‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 2 Episode 3 Review – No Turning Back Now

If episode two of season two of ‘House of the Dragon‘ was the train losing control, episode three was the complete derailment. It’s very obvious, by the end of this episode; that there is no turning back. If you thought that there was ever a possibility of this ending without bloodshed, throw that hopefulness out the door. I mean, it’s House of the Dragon; that was never going to happen anyway.

Slight Spoilers

While not as action-packed as episode two, a lot of important events occurred in this episode. Too many to name and besides, we don’t want to spoil too much. But, you can feel the tension in the air. What’s always interesting in this world, and honestly in real life as well; are all the components of war. Even as the two figureheads of this war muse over the possible next steps, the wheels are already turning. Rhaenys Targaryen is truly the wisest one out of the whole show because she literally can not only predict what’s going to happen, but perfectly sums up the bloodbath that is almost engrained in humans that causes them to even want to go to war.

A few moments to point out. One is how different things are on Team Black and Team Green. You have Rhaenyra, who not only is still dealing with Lucerys’ death; but has to make sacrifices in regards to her family due to the upcoming war. She’s saddened, she touches her loved ones whenever she gets a chance, and you can feel the genuine love between everyone.

It’s so unlike Team Green. Not only does everyone speak to each other as if they aren’t even family, but it’s just awkward – like the interactions with Helaena and Alicent. Or downright cruel like with Aegon and Aemmond. The only time you really feel there’s any sort of familial connection is between Alicent and her brother; further solidifying the Hightowers’ participation in this war between Targaryens.

Daemon’s Scenes Stood Out

The other is the Daemon-centric moments in this episode. Not only was the scene between him and Simon Strong a nice break from the intensity of the story, but we can’t not talk about THAT scene. Bringing Milly Alcock back for a hallucination scene was genius and we’re not going to dive too much into the symbolism and meaning behind that scene. There’s many videos out there already dissecting it, so we definitely suggest checking those out. However, we do want to say that Matt Smith did a phenomenal job in that scene and his time in Harranhal as a whole was really poignant.

Alicent Now Knows the Truth…But, It Doesn’t Matter

Of course, the big moment everyone is talking about is the ending between Alicent and Rhaenyra. As the viewer, we can chalk up the entire Dance of the Dragons to Alicent misinterpreting Viserys’ final words. And the fact that the Targaryens can’t help, but name every kid Aegon. However, while this scene can seem to be a bit of fan service, there’s a lot behind this scene. Showing the diconomy between Rhaenyra and Alicent, we know now that not only is there no going back, but that Rhaenyra and Alicent’s once friendship will never be salvageable. If you thought there was a chance of that in season one, forget about it. The show already changed things from the book by even making Alicent and Rhaenyra friends, but we personally feel that makes the war even more tragic.

What’d you think of episode three of House of the Dragon season 2? It’s only going to get crazier from here!