Seven years after Game of Thrones ended in spring 2019, HBO’s prequel House of the Dragon has finally reached the level many hoped for. After a promising setup, a slow first season, and an even slower second, the new third season, which premiered this weekend, is being described as a clear step up.
The series, adapted by showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik from George R. R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, was meant to revisit Westeros years before the events of the original hit. Instead of immediately delivering epic dragon battles, the first two seasons leaned heavily on family intrigue, betrayals, and court politics among the Targaryens. The new season, however, shifts the conflict outward, turning the dynasty’s internal feuds into full-scale war.
At the center are the rival claims to the Iron Throne after King Viserys Targaryen’s death. On the green side, Aegon, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, sits on the throne with backing from his mother, Alicent Hightower, played by Olivia Cooke, while his ambitious brother Aemond, played by Ewan Mitchell, pushes the conflict further. On the black side, Princess Rhaenyra, played by Emma D’Arcy, seeks to reclaim what she believes is hers, with support from Corlys Velaryon, played by Steve Toussaint, his fleet, and an upgraded dragon force. Her campaign is also driven by revenge for the death of her son Lucerys.
The season begins with a major naval battle and a death that is described as either tragic or heroic, and the second episode follows the plan set between Rhaenyra and Alicent, though not without setbacks. The third episode is singled out as the most interesting because it shows Rhaenyra acting not as a rebel but as a ruler, forced to confront an empty treasury, poverty, hunger, and failing civil institutions. The review argues that the real lesson is that military power alone cannot build or sustain a state.
