It had to happen eventually, I guess. After getting several episodes of HBO‘s House of the Dragon that felt like we’re finally off to the races, we got one this week that unfortunately spends a lot of time metaphorically and literally wandering in the woods. With an expansive cast like HotD, that’s unavoidable, you’ve gotta move the pieces around the Cyvasse board some time. But despite some highlights, House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 5 is the weakest one of the season so far.
Spoilers past this point, but a lot of that had to do with the time spent with Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), who never met a plotline he can’t make into a total bummer. In this case, after inventing guerilla warfare last episode and putting into action in a pretty killer way at the beginning of this episode, he spent most of the rest of the runtime wandering through swamps and forests, killing horses, and then deciding he wants to die. It’s all a little pathetic to watch, and not in the same way Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Larys (Matthew Needham) also wandering through the woods felt pathetic.
Then there’s Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) doing a speed-run through Daemon’s (Matt Smith) Harrenhal plotline from last season, while reigniting his mommy issues with a new mommy, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) and it starts to feel like the show is spinning its wheels more than some sort of Wheel of Time.
The one exception, as usual? Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and this episode by extension Helaena (Phia Saban), who get a ton to dig into in their respective and intersective storylines – particularly Alicent and Helaena, who go from a static situation to an increasingly dangerous one that feels like classic House of the Dragon without feeling repetitive. It also ends very oddly, but we’ll get to that.
Overall, despite some as usual solid acting throughout, it’s starting to feel like that burst of energy from Rhaenyra taking over Westeros is beginning to fade. Granted, this may be a one off and not the new status quo. And with three episodes to go, there’s every chance things may heat up considerably. But enough wind-up, let’s get to the recap. Given the disjointed nature of the episode, I’ll break this up into areas of Westeros (mostly), versus a strict chronology. And as usual, HBO did not provide the name of the episode in advance, so let’s assume this one is titled “Aemond Joy” and see how close we get.
Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 5 past this point. More of them, I guess.
The Riverlands
Okay, I’m going to be bluntly honest here and you can immediately skip out of this recap if you want after this: my main reaction to the opening scene of this episode was “who are these people and what’s going on?” It becomes clear by the end, but it’s a classic Game of Thrones/HotD swing to start off with characters we barely know and expect us to just catch up and go on from there.
As is, what’s going on here, as that’s the point of a recap: this is the combination of the Westerlands army and the Winter Wolves, who had been sent by foot to King’s Landing by Daemon. Before they could get there, though, they were redirected towards Tumbleton, which is being held hostage by Ormund Hightower (James Norton). And as we’re about to find out, they’re being guerilla warfare’d by Criston Cole.
And as for who the people in this scene are, as we’ve spent almost zero time with them this season: the old, hairy guy is Roderick Dustin (Tommy Flanagan), the leader of the Winter Wolves; and the guy who looks like a child is Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes), the head of House Tully and the leader of the whole army.
Okay, back to it. As we discover, Criston has been burning crossings to prevent the army from reaching Tumbleton. In order to get ahead of them, Oscar sends – this is not a joke, this is the character’s real name – Petyr Piper (Antonio Magro) to lead 100 of his men to secure a barge, so they can get transit to Stoney Sept, and then on to Tumbleton.
Roderick and Oscar talk about what to do about Cole, and decide to “play at his game,” which we’ll get a taste of in a second. Because Cole’s game is “kill everyone and burn their tents,” starting with Petyr Piper, who gets pickled faster than a peck of pickled peppers when they surprise attack him outside his tent, slitting his throat and stabbing him a bunch of times. We see Cole and Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) set the camp on fire and head off to Stoney Sept to “once more be ahead of them.”
