{"id":658,"date":"2026-07-06T07:31:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:31:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=658"},"modified":"2026-07-06T07:31:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T02:31:04","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-season-3-episode-3-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=658","title":{"rendered":"\u2018House of the Dragon\u2019 Season 3 Episode 3 Recap"},"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>\n<p>Your Grace, the dragonseed riders have not been compensated. Your Grace, somebody removed every coin in the treasury\u2026somewhere we can\u2019t find. Your Grace, the granaries are dry and your subjects, the people of King\u2019s Landing, starve. Your Grace! (No tallow for Red Keep candles) Your Grace! (No designated Queensguard) Your Grace! (No end to claims against the royal tipple). A fidgety, frustrated Rhaenyra looks down at a rat burrowing beside the Iron Throne. He\u2019s probably getting ready to ask Her Grace for something, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.87319885;display:block\" width=\"650\" height=\"347\" alt=\"HOTD, Rhaenyra fidgets on Iron Throne\" class=\"wp-image-2095508 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Rhaenyra_fidgets.gif?w=300 300w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Rhaenyra_fidgets.gif?w=640 640w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Rhaenyra_fidgets.gif?w=650 650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">HBO<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But no, he\u2019s just one of many rats scurrying in the Red Keep. For one thing, Aegon II hanged all the ratcatchers, so they must hire new ones. (Your Grace!) But for another, the rats are a reminder of months of deadly scurrying across half of Westeros. Team Black has taken King\u2019s Landing, and Rhaenyra is <a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2026\/06\/28\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-episode-2-recap\/\">finally queen<\/a>, but she\u2019s still contested on all sides. She knows peace neither in the streets nor in her own castle. The business of being queen sucks enough that Rhaenyra, seeking advice, visits the Keep\u2019s house arrest wing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou may not rule and remain yourself,\u201d Alicent says. \u201cThere is a door within you that must shut.\u201d It\u2019s a conversation between two people at the center of power, threaded with years\u00a0 of their shared experience in these very walls. And Alicent is the only one who can tell Rhaenyra that she is being naive. Her notion to rule as Viserys I would have wished ignores how Ol\u2019 V, Rhaenyra\u2019s father and Alicent\u2019s husband, self-insulated from the realm\u2019s realest problems.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.87319885;display:block\" width=\"650\" height=\"347\" alt=\"HOTD, Ormund Hightower bends the knee to Daemon\/Team Black\" class=\"wp-image-2095509 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_OrmundHightower.gif?w=300 300w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_OrmundHightower.gif?w=640 640w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_OrmundHightower.gif?w=650 650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">HBO<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Would Rhaenyra choose the harsher, more Imperial path urged by Daemon? The Rogue Prince has secured fealty from Lord Ormund Hightower and his vast Greens host \u2014 Ormund even turned over a silver-haired boy, Alicent\u2019s youngest son with Viserys, who was warded out to his Oldtown cousins while still a toddler. Daemon urges Rhaenyra to slay this Daeron Targaryen immediately as a claimant to the throne. It would further secure her position. \u201cYou\u2019ve come so far, yet you still don\u2019t know who you are.\u201d With more dragons than even Aegon the Conqueror ever had, Daemon tells her, \u201cYou have an empire unassailable.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.87319885;display:block\" width=\"650\" height=\"347\" alt=\"HOTD, Daemon talking to Rhaenyra\" class=\"wp-image-2095506 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Daemon.gif?w=300 300w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Daemon.gif?w=640 640w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_Daemon.gif?w=650 650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">HBO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rhaenyra, still unaware of Rhaena Targaryen\u2019s role in the <a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2026\/06\/21\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-episode-1-recap\/\">Battle of the Gullet<\/a>, will send Daemon to find Sheepstealer \u201cand its rider\u201d in the Vale. He is also to collect tribute in coin from Lady Jeyne Arryn. (That should all be very interesting!) And in King\u2019s Landing, Rhaenyra holds a banquet. Gathered are wealthy merchants, lesser noble families \u2014 and a garrulous Ser Torrhen Manderly (<a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/tag\/dan-fogler\/\">Dan Fogler<\/a>) \u2014 but they are served rancid rats and horsehair beans. For this is what the Smallfolk ate during the blockade, when the richies hoarded all of KL\u2019s resources for themselves. \u201cWhat the crown demands of you\u201d \u2014 she tells them the new news \u2014 \u201cis not plunder but a duty.\u201d The queen then scores points with the locals during a public redistribution of ripe produce and fresh loaves.