throne. He’s fled King’s Landing “with that toad, Larys!”
Alicent’s eyes get huge. We know she’s thinking of Rhaenyra and how nobody is where they’re supposed to be if their plan is to succeed. Aemond is suspicious, asking her where she’s been—remember, she took that little sabbatical in the woods before sneaking off to Dragonstone, so she’s been absent long enough for him to notice. And he announces that with Aegon gone, he and Vhagar won’t be flying off to meet Ser Criston Cole and his army. They’re needed here, to protect King’s Landing.
Alicent’s panic intensifies. Aemond also tells her that Lord Ormond (Alicent’s cousin) and “15,000 Hightower men,” including Daeron (Alicent’s youngest son) and his dragon, are en route. Oh, and “the Triarchy fleet will at any moment ambush the blockade with a force thrice the Sea Snake’s strength.” Good news for Team Green, very bad news for Alicent.
Speaking of that Battle of the Gullet we’ve been hearing so much about, the scene shifts to the sea. We get a quick glimpse of Lord Corlys and then… nope, not yet! Back to the Crownlands, where literal Lannister lions are being hacked to pieces on the smoky field.
We spy Daemon, stabbing foes right and left with a weary look on his face. Lord Oscar Tully—the teenage Lord Paramount of the Riverlands—gives him an update. Lord Lannister (he means Jason; his twin, Tyland, is sailing with the Triarchy fleet) and his soldiers have fled into the woods.
“Our scouts believe they may be regrouping near the God’s Eye,” Tully says, and that’s a location for everyone to take note of and file away for later. Their attention is soon drawn to a group of burly, hairy men emerging from the trees. Game of Thrones fans will remember those direwolf banners (the North remembers!), and sure enough, it’s the Winter Wolves—the “grey beards” who were pledged to Rhaenyra’s cause back at the start of season two.
And they have a gift: Jason Lannister’s golden-haired head, which our new favorite character, Roddy the Ruin, tosses at Daemon’s feet. “We have come to die for the dragon queen,” he announces solemnly.
“Very good. We’ve got more lions to hunt,” Daemon replies. This pleases everyone, and Roddy leads his men in rejoicing.
In another part of the forest, Team Green’s Ser Gwayne Hightower takes note of a distraught village girl fleeing a soldier’s tent. He finds Cole, still in the gloomy mood we left him in last season. Both men are wondering why Aemond and Vhagar haven’t arrived from King’s Landing. Without any dragon power, they’ll be severely outmatched.
As for the assault on the girl that Gwayne witnessed, Cole couldn’t be less interested in handing out punishment or making a statement reminding the men that “we are not beasts,” as Alicent’s brother urges him to do.
“Doom and ruin surround us,” Cole says. “We will all become beasts before our end.”
“Only if we abandon our principles,” Gwayne replies.
At nearby Harrenhal, the Dragonseeds—Ulf, Hugh, and Alyn—wait with their dragons, tasked with attacking Aemond and Vhagar when they show up. But as we know, that terrible pair is still hanging around in King’s Landing.
Passing the time, the men have gotten chatty—Ulf in particular, who recalls his rough childhood as a “gutter rat” who was “kicked about more than a mongrel dog. Wished for death more days than I wished to live.” He was preyed upon by a priest from Essos who paid him “to do things” and told him he had king’s blood and was “born for a purpose.” Turns out, Ulf chuckles, “That red cunt was right!”
Nobody else is quite as eager to share their personal stories—they’re anxious about facing Vhagar, and Harrenhal’s inherent eerieness doesn’t help. Ulf then reveals he thinks Rhaenyra’s promise of a knighthood means he’ll be gifted a castle.
Addam breaks it to him: Lords get castles. Knights get horses.
“What do I need with a fucking horse?” Ulf says. “I’ve got a dragon.”
In the Vale, Rhaena touches down after her harrowing ride. She calls the dragon “Sheepstealer.” (And now, the watch begins to see if George R.R. Martin will respond to this latest change to his source material.) “We must go to Dragonstone,” she pleads, but so far Sheepstealer doesn’t seem keen on taking orders.
