We had a feeling after “Queen’s Landing” that Rhaenyra’s path forward after taking the Iron Throne would be a rocky one. The third episode of House of the Dragon’s third season proves that to be correct, as the queen of the Seven Kingdoms struggles to find her footing as a leader.
It’s not all her fault; the castle is full of rats, the smallfolk are starving, and Team Green, led by the suddenly very important Ormund Hightower, is still out there trying to win this thing, despite having far fewer dragons at play in the Dance of the Dragons.
There are a lot of moving parts in this episode, but it’s mostly contained to one location. The only scene outside of King’s Landing takes place before the opening credits, as a smug Daemon Targaryen—a trio of giant dragons hulking behind him, with Ulf and Hugh looking on—forces Ormund Hightower, who has a whole army but only one petite dragon, to surrender.
Daemon also claims a prize beyond the pleasure of seeing Alicent’s uncle bend the knee: Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron Targaryen, who he takes as a hostage. A doomed hostage, presumably, since he’s an heir to Aegon’s throne.
Eagle-eyed House of the Dragon fans thought they spotted Daeron earlier in the season, hovering behind Ormund when he gets the message (sent by Alicent but signed “King Aemond”) to hold their position (so Alicent would have time to convince Aemond to fly out of King’s Landing). But that kid had Alicent-esque red hair. This kid has those signature Targeryen platinum locks.
Daemon, however, takes Daeron at face value and brings him to King’s Landing.
There, Daemon has a quiet moment with a reflective Rhaenyra, who senses the “ghosts” around her in the Red Keep. It’s an odd feeling being back in the place where she grew up, and where the specter of her father and his long reign still lingers.
Daemon’s in no mood for reminiscences, though; if it were up to him, he would have burned Ormund, Daeron, and the whole Hightower army in one go. He urges Rhaenyra it’s time to start being an active leader, and she’s eager to dive in the way she’s always expected: with a big, elaborate coronation event, complete with tournaments and a grand parade.
However, there’s a problem. Maester Orwyle explains to Lord Corlys, Daemon, Rhaenyra, and Mysaria (did anyone really think the queen was going to leave her “Mistress of Whisperers” behind at Dragonstone?) that the crown’s treasury is dangerously low. There’s not enough to run the realm for more than a few days, much less fund a lavish coronation.
“It is not mere vanity,” Rhaenyra insists. “It is a matter of legitimacy!”
But the war has plunged Westeros into crisis, with King’s Landing taking the brunt of the suffering. While Daemon can’t understand why the needs of the smallfolk matter so much, Rhaenyra understands it’s something she must address.
So, where’s all the royal gold? Everyone who might know the answer to that is either MIA or dead. In the meantime, Rhaenyra decides, all the noble houses need to cough up some gold in support of the queen. She also tells Corlys that the rest of her small council won’t be coming from Dragonstone; they did betray her, after all. So that means Rhaenyra is out here more or less steering this ship—this near-bankrupt ship—by herself.
The gold is missing. Aegon is missing. Aemond and Vhagar are unaccounted for. (Aw, Daemon’s little grimace when Orwyle reveals Aemond killed Ser Simon Strong.)
Rhaenyra would also like to track down Sheepstealer for her own reasons. How about a bounty to whoever captures Aemond and Sheepstealer’s mystery rider? When Daemon points out, dryly, that they don’t have a bounty to offer, she says she’ll give Harrenhal to Aemond’s slayer. She doesn’t need it anymore! She controls all the Riverlands!
This should-be triumphant declaration is marred by the first of many rats we see scampering around the Red Keep. Aegon, of course, executed all the ratcatchers after the Blood and Cheese incident last season.
The rodent infestation feels thematically in tune with Rhaenyra’s mounting frustration at how her reign is falling apart before it’s even started. And it’s a practical problem, too: rats have gobbled up the Red Keep’s candle supply, making for yet another messy matter in this awkward transition of power.
And once again, where’s the gold? Alicent, now being held under guard with Helaena in one of the bedchambers, certainly doesn’t know; the men of Aegon’s small council all loathed her. They can’t ask Otto either, something Rhaenyra needs no reminder of.
What’s more, Alicent points out, she upheld her end of their bargain. She didn’t know Aegon was going to flee with Larys before she returned from Dragonstone. She doesn’t know exactly where Aemond and Vhagar are right now. And she certainly doesn’t know who rides Sheepstealer.
Alicent suggests Rhaenyra just go ahead and declare Aegon dead. He’s scarred beyond recognition. Even if Larys tried to reinstall him on the Iron Throne at some later date—which we know is exactly his plan—he can be dismissed as an imposter.
