Tom’s Guide Verdict: “House of the Dragon” season 3 premiere
- Rating: 4/5 Stars
- Verdict: “House of the Dragon” heard the cries for more battles and more dragons, and delivered an epic battle in this season 3 premiere. It finally made it feel like anyone and everyone could die in Westeros again. I just wish we had gotten to the battle quicker.
- Premiere date/time: Out now
- Channel: HBO and streaming on HBO Max
Tonight’s “House of the Dragon” season 3 premiere had one job: wash away the stench of season 2. The season 2 finale (all the way back in August 2024!) felt like it was building towards a major showdown… only to pull the rug out from under us with a cliffhanger ending. People felt cheated, and suddenly, there was concern that the show and franchise as a whole had lost their way.
Having nearly two years to sit in those bad vibes didn’t help. And when “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” arrived this year to critical acclaim, it felt like “House of the Dragon” had been eclipsed.
After tonight, though, I think we can put our concerns to rest. Or, at least, lock them in a room in Dragonstone for the time being. Tonight’s season 3 premiere wasn’t perfect, and frankly, it would have worked so much better as the finale of season 2. But it delivered epic battles on dragonback and brought back the expectation that anyone and everyone can die in Westeros.
Malcolm McMillan
Malcolm has been with Tom’s Guide since 2022 and thinks that reading A Wiki of Ice and Fire might be better than reading George R.R. Martin’s books.
Spoilers ahead for “House of the Dragon” season 3 premiere
‘House of the Dragon’ season 2 should have ended with this battle
At the end of season 2, everyone seems set to converge for a major battle.
That’s where the season 3 premiere picks up. Daemon (Matt Smith) is fighting the Lannisters with the Rivermen. Ormund Hightower (James Norton) is on his way to King’s Landing to aid Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), who has deposed his brother Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). And a Triarchy fleet led by Lohar is on a collision course with Corlys Velaryon’s (Steve Toussaint) fleet in the Gullet, not far from Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) is planning to take King’s Landing with the help of the former queen consort Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
Unfortunately, we spend a good chunk of the episode going over this, and that’s because the show thinks we need to. It’s been nearly two years since the end of season 2, and there’s only so much you can fit into a “Previously on …”
Maybe there were budgetary concerns as well (60 minutes of fighting is more expensive than 30, after all) but it didn’t feel like Ryan Condol and company cheaped out on this episode. We got the appearance of numerous dragons outside of the Gullet, and those cost just as much as any battle.
Had this been the season 2 finale, I think that the show could have devoted the entire episode to the epic battle in the Gullet, similar to what “Game of Thrones” did in “Blackwater.” If it had done that, I’d have been hard-pressed not to declare the episode a five out of five. The fighting is well choreographed, there are some epic one-on-one battles, and we see some major character deaths. Plus, there are three dragons fighting in the Gullet, one of which goes down into the depths, never to return, and another that is out of control, burning friend and foe alike.
In short, it’s exactly the choreographed chaos we love in a Westerosi battle. While the climactic death of Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon (Harry Collett) doesn’t hit as hard as the showrunners would probably have liked, Lohar’s demise is satisfying to watch. Now the question remains: Can this show deliver more of the same as season 3 goes on?
Verdict: Anyone can die in ‘House of the Dragon,’ and this season seems set on proving that
My favorite aspect of this episode was that, while watching it, I felt that basically anyone and everyone could die. Those in King’s Landing, as well as Ormund’s army, felt safe (for now), but just about everyone else felt in peril, even those fighting far from the Battle of the Gullet.
That’s one of the things we came to love from “Game of Thrones,” and part of why the final seasons of that show were a bit underwhelming. George R.R. Martin sets the expectations that he will kill his darlings on a whim, and your fan-favorite characters will never be safe. I’m just hoping that by the end of season 3, we have quite a few more dramatic deaths to add to the list.
Stream “House of the Dragon” on HBO Max now
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