Jul 06, 2026 11:15am IST
‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Episode 3 Review: A Bleeding Queen and Kingdom Herald Rhaenyra’s ‘Mad Queen’ Era
This review contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" Season 3 Episode 3, "Rhaenyra Triumphant."
The World of Ice and Fire does not give its queens a moment of respite, does it? HBO’s “House of the Dragon” Season 3 Episode 3 may be named “Rhaenyra Triumphant,” but both the title and the events of the episode seem to be mocking the victory. While Emma D’Arcy continues to deliver an awards-worthy performance, and Matt Smith looks like he is having way too much fun playing Daemon Targaryen (except when he hears about his BFF Simon Strong's death), the writing itself stumbles through some hits and misses.
The episode’s opening scene is a reminder that a Targaryen flanked by dragons is always a great idea. The scene, which could’ve been the opening for Season 3 had Season 2 originally gone with ten episodes, packs quite the punch. Daemon, flanked by Caraxes, Vermithor and Silvering, demands a surrender from Lord Ormund Hightower and his host. James Norton’s rizz is the perfect match for Smith’s as Daemon and this writer, along with other book fans, cannot wait for the next episode to centre him more fully, especially after his sneaky betrayal.
After battles and conquering in Episode 1 and Episode 2, making Episode 3 about the actual ruling of a kingdom that has been through a war strikes a good balance and lays the foundation for what’s to come. The treasuries and granaries are empty. The Gullet’s blockade has been lifted, but people don’t have any coin to buy necessities. The rich have hoarded food and supplies, and the poor have their cattle taken as dragon fodder. Even the rats are back, since King Aegon II had all the ratcatchers executed for the murder of his son, Prince Jaehaerys.
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The episode pushes Queen Rhaenyra to show up to the office and get to work. And that too, on her period. It’s an odd writing choice. One cannot help but wonder if it plays by the narrative rules of George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” and offers conflicting perspectives on every character. Is this an unreliable narrator’s perception of a female ruler as weak, emotional, and irrational? Or is it trying to show us just how much more difficult it is for women in the workplace to sit on an already uncomfortable throne because you can’t take a period leave from ruling a kingdom?
Even Rhaenyra’s teething troubles as a ruling queen are different than her brothers’. While both Aegon and Aemond had only to worry about the war, Rhaenyra had to listen to smallfolk’s petitions, keeping her promises to the dragonseeds Ulf and Hugh about knighting them and giving them riches and Lord Corlys Velaryon asking her to legitimise his bastard sons so Alynn can be his heir. For anyone who has read the books, the Corlys’ request feels out of time and place. But even for non-readers, the timing of it and his outburst of calling Rhaenyra’s sons bastards feels ridiculously timed and out of character.
If the High Septon not anointing Rhaenyra without proof of Aegon’s death wasn’t the beginning of her “Mad Queen” arc, her decision to serve dead rats to a banquet full of nobles and raid their hoarded supplies to distribute amongst the poor is sure going to be seen as cruel. Again, book readers know that every faction Rhaenyra antagonises will build up to what’s coming next for her. However, the show needs to be careful that her descent is not as steep as her descendant Daenerys’ was in “Game of Thrones.”
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Either way, D’Arcy’s dazed and haunted-by-ghosts Rhaenyra hits the mark. The way she alienates people with her silences, curt deliveries and what she thinks is mercy, the claustrophobia of being in the Red Keep with all the history and the shock on her face when she is betrayed… It’s all sold with great conviction.
Apart from the opening scene, this episode’s best moments are in the little things. Daemon and Rhaenyra’s bond, Mysaria’s attempts to make the nobility (mostly Daemon) see the troubles of the common people, and the episode’s final scene. The news from a dragon keeper about Lord Ormund Hightower’s breach of Tumbleton, as the discarded Green banners set to fire burn roaringly in Rhaenyra’s face, is a nice foreshadowing touch.
“House of the Dragon” has been known to make a lot of alterations to Martin’s writing, which makes it harder to guess where the season will go next and whether the choices it makes will seem logical and within character for its many key players. The Episode 4 sneak peek suggests a return to battle, so maybe it is time to gird your dragons once again.
"House of the Dragon" Season 3 is currently streaming on JioHotstar, with new episodes every Monday.
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