…But I want to throw a question out here, and perhaps one of you faithful readers can explain to me in the comments. Oscar sends Petyr to get ahead, but he doesn’t because they kill him and burn the camp. But by episode’s end, Oscar’s army, somehow, is ahead of Cole’s army. Presumably it’s the Winter Wolves being let off their chains, but confusingly we never get to see that, or understand how Oscar’s army recovered from having their camp burnt down, presumably with a lot of them inside the tents. It’s an odd bit of info to completely leave out of the show that could have been solved with one dialogue scene, or one of Roderick Dustin on the far shore going “nanny nanny poo poo” at Criston Cole. Instead, none of that happens. Weird!
Back to it, as Criston and Gwayne ride through the woods with camouflage on their faces while wearing bright silver armor (look, guerilla warfare is new, they’re still figuring it out), Gwayne tells a story of how he and Ormund used to have races to the top of the Hightower high tower (which, for context, is taller than The Wall). “Of course, I let him win,” Gwayne says. “He was a thin-skinned twat even then.”
It’s a good detail that draws the difference between Gwayne and Ormund, but it also is a chance for Gwayne to make an offer to Criston: he can join the service of the Hightowers after the war is over. We don’t get to hear Criston’s answer, though, as the army walks into a trap: Crow’s feet, also known as caltrops… Basically spikes, placed under grass in order to stop the marching of horses. One horse is brought down by them, Criston is forced to kill it, and they have to continue on foot.
As they chop through the woods, Gwayne coaches Criston Cole that the men are talking about desertion, but he continues unabated. And later, they stumble across Vhagar’s destruction in Wendish Town (more on that below)… Cole looks to the skies to see if the dragon is there, but there’s nothing.
It gets worse as men die mucking through the swamps, Gwayne gets a gross leech (which is a metaphor for Cole sucking the life out of him, right?), and everyone is completely strung out by the journey. And as a capper? By the time they get to the river, the bridges have already been burned, there’s no way for them to beat Rhaenyra’s army to Tumbleton. Gwayne is ready to give up, as are the rest of the men.
But Criston Cole? No, he’s on a suicide run. Gwayne wants to head to Tumbleton to join with Ormund, but Cole wants to attack the opposing army “head on.” Gwayne calls it “certain death” and that’s what Cole wants – and it was his goal “all along,” to die in glorious battle as the greatest warrior in the realm. He won’t return “spurned… rejected.” He will die “Clear-eyed. Unbent. Glorious in battle,” which isn’t how I remember it from Friday Night Lights, but it’s been a while since I watched the show.
The saddest part? While Cole states he will finally be in service of himself, he thinks dying in battle will cause songs to be written about his glorious death, “and Queen Alicent herself will hear it.” So yeah, he’s still holding a torch for her, after all these years. If he can’t be with her, he’d rather die. Later, he gives a speech to the men, with Gwayne leaving with other men, and Cole heads off to die. Please die, Criston Cole, you have more than served your purpose on this show.
Harrenhal
Over at the worst castle ever, we start off with more evidence that Alys Rivers may be able to turn into a black goat by seeing a black goat, and then later not seeing that black goat when Alys appears. Rhaenyra, you may recall, put a bounty on Aemond’s head, blaming him for the death of Aegon (who we know is not dead), and offering up Harrenhal as a reward. As the only thing Alys wants in the world is control of Harrenhal, that doesn’t sit well with her, and as she indicates she’s been flummoxing various bounty hunters looking for the prize.
Of note, Alys refers to Rhaenyra as the “ungrateful queen” though she’s not even aware Alys exists… It’s Daemon who rebuffed Alys when she asked for Harrenhal, not his niece/wife. In any case, Alys lies and says Aemond is not there, and there’s really nobody there but the “ghosts.”
Thunder crashes, and Alys tells a ghost story about the castle to the bounty hunters, scaring them, tossing a stone back, and then “summoning” bats and disappearing – and of note, there’s a goat noise after that on the soundtrack, once again indicating Alys can turn into a goat. Does she eat tin cans? Stay tuned!