At King’s Landing, Alicent—quietly freaking out—pens a letter to Ormund (she signs Aemond’s name) while asking Helaena if she knew Aegon had left. (Of course she didn’t.) Alicent claims she’s frightened only because their knights are out there without Vhagar’s protection. But Helaena has her sixth sense tuned in: she knows Alicent has deeper fears, and so does Aemond.
“After he claimed Vhagar, he forgot what fear was,” Helaena says. “But he remembers now. He knows if he has to face Rhaenyra’s dragons, he’ll die.”
Aboard The Queen Who Never Was, Corlys and Alyn discuss military concerns as well as familial ones. It seems Rhaenyra needs a few ships to assist with her “seize King’s Landing” plan; both men are doubtful a smooth transition of power will ever happen.
But more pressingly, Corlys wants to make clear his feelings toward the estranged son he’s now decided to acknowledge. “I cannot fully mend the breach between us. But I do accept that it was of my making,” he says, with palpable regret.
Before Alyn can respond, there’s a cry from the deck. It’s battle time! But Corlys is mistaken about their opponent. It’s not the Lannisters or the Greyjoys. It’s the Triarchy, with Tyland Lannister in tow.
On The Bitchfist (a tremendous name), Admiral Sharako Lohar is absolutely not interested in hearing Lord Lannister’s battle strategy. In fact, it turns out Lohar has joined this fight for strictly personal reasons. She wants to sack High Tide, home to the Sea Snake—her most hated enemy.
In the Vale, Sheepstealer has circled back to Rhaena, who seems shocked he’s willingly returned. He tosses a hunk of meat at her, which she gratefully devours.
Then, we get our first good glimpse of Ormond—a persnickety fellow—and the Hightower army as he receives the letter from “King Aemond.” Alicent now has one less thing to worry about; Ormond understands he’s to hold his position for now.
But she’s still got major damage control to do in King’s Landing. Aemond and Vhagar absolutely must be gone before Rhaenyra arrives. Alicent turns up her powers of motherly manipulation to their highest frequencies, telling Aemond everything he wants to hear, including “You should have been king.”
She also leans into what Helaena told her, emphasizing that Rhaenyra will send her new dragons after him if he lingers in King’s Landing. “I am not afraid,” he insists. She resorts to begging. “Heed me, Aemond, please.” There’s a long pause. Then Aemond leans in and kisses his mother right on the lips. Alicent’s eyes tell us she’s just as repulsed by this gesture as we are. But she played the right cards. He agrees to head to Harrenhal.
Speaking of that haunted place, Ulf is taking a shit—very A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms of him—when he spots a black goat lurking in the woods. At the same time, Hugh (who’s waffling about waiting) and Addam (who’s all about sticking to the plan) are spooked by… is that a faun looking down at them?
Ulf declares he’s ready to GTFO when suddenly our pal Alys Rivers emerges and tells them they should leave because there’s a battle brewing at Dragonstone. Oh, also, “I’m a witch.” That’s enough for Ulf, who mounts up immediately.
And Alys is right. Baela rushes into the council chamber and announces there’s war in the Gullet. Rhaenyra barely hesitates before declaring, “I shall go.” Jace runs after her—he is vehemently against this—but she doesn’t listen. When she heads to her room to get ready, he orders Queensguard knight Ser Lorent Marbrand to barricade her inside.
Baela tries to talk Jace out of it, but his mind is made up. He’s doing this to protect the queen, he declares with certainty. He tells Baela she should ride with him and “win this victory” for Rhaenyra. When the queen realizes she’s been locked in her room, she is L-I-V-I-D.
When we shift back to the Gullet, we see swords are clanging, arrows are flying, men are yelling, and multiple ships are on fire. Lannister is getting in Lohar’s face, asking why she’s targeting the Sea Snake rather than leading the fleet. After all, that’s what the contract said she would do!