Helaena longs to leave King’s Landing, as was promised. She’s got dreams of keeping chickens! But Rhaenyra says the Hightower contingent can’t go free until Aemond has been neutralized.
It’s a tense meeting, but Rhaenyra does decide to have Aegon declared dead. Also, she wants Joffrey (her last surviving brown-haired son) brought back from the Vale. With Jace gone, he’s now her heir.
Speaking of heirs, Rhaenyra then confesses to Mysaria that she’s uneasy at the prospect of having to kill Daeron. His place in Team Green’s line of succession makes it unavoidable. But he’s so young and hasn’t had a hand in any of Aegon and Aemond’s crimes. (Just then, Rhaenyra thinks she sees Jace walking towards her—but it’s just another ghost of the Red Keep.) She also asks Mysaria to start weeding through the household staff and booting out any Hightower loyalists.
Speaking of which, the High Septon appears just then. Rhaenyra explains that while a traditional coronation ceremony is on hold, she still wants him to anoint her in front of her subjects. She’s startled when he refuses. Without proof that Aegon’s dead, well, he just cannot perform that ceremony. Alas.
The conversation escalates into an argument, and he makes his feelings about dragons known (“a profane magic created in darkness and pride and lust for power, for impunity … there is no good that can come of them”). He also warns Rhaenyra not to make an enemy of the Faith: “Underestimate it at your peril!”
The hits keep coming as Rhaenyra sits down for dinner with Corlys, Alyn, and Addam, and the Sea Snake tells her what we already knew: he’s now proudly acknowledging them as his sons. She gets it—Addam is a Dragonrider, after all, and Alyn’s heroics at sea have been more than proven. But her mood shifts from polite appreciation to dread when Corlys asks her to officially legitimize them as Velaryons. She doesn’t quite offer a response to the request.
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, as the saying goes. Rhaenyra doesn’t relish the idea of sleeping in the royal bed (a lot of uncomfortable history there!), so she goes to her husband’s room instead for a rare tender moment with Daemon.
The next day, Rhaenyra is getting dressed ahead of her first “hear petitions from the smallfolk” gathering. We saw how Aegon handled that routine last season; Rhaenyra is heading into it with her power in a much more precarious position.
House of the Dragon then decides the queen should get her period right at this crucial moment, complete with painful cramps. (I would find this more infuriating if the screenwriter for this episode weren’t a woman—Sara Hess, who also penned “Queen’s Landing.” But it’s still A Choice, isn’t it?) So that adds a layer of extra discomfort for Rhaenyra as she perches on the Iron Throne and listens to her distressed subjects air their grievances.
One familiar face stands out: Sylvi, Aemond’s favorite lady of the night, who identifies herself as having helped Mysaria during “her campaign against the usurper.” Unlike everyone else, she isn’t after money. She’s after justice. Specifically, against the rich residents of King’s Landing, who took it upon themselves to hoard supplies during the blockade.
In the small council chamber, Daemon hand-waves away any blame levied by “bellyachers” against the nobles. “In a war, all suffer,” he says. Mysaria argues with him and—in an audio effect that’s used throughout the episode—their voices fade into the background, and what sounds like the rushing of blood in Rhaenyra’s overwhelmed head becomes the dominant sound. She’s not naive, but being queen has brought a harsh awakening of all that’s involved.
While we’re left wondering why “a banquet” is the solution, the scene shifts to show us Rhaenyra and Daemon officially knighting the Dragonseeds. They get full names to accompany that, so we get “Ser Ulf the White,” “Ser Hugh the Hammer,” and “Ser Addam of Hull.” Not Ser Addam Velayron, as Corlys had desired.
The ceremony is quick because Rhaenyra has a dinner party to plan. But Ser Hugh chases after her. It’s great that he’s a knight now. But he doesn’t have anywhere to live. No problem, the queen says. We’ll find a house for you and your wife. But he stops her from walking away again. But when? He kind of needs it… like, right now?
“I am awash in dilemmas and deficiencies,” is her excuse. “Let me find my footing, and I will attend to your requests.” In other words, get in line, Ser Hugh.
Up next is a surprisingly useful meeting with Alicent. She’s softened her tone considerably from their earlier chat and asks a favor: to have Otto’s body sent to Oldtown so he can be buried beside Alicent’s mother. It’s a simple request, and Rhaenyra easily grants it. But as Alicent’s leaving, she calls her back into the room.
“You ruled this realm in all but name as my father lay ill,” she says, noting that she heard petitions from the smallfolk earlier. When Rhaenyra asks how Alicent was able to bear the emotional weight of that task, Alicent is bluntly honest.
“There are choices to be made, and you may, on occasion, have to turn your face away while people suffer and die. There is in you a door that must shut. You will do things that your heart would have recoiled from before you came to the throne.”