Aemond, meanwhile, is having nightmares as Alys watches him sleep. He’s been imagining Aegon, with his face on fire, dragging him down into the dark. Alys tells him it’s just a dream, and he clutches her for comfort. “She saw it,” Aemond says. “She said I would die. That I ruined everything.”
Okay, not to keep interrupting this recap, but Aemond is referring to Helaena’s prophecy from the Season 2 finale, where she said, “Aegon will be king again, he is yet to see victory… And you? You will be dead… You were swallowed up in The God’s Eye and you are never seen again.” There’s more on that to come, but suffice to say Helaena is spot on with this one, and when it comes to this scene and episode, it’s weighing heavily on Aemond as he’s started to lose for the first time in, maybe ever.
“Mother,” Aemond says, and Alys begins to sing to him.
Later, waking from his sleep again he sees Vhagar’s eye. Where is the dragon? “She’s gone,” Alys explains as she cross-stitches. Aemond wonders if he’s a prisoner as he limps around the castle, wound seeping through his bandages. He looks out at the expanse beyond, though we don’t see at what, and collapses. He says he’s nothing without Vhagar, Alys disagrees, and she tells him – again – that Rhaenyra has taken King’s Landing, and he’s been blamed for Aegon’s death.
Aemond lays out how Aegon tormented him, though he “worshipped him,” and Alicent…
“Sometimes, the child that grieves her is the one a mother loves best,” Alys says, an odd statement. And odder still, when Aemond asks who Alys is, she explains, “one that has been grieved.” So Alys is or was a mother, but that’s all we’ve got for now on the mysterious witch.
Later, bounty hunters return, this time climbing the cliff to the Godswood. Alys confronts them. They surround her and try to rape her, but she fights them back. Then Aemond, very stumbly, appears and slaughters them all. As Alys said, he’s more than capable without a dragon.
Rook’s Rest
Sigh. Somehow leaving Rook’s Rest, Aegon is wandering the woods with Larys in semi-hot pursuit. Aegon wants to go to Wendish Town, where Vhagar was sighted two days prior, or perhaps Harrenhal. He’s trying to find Aemond, but Larys thinks it’s too dangerous.
Larys pushes Aegon too hard, to which he shouts “Stop telling me what I can’t do!” which is so close to the “don’t tell me what I can’t do” Locke says in Lost; and then explains that everything that’s gone wrong in his life is all Aemond’s fault. He’s going to try and kill Aemond, to which Larys gives a resounding “hm.”
Back at the raven’s cart which we found them in at the beginning of the season, which is missing a few wheels, Aegon is pouting. Larys asks if they should return to camp, and Aegon continues to be petty and offers the opposite take of Aemond’s: he felt that his brother was a prodigy at everything, and hated applauding him; everything, Aegon posits, came easy to Aemond, and if he only had his “natural advantages” he could have been a great king. Worse, he felt Alicent loved Aemond more, while as we previously discovered, Aemond thought she loved Aegon more. (Guess what, she loves Haelena best.)
This, it turns out, is a step too far for Larys, who has had it up to here. He proceeds to dig into Aegon. “You who had every advantage in life,” Larys says. “You, who had every chance to shine… You could have risen to greatness. But instead, you trampled your birthright in the mud… You were a terrible king. But worse than that, you are a terrible man.”
Larys continues in this vein, completely ripping Aegon to shreds. But I must once again ask, what is Larys’s plan here? He’s always been fourteen steps ahead of everyone. Why is he sticking by Aegon? Why is he coaching him, if that’s what he’s doing? What is the end goal here, particularly after he lays out how much Aegon sucks?
Back at Rook’s Rest, Aegon returns, humbled. “Just hire the fucking ship,” Aegon says, and Larys gives him an apple like he’s a horse that needs training. But in a twist, there’s someone who recognizes them: Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who was last seen at the Battle of the Gullet in the season premiere.
