{"id":36983,"date":"2026-08-10T18:48:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:48:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36983"},"modified":"2026-08-10T18:48:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T13:48:27","slug":"got-fans-are-split-over-house-of-the-dragon-s3-finales-biggest-death-change-that-grrm-criticized","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=36983","title":{"rendered":"GOT Fans Are Split Over House Of The Dragon S3 Finale\u2019s Biggest Death Change That GRRM Criticized"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p><span class=\"article-alert\"><em><strong>Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 finale.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/db\/tv-show\/house-of-the-dragon\/\" target=\"_blank\">House of the Dragon<\/a><\/strong><\/em>&#8216;s season 3 finale has left fans divided.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p><em>House of the Dragon<\/em> is a prequel to HBO&#8217;s <em>Game of Thrones<\/em> series, adapted from George R.R. Martin&#8217;s epic fantasy novel series. It follows the Targaryens as they fight for power amongst themselves over who deserves a place on the Iron Throne. The spinoff stars Emma D&#8217;Arcy, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, James Norton, Phia Saban, Ewan Mitchell, and Tom Glynn-Carney. Now, House of the Dragon season 3 has concluded, and not everyone is happy.<\/p>\n<p><em>House of the Dragon<\/em> season 3 has aired its finale episode, and it&#8217;s clear that the fanbase is extremely divided regarding a major book change involving the <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-finale-helaena-death-rhaenyra-villain-ryan-condal-emma-darcy\/\" target=\"_blank\">tragic death of Helaena Targaryen<\/a> (played by Phia Saban). In a now-deleted blog post by author Martin, he criticized the series&#8217; showrunner, Ryan Condal, for cutting the character Prince Maelor, as well as how they wrote Helaena&#8217;s death by stating, &#8220;<em>Helaena still kills herself\u2026 for no particular reason. There is no fresh horror, no triggering event to overwhelm the fragile young queen<\/em>.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Helaena is supposed to have three children in the original novel, <em>Fire &amp; Blood<\/em>. Her youngest son, Maelor, was never shown and was only seen through the pregnancy in season 3, and in the novel was ripped apart to death by a mob trying to gain Rhaenyra&#8217;s (played by D&#8217;Arcy) favor. This then causes Helaena to commit suicide, which is the true reason the <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/who-dies-in-house-of-the-dragon-season-3\/\" target=\"_blank\">Targaryen princess meets a tragic end<\/a>. However, Helaena doesn&#8217;t get to the end of her pregnancy before dying, leaving the internet to react to the shocking and heartbreaking end.<\/p>\n<p> Some fans weren&#8217;t upset over Helaena&#8217;s ending and actually stated, &#8220;<em>Helaena did the right thing. Helaena was never going to be truly free and would have had no choice but to wait for her son to be born before eventually being slaughtered. But what Helaena did not only hurt the Blacks, it also took away their greatest leverage over the Greens<\/em>.&#8221; They also added:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Helaena died pregnant, knowing that her son would be a boy who would be a victim and a pawn in a game she didn&#8217;t want him to be part of, she chose not to live any longer and to save him, knowing she couldn&#8217;t protect Jahaera, she chose to protect him.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>However, not all fans agreed with how Condal and the <a href=\"https:\/\/screenrant.com\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-4-aegon-aemond-targaryen-book-story-changes\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>House of the Dragon<\/em><\/a> writers decided to conclude Helaena&#8217;s tragic life by stating, &#8220;<em>I hate how Ryan and Sarah wrote her death because it made absolutely no sense. As a season finale, it left me completely indifferent, and I was someone who really loved this character, yet I just felt nothing about it because of how badly it was written<\/em>.&#8221; Another fan agreed and added the sentiment:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>They took away all her agency regarding how desperately she wanted to protect and keep her children safe this season in this single scene. They contradicted her choice to fight for her baby\u2019s life in 3&#215;05 in this single scene. They could\u2019ve done so much more with her. I\u2019m livid. Single-handedly the most bulls**t ending for Helaena. I\u2019m so angry for her and for Phia.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em><strong>House of the Dragon<\/strong><\/em> season 3 is available to watch on HBO Max.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card type-screen large\" data-show-streamrentbuy-links=\"true\" data-include-community-rating=\"true\" id=\"e47e-4bf7-b0e143b128be\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"display-card-main-content\">\n<div class=\"display-card-content image-column\">\n<p>                        <!--    Rating block community and brand ratings --><br \/>\n                        <!--  Image --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-img  has-image-group\" data-stnl=\"%7B%22category%22%3A%22Click%20Interactions%22%2C%22name%22%3A%22Tag%20Display%20Card%22%2C%22action%22%3A%22Fullscreen%20Image%20Load%22%2C%22once%22%3Atrue%7D\" data-stnl-group-once=\"JHNrcEnlY9\">\n<div class=\"body-img portrait \">\n<div class=\"responsive-img  img-article-square\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg\" data-modal-id=\"single-image-modal\" data-modal-container-id=\"single-image-modal-container\" data-img-caption=\"&quot;&quot;\">\n                                                                                                                                                            <picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=300&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=400&amp;dpr=2\"\/><source media=\"(max-width: 1023px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=320&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img width=\"960\" height=\"1440\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/sharedimages\/2026\/06\/house-of-the-dragon-poster.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=contain&amp;w=480&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>                        <!-- User Rating widget --><\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"display-card-content info-column\">\n                                                                                                                            <!--  Display card tags widget --><\/p>\n<p>                                                <!--  Display card community and brand rating widget --><br \/>\n                                                                <!--  Display card main info widget --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-info main-info\">\n<dl>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Release Date<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 21, 2022<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Network<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHBO<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<p><dt>\n                                            <strong>Directors<\/strong>\n                                        <\/dt>\n<dd>\n                                            <span><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tClare Kilner, Geeta Patel<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t<\/span>\n                                        <\/dd>\n<\/p>\n<\/dl><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card main info widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!--  Display card media widget start --><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!--  Display card media widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Cast widget start --><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-cast\">\n<ul class=\"cast-tab-list\">\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Matt Smith In The UK premiere of Sky series 'House of the Dragon'\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/instar53838673.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/instar53838673.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"cast-tab full-width\">\n                                                                                <img width=\"100\" height=\"130\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Headshot Of Fabien Frankel In The World premiere of \u2018House Of The Dragon\u2019 \" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/instar53816215.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/instar53816215.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=50&amp;h=65&amp;dpr=2\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-cast-info flex\">\n<p>Fabien Frankel<\/p>\n<p>\n                                                    Ser Criston Cole\n                                                <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>                                        <!-- Cast widget end --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch button preview --><\/p>\n<p>                    <!-- Where to watch preview end --><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>            <!-- Extra content section, display hidden 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House of the Dragon is a prequel to HBO&#8217;s Game of Thrones series, adapted from George R.R. Martin&#8217;s epic fantasy novel series. It follows the Targaryens as they fight for power amongst themselves over&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36984,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static0.srcdn.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/rhaenyra-targaryen-looking-up-in-house-of-the-dragon-season-2.jpg?w=1600&h=900&fit=crop","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}