Warning: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3
Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and no one in House of the Dragon Season 3 knows this better than Rhaenyra Targaryen. While there’s significantly less action in Episode 3, make no mistake: the undercurrent of tension throughout is palpable. Composer Ramin Djawadi incorporates fascinating musical cues to accentuate that tension; the intermittent “clanging” noise perfectly epitomizes Rhaenyra’s tenuous grasp on sanity. Here, we see her slow descent into paranoia, fueled by insomnia and feeling overwhelmed by the mounting problems at her feet.
Rhaenyra’s first day on the job as ruler of the Seven Kingdoms is anything but smooth. She’s also still grieving the loss of her sons. At one point, while speaking with Mysaria, Rhaenyra believes she spots Jace walking past her. It’s a profoundly relatable moment for anyone who’s experienced loss of that magnitude. Emma D’Arcy continues to deliver a masterclass in acting in Episode 3. They command the screen in every scene. Rhaenyra’s grief, anxiety, exhaustion, and paranoia are writ large all over D’Arcy’s face. Our queen is like a powder keg – she’s trying to keep a lid on her emotions, but she could explode at any moment. D’Arcy conveys this well.
House of the Dragon Episode 3 maintains a steady clip throughout, even without all the bloodshed and violence we’re accustomed to seeing in this universe. It plays more like a compelling political drama, with the spotlight largely on Rhaenyra as she juggles the day-to-day demands of being queen. Seldom has a Game of Thrones series devoted this much episode time to the politics of the Red Keep. It’s riveting. The scenes in which the castle workers swarm Rhaenyra in the corridors, pestering her with questions, are enough to make even the viewers feel overwhelmed. After all, we’re viewing this episodic narrative from her perspective.
The only scene outside the Red Keep features James Norton’s Ormund Hightower as he interacts with Daemon. Ormund goes on bended knee and swears fealty to Rhaenyra, vowing to send his host back to Oldtown. However, you can tell from the get-go that this acceptance of defeat is too easy. Ormund readily hands over Daeron Targaryen, Alicent’s youngest son, without his dragon, Tessarion, reacting to this blatant kidnapping. Rhaenyra easily seizes control of King’s Landing, and the Team Green army waves the white flag of surrender. Of course, the audience is aware that there’s more to come on the war front. We’re simply waiting for the other shoe to drop.
So, we sit on pins and needles for the remainder of the episode until the revelation that Rhaenyra has a fake Daeron as her prisoner. Ormund had the foresight to find some kid in the Reach and dye his hair silver-blonde to make him pass for Daeron, knowing that Rhaenyra would want to kill Daeron because of his claim to the Iron Throne. To top it all off, Ormund waits until Rhaenyra is distracted with her queenly duties to seize Tumbleton with the real Daeron by his side.
While Aemond has been Rhaenyra’s only true antagonist since the Dance of the Dragons began (I’d include Otto, but he was barely in Season 2), he doesn’t play 4D chess like, say, Larys Strong. It’s abundantly clear that Ormund will be a formidable foe, and who better to play him than James Norton? He will give Rhaenyra a run for her money. Admittedly, Ormund is who I hoped Alicent would be. Speaking of Rhaenyra’s ex-BFF, Alicent finally gives a bit of bite in her first scene of the episode with Rhaenyra. Understandably, she’s furious – Rhaenyra beheaded her father in Episode 2.
However, as soon as Alicent shows some fight, she immediately retreats into her shell, apologizing for her behavior. Come on. House of the Dragon Season 3 is leagues better than its predecessor, and it’s firing on all cylinders thus far. But this show’s insistence on having Rhaenyra and Alicent orbit each other during a civil war is hindering the narrative more than helping it. Sure, D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke are electrifying together, but they were even better in late Season 1 when Rhaenyra and Alicent were clear-cut enemies. Unless Alicent is playing the long game by appealing to Rhaenyra, this show of obedience doesn’t work. Here’s hoping there’s a big rug pull in the episodes to come (give my girl some backbone, please).
Besides the infuriating Alicent of it all, House of the Dragon Episode 3 introduces Dan Fogler’s character, Ser Torrhen Manderly, who’s giving faint Littlefinger/Larys vibes. Something tells me he’ll weasel his way onto Rhaenyra’s small council. Rhaenyra has her Robin Hood moment, in which she literally steals from the noble lords and ladies of the realm to feed the smallfolk. It’s a fun narrative beat that actually shows a monarch interacting with her people – something we rarely see in the Game of Thrones world. Not to mention, Rhaenyra feeding said lords and ladies the rats scurrying around the Red Keep is a serve of the highest order.
It’s a good balance of wins and losses for Rhaenyra. And along the way, she has Daemon whispering in her ear that they’re both gods meant to rule not only Westeros but the world. Rhaenyra’s conversation with the High Septon is proof positive that she buys it all, too. She wears her god complex on her sleeve. The High Septon denying anointing her as queen until he sees Aegon’s remains is a fun plot twist. It could be an omen that her reign will be fraught with disaster.
Surely, Corlys’ tirade will bring her down to earth (to an extent), but who knows? That moment is a delight to watch, if only because it mirrors his late brother Vaemond calling Rhaenyra’s sons “bastards” in Season 1. Rhaenyra refuses to legitimize Alyn and Addam as Velaryons because of what her own sons endured over the years. One does not want to have Corlys as a foe, but it’ll certainly make for entertaining TV to watch Rhaenyra collect more powerful enemies.
The news of Ormund’s seizure of Tumbleton in the episode’s final minutes, as Rhaenyra stares into the fire, hopefully carves a path for her to finally harness that rage she feels. Before Rhaenyra and Mysaria hand out food to the smallfolk, Rhaenyra tells her about her anger, but that it feels inaccessible – just out of reach. She also tells Elinda that she wants to look strong for her people, to rule from a place of strength. That ire is simmering beneath the surface. While there’s this meditation on women and rage pulsating throughout this series, how women are forced to suppress their anger because it’s “unladylike,” this is war. The stakes are life or death. Let them rage out.
We see flashes of Rhaenyra’s wrath throughout House of the Dragon Episode 3. Here’s hoping Rhaenyra unleashes that fire and blood soon.
- Release Date
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August 21, 2022
- Network
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HBO
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Fabien Frankel
Ser Criston Cole
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