As Larys and Tyland make plans and argue about how to get Aegon out of town safely, Garrick (Douglas Russell) sneaks up on Aegon, discovering his crown in his bag. So Aegon kills him, stabbing the man multiple times. Perhaps this is why Larys has kept Aegon around, not for his company but because he sees the once and future king as a coiled snake, ready to strike when the time is right.
King’s Landing
Lots going on here this episode, but we pick up on a few notes from the previous episode. Specifically, Rhaenyra has taken Alyn’s (Abubakar Salim) suggestion to get cats to take care of the rats in the Red Keep, which explains later in Game of Thrones why there are so many cats. But more importantly, if you weren’t 100% clear on what Alicent was responding to when Helaena refused to let her help button up her cardigan? Yeah, Helaena is pregnant.
How that works is a subject of some debate, as Aegon was flash-fried so hard his scrotum exploded. I’m no doctor, but I would suggest the pregnancy likely happened before that, meaning – depending on how pregnant Helaena is, and assuming in Westeros women don’t have gestation periods of a whale – it’s been a relatively short time since the Dance of Dragons last season.
Anyway, back to the episode. Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) dodges some cats, and makes his way to the room where Alicent and Helaena are being held captive. Of note, a housemaid sees him headed their way, which is how later on Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) figures out what Alicent is up to. Thanks to dropping a classic “woman problems” speech on the guard, he makes his way inside to give her the Moon Tea, a concoction that is meant to be used to abort pregnancies.
Orwyle uses this opportunity to explain that he’s doing this favor for Alicent, but he’s loyal to Rhaenyra – going forward, he needs to be honest with his Queen, and Alicent understands.
Helaena doesn’t want to abort the pregnancy, but her mother lays out the danger they’re in, and that if the child is a son Rhaenyra will have to either kill the challenger to the throne as its a natural born heir to Aegon, potentially superseding her own claim, or hold the child hostage, either way. Helaena also tells Alicent that Aemond is still at Harrenhal, and “he burns, but without fire.” What’s curious about this is I believe this is the first time on the show Helaena has straight up said “I see things through prophecy and vision,” essentially, versus just saying something and everyone staring at her like she has three heads.
Alicent, hearing this, switches tactics, knowing that if Aemond lives and attacks Rhaenyra she’ll use the baby as “a shield,” and by extension, Helaena, Alicent’s one remaining faithful child. Starting to panic, Alicent tells her that both she and Rhaenyra used it, but Helaena shouts, “It’s mine! It’s my own. It’s mine.” And a bit of interpretation there, with Aegon er, gone, Helaena may view the child as something that is finally, solely her own. There’s also the level of her still reeling from the murder of her other son, Jaeherys (Jude Rock), last season. I won’t get into the specifics of abortion in the real world (it’s health care and should be a protected right), but here she may not want to preemptively kill another son.
Over to Rhaenyra, who is dealing with problems of her own. Specifically Sabitha Frey (Sarah Woodward), who was promised Harrenhal in exchange for her help in the war. By the way, if you’re curious: Sabitha is not the infamous Walder Frey’s (David Bradley) mother or anything. She had her husband in the books had one son, but it’s not directly clear how related they are to Walder, other than all being Freys. Also of note here is that the Freys were promised Harrenhal by Jace (Harry Collett) in one of his many oversteps, though with Jace dead Rhaenyra manages to quell Sabitha’s rage merely by looking at her silently – and instead, Sabitha joins the Small Council. As what is unclear (Master of Weddings, perhaps?) but it does lead to some fun digressions between her and Torrhen Manderly (Dan Fogler) that drives Daemon up a wall.
At the Small Council meeting, Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Baela (Bethany Antonio) make their report about tracking down Aemond… They’ve seen the wake of Vhagar, but no sign of Aemond’s massive dragon. Meanwhile, there’s problems with the City Watch, which leads to Daemon and Mysaria quarreling, yet again. Daemon cuts it off explaining that two Gold Cloaks were killed by an unknown assassin, with Torrhen commenting that Flea Bottom is full of “undesirables,” a pretty modern word if I do say so myself. Regardless, with Daemon once called the “Prince of Flea Bottom” he’s got to take exception to that, right?
