The third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon is off and running on HBO. It’s the biggest fantasy event of the month, and expectations are high. Season 3 has to make up for the dip in energy at the end of Season 2, mollify fans angry that the show is straying from the source material, and ramp things up ahead of the big finish in the fourth and final season.
Does it do those things? In order: yes, not really, and hopefully.
There are NO SPOILERS in this advance review of House of the Dragon Season 3
But all bets are off for Season 2
The second season of House of the Dragon ended on a series of cliffhangers: fleets captained by Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) on one side and Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) on the other were about to clash. Several armies were about to meet in the Riverlands, including one led by Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Daemon’s wife, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), was getting ready to invade the city of King’s Landing.
Ending with so much unresolved left a bad taste in the mouths of many fans. It’s no secret that HBO reduced the episode count for Season 2 at the last minute. The first two episodes of Season 3 were originally supposed to be the last two episodes of Season 2, and they hit the ground running. Ships crash into each other in an expensive, elaborate battle sequence. Important characters die, sometimes brutally. The status quo completely changes. It’s climax after climax.
And that’s fun to watch. After a sleepy second season, House of the Dragon picks up the pace. That said, some of the problems that plagued the second season are still here in this stretch. Characters still act in strange, tortured ways that are hard to make sense of. The show sometimes throws logic out the window in favor of having a crowd-pleasing action moment. All action series do this to some extent, but House of the Dragon — like Game of Thrones before it — built its reputation as much on character drama and internal consistency as on action, so when there are lapses, you notice.
The first two episodes are easy to enjoy if you don’t think too much about them, and there are enough dazzling moments that this is pretty easy to do.
In Season 3, House of the Dragon is a show divided against itself
I mean that as a compliment
If the first two episodes of Season 3 are actually the last two episodes of Season 2, then the third and fourth episodes are where Season 3 actually starts, and I have to say: I enjoyed these a lot more.
The third episode is almost experimental. It sticks very close to Rhaenyra, showing how she deals with various problems bedeviling the Seven Kingdoms. It’s fascinating to watch her get pulled in a million different directions and try to find some kind of center. Some moments are tense, some moments are engrossing, and some moments are even funny; House of the Dragon is generally a very dour show, so it’s great to see some levels.
After the explosive battles, Episode 3 gives the characters some time to simply be themselves without needing to compete with blood splatters and special effects, and they emerge as interesting, sympathetic people. And an episode that gives the fantastic Emma D’Arcy a chance to show off is never a bad thing.
Episode 4 gets back to business and catches us up with characters all over the map. James Norton makes an impression as the foppish, unpredictable Ormund Hightower; and Amanda Collin gets to dig into the character of Lady Jeyne Arryn more than she did last season. Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) also returns, and while his scenes remain a highlight, his plot is still building by the time Episode 4 ends.
House of the Dragon isn’t a good adaptation of Fire & Blood
But it’s still a good TV show
I am a giant Song of Ice and Fire nerd who was put off by how drastically the second season of House of the Dragon changed the source material: George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood. The changes even led to a very public spat between Martin and the producers. I didn’t like how the second season ignored much of the ensemble so it could focus on the relationship between Rhaenyra Targaryen and her best frenemy Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Interesting as that relationship is, the show had to contort itself into pretzels to make sure it was at the center of everything.
The third season gets things somewhat back on track, especially from the third episode onwards. The refresh does the series a lot of good. It feels alive with possibility again. There are still some severely altered plots that I don’t really think work — I doubt the season will win back Martin’s affections — but in general I’m optimistic.
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Season 3 takes flight, but will it stay aloft?
Critics were provided with four episodes of Season 3 to watch early. There are eight in all. The Season 3 premiere airs on Sunday, June 21 at 9:00 p.m. EST.
It’s been a while since House of the Dragon has aired new episodes, and Season 2 didn’t go over well with everyone. Season 3 may be good enough to win some wayward fans back. And if it’s not, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is here to carry the Game of Thrones franchise forward.
- Release Date
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August 21, 2022
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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George R.R. Martin
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Matt Smith
Prince Daemon Targaryen
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Fabien Frankel
Ser Criston Cole
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Emma D’Arcy
Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (voice)
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Steve Toussaint
Lord Corlys ‘The Sea Snake’ Velaryon
