House of the Dragon Season 3 will give fans more of what they want. The Game of Thrones prequel has largely been a success through its first two seasons, but it hasn’t pleased everyone. Author George R.R. Martin infamously criticized the show, calling out some of its changes to his source material – the book Fire & Blood – and the “toxic” butterfly effect it’d have on the narrative. Those changes have also proved divisive among fans, as has the pacing of the saga. After lots of setup, House of the Dragon Season 2 ended on the precipice of war, rather than really getting to it.
That’s going to change in the third season, in which the Dance of the Dragons will truly begin (something that was said about Season 2 as well, in fairness). There is going to be a much greater urgency to the proceedings this time around, and from the sounds of it, more action than ever before. Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, actor Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond Targaryen, said it is “All-out war. It’s just a blitz straight out of the gate.” Those sentiments were echoed by Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra Targaryen) in the same cover story, who revealed:
“The series this time around starts at 60 miles an hour. We’re finally watching a war that has been building for two seasons…. I’m so impressed by Ryan and the team, because it’s to really hold your nerve to stage a conflict that has been, until now, primarily interpersonal, interfamily — and then [to] finally, in one huge gesture, allow that conflict to unleash on the realm as a whole, I think is some very classy plotting.”
House Of The Dragon Season 3’s War Promise Is Exciting, But It Must Be Balanced
Image via HBO
The beginning of this war will be where Season 2 left off: the Battle of the Gullet. The biggest, bloodiest sea conflict in Westeros history, it was originally supposed to take place at the end of the sophomore outing, but was ultimately moved to Season 3. HBO has not been shy in revealing that this will take place early in the season, meaning it’s going to come out swinging with what showrunner Ryan Condal describes as “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made,” which featured both dry and wet sets for what’s seemingly going to be one of the most epic on-screen battles we’ve ever seen.
This will all no doubt be pleasing to a lot of fans, as the relative lack of actual war, with so much time instead spent on things like Daemon Targaryen’s visions at Harrenhal, split opinion and left some frustrated in Season 2. It also makes sense: it’s expected that House of the Dragon will end with Season 4 (Condal confirmed to EW that this is the plan, though HBO hasn’t made it official), and there are lots of stories and battles to get through before that can happen.
At the same time, the series needs to get the balance right. Even if this basically means it’s going to be shifting genre into more of a full-on war/action epic (with dragons, of course), there has to be strong character work alongside it. Game of Thrones didn’t succeed because of its incredible spectacle alone, but because of the characters and themes underpinning it, built up by years of conversations in dark rooms. They’re the heart of the franchise, and something House of the Dragon still needs a lot of, as action without caring about the people involved risks just being empty (if still dazzling).
Some of that hard work was done by the first two seasons, sure, but there’s plenty for Season 3 to accomplish in that regard. In particular, the changes it makes to Rhaenyra, who has been becoming more tyrannical, with a growing God-complex (D’Arcy describes it as “religious fanaticism”) need to be carefully handled. She’s the main character, after all, and just how far it pushes things with her needs to be well-written and patiently done; Game of Thrones Season 8 shows the dangers of rushing a Targaryen Queen story like that.
The battles will be remarkable, and there’s no doubt the cast will be as well, but it has to get those character arcs right. Thankfully, I think it’s well set up to do so, and from a marketing point of view, action and dragons certainly sell a lot more, so it makes sense this is the focus. Regardless, House of the Dragon Season 3 is already very exciting, and there’s not too much longer to wait to see how it all plays out.
House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres on HBO and HBO Max on June 21st.
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