Meanwhile, Rhaenyra is panicking over Vhagar and Ormund Hightower… She’s losing the trees for the forest, is the issue, and focusing on threats to her rule when, at least in Daemon’s opinion, she should be flexing her power. She orders Addam and Baela to head back to the Riverlands, but Addam is concerned they need rest – specifically, Baela needs rest. Rhaenyra then orders Daemon to go, but he refuses: he needs to take care of the City Watch, first. And Baela insists she’s ready and able.
It’s a whole mess, and shows how Rhaenyra’s rule is operating as a series of individuals instead of a cohesive whole. At least Rhaenyra speaks up to Daemon, demanding to know if she’s back on Dragonstone where everyone questioned her rule, all the time. Daemon tries to talk to her calmly and tell her there’s plenty of time to deal with everything, but Rhaenyra is panicking. “There is treachery somewhere and I seek to uncover it,” she says, on the brink of breaking. Daemon, though, thinks she wants revenge, and what happens in the city needs to be taken care of first.
Daemon is a hypocrite, right? Just two episodes back he was telling Rhaenyra not to worry about King’s Landing, to instead think of conquering the rest of the world. But when someone threatens his Gold Cloaks, suddenly Flea Bottom is very important. They’re interrupted by the news that Prince Joffrey is back from the Vale, causing Daemon to sigh and leave, while Rhaenyra, clearly nervous to see her son, says she’ll visit him later.
After the meeting, Mysaria comes to visit Alicent, and it’s sort of funny that this is the first time they’ve met on the show. As mentioned earlier, she already knows about the Moon Tea, and so Alicent goes into Lying Mode, bringing out the container, and explains that Haelena has headaches (she’s asleep on the table), but Mysaria isn’t convinced, so Alicent lies that she took a lover, Rhaenyra knows about it, and the Moon Tea is for her. She drinks the Moon Tea, which is awful, and which means Alicent is going to have some serious cramps later.
Alicent tries to play Mysaria, asking her not to tell Rhaenyra. And when the former casually drops that the latter was once her prisoner, it seems to work. Later, as Alicent uncomfortably holds a compress to her stomach, she hatches a plan: she’ll exchange her necklace so they can escape the Red Keep; if she can’t make Helaena abort the child, she’ll do whatever she can to save her daughter’s life.
Down in Flea Bottom, Daemon admonishes Luthor Largent (Tom Cullen) for going over the top on Rhaenyra’s command to root out the graffiti artists challenging her rule, which he assumes led to the death of the Gold Cloaks. It didn’t, as we find out later. But we also get Daemon saying he’ll deal with unrest in the Gold Cloaks with a speech, which Luthor scoffs at – but they’re interrupted by the discovery of another two dead Gold Cloaks, their stomachs slit and intestines outside their bodies. And here’s where it turns out these are no retribution killings: it’s Ormund Hightower’s men in Flea Bottom, taking a bit from Rhaenyra’s playbook by fomenting rebellion and unrest by killing the Gold Cloaks and making it look like it’s the common people. And in case you weren’t clear on all that, they send a raven to Ormund, cementing that fact.
Tumbleton
In Tumbleton, Ormund reads the note: “Gold blood spilled. Three marked in the tally. The account lies open.” The Hightower host is preparing for war, raising battlements to better protect from Rhaenyra’s forces, but as Ormund’s second in command explains “we lack in timber, and men, and time.” He commands them to work double-time, and he turns to checking in on Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) during his lessons. Daeron makes the mistake to call the histories “dry” and then doubles back as soon as Ormund looks at him.
