Warning: This article contains spoilers for Episode 3 of “House of the Dragon” Season 3.
Who knew that ruling from the Iron Throne would be tougher than actually winning it in war? Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra Targaryen, the rightful Queen of the seven (or is it nine?) kingdoms of Westeros, is currently learning that getting exactly what you want is only half the battle. Knowing what to do once you finally have it, well, that’s infinitely more complicated. The third episode of “House of the Dragon” Season 3 (read our review here) might be the show’s most introspective one yet, slowing down to a crawl to explore the fallout of last week’s invasion of King’s Landing — and the litany of problems in need of Rhaenyra’s attention. But what it lacks in the mile-a-minute pacing of the last two episodes is made up for in a deep-dive exploration of that most classic of “Game of Thrones” themes: What makes a good ruler?
Of course, this is familiar territory for anyone who watched Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) throughout her most frustrating moments on “Game of Thrones.” Overthrowing slavery cities in Essos and setting enslavers on fire with dragons is all fun and games … until it comes time to lead the people you just conquered so ruthlessly. This maddeningly circuitous detour took up the bulk of Seasons 4-6 of “Game of Thrones,” but for good reason. In order to go west and finally take what’s hers in Westeros, Dany first needed to stay in the east and learn those hard lessons of how to actually be a proper ruler.
It’s an eerily similar parallel to Rhaenyra’s ongoing struggles in King’s Landing. In other words, “House of the Dragon” is (loosely) remaking its parent series’ most potent arc. And it makes perfect sense.
Like Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones, Rhaeynra is learning that being Queen is tougher than it looks in House of the Dragon
Even in fiction, history tends to repeat itself, but “House of the Dragon” is taking that concept to an even greater extreme. In fact, maybe certain characters in “Game of Thrones” would’ve been better off studying everything that went down a century or two earlier. Now that we’re seeing co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal’s interpretation of the events of “Fire & Blood,” well, the similarities are staring us right in the face. Season 3, Episode 3, makes that as overt as ever, and the results are both familiar and fascinating at once.
As it turns out, Dany wasn’t the first Queen of Westeros to realize that chasing after the Iron Throne might be a fool’s errand — no matter how much destiny and fate seems to will it so. Reality hits Rhaenyra square in the face almost from the moment she sits the throne. Last week’s execution of the show’s best character in Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) was only the start. What comes next is an endless stream of headaches and impossible problems to solve. Grain shortages, combative religious figures, unfathomably rich lords and ladies in need of a harsh lesson, and even a husband urging her to rule the world are just a taste of the troubles that Rhaenyra must somehow resolve. When her most trusted advisor in Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) all but spits in her face over her refusal to legitimize his two sons of less-than-noble birth, it’s made uncomfortably clear that we could be in for a chaotic regency along the lines of Dany’s misadventures in Meereen.
But all of that pales in comparison to her costliest mistakes yet.
Is House of the Dragon setting up a darker ending for Rhaenyra Targaryen?
As one villain infamously stated in “Game of Thrones,” “If you think this has a happy ending, you haven’t been paying attention.” Could those ominous words apply here with the prequel, taking place centuries before those events? Readers of George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” are well aware of how the Dance of the Dragons ultimately ends. In fact, those who’ve watched the original show are, too, considering that “Game of Thrones” already spoiled how “House of the Dragon” ends. Either way, the central tension of the show remains the same. Rhaenyra and her rival Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) have come too far to give up now. All that remains to be seen is how dark things get in the end.
By the looks of it in Season 3, that could be very dark. Episode 3 appears to be laying the track for some serious complications in the future for Team Black. While the bickering between Daemon (Matt Smith) and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) over how to handle the restless smallfolk of King’s Landing is played up multiple times, Rhaenyra may have set herself up for failure in other ways, too. Her tense run-in with the stubborn High Septon (Simon Chandler) might as well have a flashing neon light overhead spelling out “TROUBLE” in all-caps, but her metaphorical slap in the face to the city’s nobility during that banquet could loom even larger. In both cases, she seems to make enemies of the most powerful denizens of King’s Landing. There’s no way that ends well … right?
Is the Queen stronger than her subjects? Expect the rest of the season to explore this very question. New episodes of “House of the Dragon” air on HBO every Sunday.
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