Viserys, Alicent says, dealt with the pressure by never really facing it. He dwelled in a world he constructed for himself, “and you and I have never set foot there.”
The next scene is the banquet. At first, it feels like Rhaenyra still hasn’t grasped what’s going on just outside the Red Keep. Inviting other wealthy nobles for a feast? Seems very tone-deaf! Until we, along with the guests, realize that roasted rat is on the menu.
The real purpose of this event, Rhaenyra explains, was to get all of these rich assholes out of their houses—so the City Watch can take all their excess provisions for redistribution. “What the crown requires of you is not plunder, but a duty,” Rhaenyra says sternly. “And tonight will serve as a lesson in what I will require of you, now and henceforth.”
As she stalks away from the table, it feels like a tiny win for the queen, who could really use one right about now. But a smirking Ser Torrhen Manderly stops her on her way out. He applauds her boldness. “The smallfolk will cheer it,” he says. Maybe, he adds, they’ll even forget that Rhaenyra is who ordered the blockade that caused all the scarcity in the first place.
Daemon, on the other hand, finds it “amusing.” He points out it’s not a long-term solution to anything: “It is a gesture only.”
The queen agrees and tells him she needs him to fly to the Vale to get our pal Lady Jeyne, who’d promised swords to Team Black, to pay her debt in much-needed coin instead. He’s glad to do it.
“You have come so far and yet you still don’t know who you are,” Daemon observes. Rhaenyra has six dragons, “a power beyond imagining.” She could take over the entire world if she wanted to. She’s basically a god at this point. Then he drops into High Valyrian to really make his point.
“As the prophecy requires, was this not always the promise of the dragons? The dream of Old Valyria?”
Viserys renounced his dragon, Daemon reminds her. “He never strove for greatness.”
“He knew there is such a thing as too much power,” Rhaenyra replies. “The dream of Old Valyria ended in the Doom. Let us take King’s Landing in hand before we lift our eyes to the horizon.”
It’s not the answer Daemon wants. He strides off, tossing a “You still have to kill Daeron” back at her as he goes.
It’s something she dreads doing. And she’ll have to address that situation soon. But first, it’s time for some public relations work, handing out the food and supplies the Gold Cloaks appropriated from the nobles. Mysaria, of course, is by her side throughout and is encouraging, as always.
“This will be your anointing,” she says.
Rhaenyra makes a little speech to the gathered crowd, promising to rule “with strength, but also mercy, as befits a true queen.”
Hooray! Everybody loves Rhaenyra! For like 30 seconds… until Rhaenyra’s heading back into the castle, and Lord Corlys stops her to ask why Addam was styled as Ser Addam of Hull instead of Ser Addam Velaryon.
It’s hurtful, especially after everything he’s done and sacrificed for Team Black. All he wants is for the queen to legitimize his sons. But she hesitates. It’s too early in her reign to start legimitizing bastards, she says. Especially since Joffrey, her conspicuously brunette offspring, will soon be by her side in King’s Landing.
Corlys is outraged. He defended Rhaenyra against those who called Jace, Luke, and Joffrey illegitimate, even though the evidence about their parentage was crystal clear. And now he very boldly yells out each boy’s name and how he’s a BASTARD to anyone within earshot.
“Say aloud to me the reason your children deserve what mine are denied,” he says. But she says nothing.
Instead, she finds Alicent and reveals that Daeron is a Team Black hostage. Alicent’s eyes dart nervously as Rhaenyra explains that instead of killing him, she’s going to send him to the Wall to join the Night’s Watch.
“I barely know the boy,” Alicent admits. But she doesn’t like this fate for him, even if it spares his life. However, when Rhaenyra allows her to see her youngest son, Alicent can tell her this much: it’s not Daeron.
We don’t know if Alicent had anything to do with this ruse—was there a message coded into her letter to her cousin, perhaps?—but she doesn’t pretend this is her child.
The terrified kid finally speaks. Ormund forced him into it. He threatened his mother and then bleached his hair to match the expected hue.
“Ormund has deceived me,” Rhaenyra realizes. But that’s not the end. A battered dragonkeeper stumbles to the Red Keep to wheeze out even more bad news: the Hightower host did not return to Oldtown as Daemon expected. They marched onward and took control of Tumbleton, making hostages of all the Team Black loyalists living there.
Ormund’s game, it appears, is just getting started. And Rhaenyra’s got to make her next move right now.
Book readers and anyone unafraid of spoilers who cares to Google “Tumbleton” knows what lies ahead. And everyone can anticipate another episode of House of the Dragon arriving Sunday on HBO.
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