Daeron repeats his lessons, but misses mentioning Meria Martell, who Ormund calls “The Yellow Toad of Dorne.” Ormund, by the way, isn’t being completely rude when he notes that she was fat, blind and bald, which is “true” according to George R.R. Martin’s books. But he is being a misogynist when he says she was “the only woman ever to be gifted with a truly military mind.” While they play a game of Cyvasse, Daeron talks about her military prowess. While Ormund talks, Daeron wins the game. This, coupled with Gwayne’s story earlier, is a pretty big point I’d argue: Ormund likes to proselytize and talk about his overarching strategy… But he’s not going to win, unless he cheats. Daeron, on the other hand, clearly has the skills to win, just not the knowledge. Also, it sure looks like Daeron beats Ormund with a piece that is a dragon, right after Ormund has finished a speech about how dragons are obscenities.
He sweeps the pieces from the board, then comes around to take Daeron’s shoulders. “Never apologize for victory,” he says, and reveals that he’s made gold coins with Daeron’s face on them, as King. The goal is to treat Daeron as king, whether he is or not.
Wendish Town
Outside Wendish Town, Baela and Addam inspect the wreckage left by Vhagar, with Addam once again harping on Baela needing rest and food. But Baela knows Rhaenyra blames her for the death of Jace. And Baela blames herself, lamenting that she was one day going to be queen; now nothing. Addam offers that maybe her path has been replaced by…. An adventure, of course. Not Addam. No, Addam is her cousin so of course there could be nothing there cough cough.
Anyway, she’ll be married off, and that’s her future. “And then I’ll come and find you,” Addam offers. “And we’ll fly to exile. But only if we eat first.” Oh: they ate.
King’s Landing, Part 2
Back in King’s Landing, Helaena and her daughter Jaehaera are looking at a caterpillar on a leaf, the second time this season we’ve seen them interacting with the creatures. Previously, Helaena said they weren’t in season, which fans took to be an indicator of – deep breath – a caterpillar metamorphosing into a butterfly, which is a reference to George R.R. Martin noted in an incendiary blog post that the butterfly effect of not having Helaena’s son Maelor in the show would be a problem with a cascading effect, and since he wasn’t in Season 2 and is now likely being born in Season 3. Whether it is or not, it means something, and it certainly seems pointed that Helaena tells her daughter “you can’t touch that.” We find out in a moment they’re poisonous, but if the caterpillar is a reference to Maelor, then perhaps it’s an indicator that she needs to stay away from the fetus?
It also seems to be a bit of Chekhov’s caterpillar, as Helaena explains they eat the leaves of nightshade, but if you touch them, you’ll die.
Alicent tells Helaena she has secured their escape through the secret door in Aemond’s chamber that Blood and Cheese used when they killed her son last season. Not a great start, but it gets worse when Helaena realizes they need to leave Jaehera behind. Alicent starts babbling and lying about how it’ll all be okay. “You look away when you lie,” Helaena says, and walks away.
Back with Rhaenyra, she’s in the Sept praying, which Daemon finds hilarious. She’s making a show of it for the people, and begrudgingly Daemon joins her. He brings her up to speed on the murder of the Gold Cloaks, and he’s worried there is more to come. Rhaenyra admits she was wrong, “the enemy is within.” She thinks there is a plot against her, Daemon thinks it is against the City Watch, both focused on their own narrow viewpoint.
Rhaenyra switches tacts, and they both slam the Septons who refuse to crown her Queen. Daemon makes fun of her, and explains – correctly – that she is a woman, there will always be objections to her rule. But Rhaenyra is spiraling, laying out the various fires burning: Aemond, Aegon, Tumbleton. “Something stirs against me,” she says in High Valyrian. “Something crouched, something formless.” And it’s more clear than ever that Rhaenyra is losing it, if she ever had it. Yes, these forces are working against her, but they’re all at a severe disadvantage against her multiple dragons and might of the realm. Armchair ruling aside, Daemon coaches her that “these are men, nothing more,” but Rhaenyra digs back into him that he can’t find the culprits behind the Gold Cloak murders.
