House of the Dragon Episode 3 Review – A New Heir to the Throne?

The Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin’s 2018 novel – Fire and Blood. The events of the HBO show are set 172 years before the Mother of Dragons- Daenerys Targaryen. The show focuses on King Viserys I’s rule. His inability to give the realm a male heir has rendered kingdom in a state unsurety. His heir is to be decided between his brother Daemon Targaryen and his eldest daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen. On paper this seems to be the central conflict of the show, although as these events are taking place in Westeros things will never be simple. The pilot of the show was extremely well received despite Game of Thrones abomination ending. The pilot became HBO’s biggest debut with gathering as much as 9.986 Million viewers in the first 24 hours. While many judged this success was simply an extension of the fan base that Game of Thrones has left behind but the follow-up episode proved everyone wrong.

The second episode of the prequel out did the first when it comes to viewership numbers as there was a 2% growth. Meaning not only did the shoe retain its audience but in fact added eyeballs. So after the second episode, a teaser for episode 3 was released which teased a war. The hype around this week’s episode was immense and let me get one thing out of the way… nothing has come closer to become Game of Thrones. This episode felt like it belonged to the GOT Universe and was not forced onto it. So, without any further ado, let’s continue the Dragon Saga. Review Marathon – Episode 1 / Episode 2.

Episode – Second of His Name (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Rating – ★★★★

House of the Dragon Episode 3: Aegon Second of his Name!

Now based on the end of the second episode and the teaser for episode 3 that this episode will be featuring a war on the Crab Feeders. However, let’s start from the start. Episode 3 begins directly where episode 2 left us. Daemon launches an attack on the Step Stones on his dragon Caraxes. Daemon burns the entire shore however, the Crab Feeders have a back-up they descend back into their caves where dragons can’t reach. After this opening we go a bit forward in time.

How much? Well, it has been almost three years. Viserys and Alicent’s child Aegon is two years old now and she is pregnant once again. Since its the King’s first male born everyone including Rhaenyra knows that she is about to be replaced as the Princess of Dragonstone. The war on the Step Stones has been going on and it seems like Daemon and Driftmark are losing. Rhaenyra and Alicent are distant now, she is still mad at Alicent for obvious reasons. Alicent is queen and her relation with Viserys seems good.

On the account of Aegon’s 2nd name day, the crown arranges a royal hunt. Rhaenyra is bitter to Viserys. Rhaenyra is under constant threat that she is going to be replaced as heir. Everywhere she looks, everyone is talking about her little brother Aegon. Alicent still has a soft corner for Rhaenyra. We’re introduced to our first Lannister- Jason Lannister. He offers to marry Rhaenyra in turn for well gold. This is tips Rhaenyra off, she gets into a fight with Viserys and runs away to the woods.

Ser Criston goes behind her to protect. They share a nice moment there which is a foreshadowing of their upcoming romance. They’re attacked by a boar and Criston kills it but the boar is still alive and Rhaenyra bludgeons it to death, venting out all of her frustration. Viserys is conflicted between marrying Rhaenyra and or letting her be the heir. Alicent and Viserys share a moment. A white hart (symbol of royalty) was spotted for the hunt but they’re not been able to catch it. They kill a normal hart.

Rhaenyra spots the white hart with Criston but let’s it go. Viserys is been pestered by everyone for Rhaenyra’s marriage. Otto suggests Rhaenyra to be married to her brother Aegon. Another member of the King’s council suggests she should marry Laenor Velaryon (son of Corylus Velaryon). Viserys is pissed at everyone including Jason Lannister. The hunt concludes and they all return to the Red Keep where Otto tells Alicent to convince Viserys to name Aegon the king. We see that Alicent still has a soft corner for Rhaenyra.

Alicent talks to Viserys and tells him to let Rhaenyra make her choice for marriage. She also convinces him to send aid to Daemon. Viserys and Rhaenyra finally have a long awaited confrontation where Viserys asks Rhaenyra to marry someone of her choice and strengthen her claim to the throne. He also seemingly promises her that she will not be replaced as the heir. Viserys deep down wants Rhaenyra to be the Queen. In the Step Stones, Laenor devices a plan when the letter from Viserys comes to Daemon.

The letter pisses off Daemon even further. Daemon goes to the Crab Feeders with a peace plea but double crosses them as the Velaryons launch an attack as soon as the Crab Feeders come out of their caves. While the Velaryons are decimating the Crab Feeders, Daemon goes in the cave and cuts the leader of the Crab Feeders in half. The episode ends with Daemon and Velaryons being victorious in the Step Stones and now the repercussions that will follow from the free cities.

Verdict

After the amazing first two episodes, House of the Dragon episode is keeping up with the quality of the show. While I won’t say it is on par with Game of Thrones but is definitely an amazing show. This episode further extends my empathy towards Rhaenyra. Viserys redeems himself with the decisions he makes this episodes. Who would’ve thought that Viserys would actually be on Rhaenyra’s side. Daemon’s brutality is shown but that also shows is he has finally won.

There were two major caveats with the episode, first the dragon VFX is still a bit edgy. I still feel like it doesn’t look as good as it should. I can make out it is fake. The other one being that the war subplot was too small. I mean after the opening we only saw the war for less than 10 minutes in the end. Whatever they showed was great but I was left wanting more. The war had a lot of violence and gory visuals which I loved. Overall this was a great follow-up episode and it further complicated things. The series is really starting to take shape now.

Milly Alcock is brilliant as Rhaenyra even though she’ll be replaced by Emma D’Arcy soon. Otto is still the Littlefinger of the show. I absolutely hate him. More than Littlefinger actually because he has no charm. Paddy Considine as Viserys is underrated but great. This episode was as good as the first two except for the caveats I’ve pointed out. House of the Dragon Episode 3 is drum roll please……. 4 out of 5 stars. The betrayals and shocks have not kicked in yet but have certainly began. If you haven’t watched it already, check out House of the Dragon on HBO Max or Disney+ Hotstar.

The GOT prequel has an incredible ensemble cast that includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Along with the main cast, the supporting cast of the show includes- Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, Savannah Steyn, and more.

House of the Dragon’s first two episodes are currently streaming on HBO Max or Disney+. New episodes will debut on every Sunday or Monday on HBO and HBO Max or Disney+ Hotstar depending on the region you live in, at 9 pm or 6.30 am.

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