“The Sea Snake led the persecution and slaughter of my mates for more than 20 years,” she tells him. Lohar is here for payback, not to take part in some lame-ass Westeros war.
In her chamber, Rhaenyra’s fury is now tinged with sorrow. She tells Mysaria she expects the know-it-all men of her council to try and make decisions for her in the name of “protecting” her. But to be betrayed by her Queensguard, not to mention her own son, is deeply hurtful. “I may appear to have the weak and feeble body of a woman,” she says. “But I possess the heart and spirit of a king.”
In the Gullet, Jace and Baela quickly set about torching Triarchy ships. The Velaryon fleet is thrilled; victory seems assured. But Corlys realizes Lohar has a separate goal. He tells Alyn to set a course through the treacherous Dragonstone Pass. He knows she’ll follow them in, further weakening her fleet by leaving them without a leader.
But before she does, the opportunity to fire upon a dragon is too tempting to pass up. Lohar takes aim at Jace and Vermax, piercing the dragon with a spear attached to a rope with an anchor on the end. In the nick of time, Baela and Moondancer swoop in and sever the tether before Vermax is dragged under.
In the narrow, rocky pass, Corlys puts on a navigational clinic, guiding his ship through the waters he’s sailed all his life. It’s masterful, and once they’re clear, they head back toward the Gullet. Overhead, we spy a third dragon. It’s Sheepstealer. Rhaena was aiming for Dragonstone, but when she spots the battle in progress, she steers him toward the action.
Unfortunately for Corlys, Lohar has also survived the pass, cheerfully dumping the armor-clad Tyland Lannister overboard along the way. As The Bitchfist draws closer to The Queen That Never Was, High Tide comes into view. Corlys stares in horror: his castle is on fire. The captain is having a moment mourning his home when the ships collide, and Lohar’s army scrambles aboard for a hand-to-hand brawl.
While this is happening, Sheepstealer announces himself. “Dracarys!” Rhaena yells, and at first, it’s amazing. She’s finally a true dragonrider, not to mention a valuable addition to the fight! Except Sheepstealer quickly becomes agitated when the ships start firing at him. Then he turns his lethal breath on a Velaryon ship, completely tuning out Rhaena’s frantic commands. Jeez, who could have seen that coming?
Overhead, Baela and Moondancer chase after the third dragon; she has no idea who the rider is. When the dragons turn on each other, Jace and Vermax fly in to help.
On The Queen That Never Was, Lohar, Corlys, and Alyn are all fighting for their lives. Lohar spots Corlys in the chaos and moves in for the kill. Their fight is ferocious, but their footing is unstable; when one of the ships tilts suddenly, Corlys goes flying. Alyn calls out, “Father!” (a huge breakthrough moment for him) and then leaps onto Lohar. They fall into the water, still going at it.
In the air, Jace is just about to annihilate the mystery rider when he sees it’s Rhaena. He stops Vermax just in time, but Sheepstealer goes on the attack, forcing Vermax to fly past the enemy ships. When Jace’s dragon is hit with another weighted spear, Baela hurries to rescue him as she did before.
Meanwhile, Sheepstealer soars away from the scene; Rhaena, who has lost all control of her dragon, if she even had any to begin with, gazes back. She messed up bad, and she knows it.
While this is happening, Alyn manages to get the better of Lohar. RIP, no more mud wrestling for her.
A less satisfying ending for Team Black, however, comes with Jace’s fate. Moondancer isn’t able to get there in time, and Vermax is pulled underwater. Jace bobs up to the surface, and for just a second, he’s OK. His dragon is gone, but he’s fine!
But then, thunk. He’s hit with one arrow after another, launched with precise accuracy from a nearby Triarchy ship. As he dies, we can hear them cheering.
Elsewhere in the Gullet, Alyn scans the fallen bodies all around him, looking for any hint of Corlys. The camera pulls back and shows the hellish destruction filling absolutely every part of the frame, as Moondancer circles mournfully above.
New episodes of House of the Dragon arrive Sundays on HBO.
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