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.87319885;display:block\" width=\"650\" height=\"347\" alt=\"HOTD, Chalices raised with Rhaenyra at head of table\" class=\"wp-image-2095507 lazyload\" srcset=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_toast.gif?w=300 300w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_toast.gif?w=640 640w, https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/HOTD_toast.gif?w=650 650w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 650px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"> <span class=\"credit\">HBO <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Rhaenyra admits these are small measures in service of her larger remit to rule the realm, but what she will not admit is just how in her head she has truly gotten. Rhaenyra has fallen on black days. She sees the slain Jacaerys Velaryon walking through Red Keep corridors. She cannot sleep in the royal bed chamber; too many ghosts in the room. And when Lord Corlys asks his queen to bless Alyn and Addam as his issue \u2014 \u201cLet them now be Velaryons\u201d \u2014 she balks. Rhaenyra has grown obsessed with proving the legitimacy of her rule, but it\u2019s registering as paranoia. Corlys calls this out; like Alicent, he has earned the right. \u201cYou\u2019re ashamed!\u201d the Sea Snake declares. His sons, a mix of noble and common blood, are bastards unworthy of title? Well, Rhaenyra\u2019s sons \u2014 the two dead ones plus little Joffrey Valaryon, now her declared heir \u2014 are bastards, too.<\/p>\n<p>The queen is wanted at the gates. A bloodied dragontender has appeared. He is a survivor of a furious attack on Tumbleton, a merchant city in the nearby Reach. Wait, what army attacked? And with what dragon? And in real time, Rhaenyra learns the scant peace her victory secured was itself bullshit. Ormund Hightower\u2019s surrender was a lie. His host sacked Tumbleton and the city is now Greens-occupied. Worse, Ormund\u2019s surrender of \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/decider.com\/2026\/07\/05\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-episode-3-ending-explained-who-is-daeron-targaryen\/\">Daeron Targaryen<\/a>\u201d was also a lie. The silver-haired boy currently in Team Black custody is an imposter forced into the role, while the real Daeron is apparently still fighting for Team Green on Tessarion, his blue-winged dragon. Your Grace! What will you do now? \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hot D\u2019s for <\/strong><strong><em>House of the Dragon<\/em><\/strong><strong> Season 3 Episode 3:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>To Daemon, the very dawn could be theirs to rule. Check out the geographic reach and George RR Martin lore of his imperialism. Using their dragons, Team Black would conquer Essos and the Free Cities. Take Yi Ti, thousands of miles away, and its riches. \u201cThey say there is a city at the edge of the world where men have wings.\u201d Daemon would have these legends also serve Rhaenyra\u2019s rule.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In her consultation with Alicent, Rhaenyra accepted her advice. Declare Aegon dead. It\u2019s easier than locating the scarred, near-unrecognizable usurper, and if he does resurface, she can claim him an imposter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rhaenyra\u2019s subordinate dragonriders are also officially knighted. Ulf the White, Hugh Hammer, and Addam of Hull. (not Velaryon, natch.) But some of those guys still haven\u2019t been paid, and they\u2019ve got gripes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>And another dude not on board with Rhaenyra\u2019s rule is the high septon, Balman (Simon Chandler). His refusal to anoint her within the faith is an indictment of how she got there, her entire ruling project. \u201cMy gods do not deal in dragons. They are a profane magic created in darkness and pride and lust for power, for impunity. They destroy, but they do not create. There is no good that can come of them.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Johnny Loftus (<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/johnnyloftus.bsky.social\"><em>@johnnyloftus.bsky.social<\/em><\/a><em>) is a Chicago-based writer. A veteran of the alternative weekly trenches, his work has also appeared in Entertainment Weekly, Pitchfork, The All Music Guide, and The Village Voice<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/plain\" class=\"optanon-category-C0023\">\n\t(function(d, s, id) {\n\t\tvar js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];\n\t\tif (d.getElementById(id)) return;\n\t\tjs = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;\n\t\tjs.src = \"\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js#xfbml=1&appId=823934954307605&version=v2.8\";\n\t\tfjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);\n\t}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your Grace, the dragonseed riders have not been compensated. Your Grace, somebody removed every coin in the treasury\u2026somewhere we can\u2019t find. Your Grace, the granaries are dry and your subjects, the people of King\u2019s Landing, starve. Your Grace! (No tallow for Red Keep candles) Your Grace! (No designated Queensguard) Your Grace! (No end to claims&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":659,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/decider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hotd-303-rhaenyra-worried.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-658","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658","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=658"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=658"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=658"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=658"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}