That night, dressed as maids Alicent and Helaena attempt to escape, with Helaena asking whether the nurse will be meeting them with Jaehaera. Alicent says at the other end, and is likely lying about this, but it doesn’t matter: Mysaria catches them, and they confess about Helaena being pregnant, and won’t keep it secret from the Queen.
Once again, Alicent tries to get Mysaraia to think of herself – not Rhaenyra. And while some of this is clearly improv, she strikes a nerve by explaining that Rhaenyra and Daemon are two sides of a coin, and Mysaria isn’t even a type of currency. And in the midst of this, Helaena demands to go out, she needs to see the moon. What this particularly piece of Helaena weirdness means I’m not quite sure, though the fact that (to jump ahead) she ends the episode in darkness may have something to do with it.
Helaena goes to look out the window, and Alicent steps up to Mysaria, telling her that if she doesn’t speak up she can gain favor with the Hightowers. Mysaria doesn’t answer, and we’re left with Helaena looking at the caterpillar again, a potential poison waiting to kill them if touched. Is that Mysaria, perhaps? We’ll have to wait and see.
That same night, Rhaenyra goes to visit Joffrey, but he’s already asleep. She’s clearly scared of her son, and getting close after what happened to Jace. And over at the Gold Cloaks, Daemon does make a big speech, with big promises of riches to come that does, indeed, calm the men. They patrol in groups of three and four, and even better they apprehend a suspect to interrogate.
Or, sorry: torture, as they tear out his eye and threaten to take the other one unless he talks. And he does, admitting he’s on “the king’s work.” Pulling a coin from his boot, they find one of the gold coins with Daeron’s face on it. Daemon takes the evidence to Rhaenyra, while Luthor kills the man.
In the Red Keep, Alyn continues to consult with Rhaenyra, explaining the plan to rebuild the fleet, when Daemon enters to reveal the gold coin… And that Ormund has declared Daeron king. “We should have burned them when we had the chance,” he says and storms out.
The last two bits? That night, Helaena discovers a secret passage in their own bedroom, which they take as far as they can… Until they discover it’s blocked off on the other side. What happens next is a little confusing, but it’s clear Helaena drops their lantern after getting scared by a cat, potentially leaving them in darkness, maybe setting everything on fire?
Meanwhile, Daemon returns to the City Watch, only to find them all dead – including Luthor – placed in a Last Supper situation. The blood on the wall reads, “A Feast for Traitors.”
…and that’s where we leave things. It’s interesting that Ormund clearly has more moves and more control over Flea Bottom than he does Tumbleton, and this definitely isn’t going to help Rhaenyra’s already paranoid state. As for Alicent and Helaena, they’re now stuck in the walls of the Red Keep, which I do hope continues the rest of the season as that would be very funny. But more likely they’ll discover an alternate way out, even if what happens with the lantern at the end is perplexing. And as for Criston Cole, him going off to die in battle has me all like Willy Wonka saying, “stop, don’t, come back.”
Where will this all lead? And will the show get back on track? We’ll find out next week.
House Of The Dragon Season 3 Premiere Dates And Episode Guide:
New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays on HBO and HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET. Here’s what we expect from the full list of episodes in House of the Dragon Season 3 with premiere dates.
- Sunday, June 21, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 1
- Sunday, June 28, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 2
- Sunday, July 5, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 3
- Sunday, July 12, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 4
- Sunday, July 19, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 5
- Sunday, July 26, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 6
- Sunday, August 2, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 7
- Sunday, August 9, 2026: House of the Dragon, Season 3, Episode 8 *Season Finale*
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Christ that was terrible writing! And also stop referring to the book this is a review of the series.
Terrible writing from me or the show? And either way, great news there’s a whole internet out there to read other things!