On Monday, HBO Max brought us back to Westeros in House of the Dragon Season 3.
When we left them in season 2, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) tried to stop a war and thanks to a shortend season due to the writers strike things felt unfinished. The story cut off just as everything was about to break.
Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), reassured that her uncle/husband Daemon (Matt Smith) is on her side, is ready to stake her claim to the Iron Throne and the assurance by frenemy Alicent (Olivia Cooke) that she’ll facilitate Rhaenyra’s arrival in King’s Landing in order to protect her own family. This alliance wouldn’t n’t go down well with a hideously burnt, bedridden and drowning in pain Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), nor his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who is down an eye, but the thrill of power means Aemond’s unwilling to concide power easily .
The long‑discussed Battle of the Gullet finally arrives in the season premiere, allowing Ryan Condal and the team to open Season 3 with a genuine bang. Once the dust settles, the character work deepens: D’Arcy, Smith, and Cooke all get standout material across the first four episodes screened for this review. If the early stretch is any indication, Season 3 may be the show’s most action‑packed and emotionally charged run yet.
4 stars
House of the Dragon begins Monday June 22 on HBO Max till August 9
