House of the Dragon director hints at plot shake-up ahead of Season 3 finale

If you thought House of the Dragon had already thrown everything at the wall—dragons, betrayals, melting family ties—think again. Season 3 is barrelling towards its finale next week and it looks like we’re in for some rather dramatic deviations from the actual Fire & Blood source material. You know, the 'history' bit everyone gets quite uppity about online. If you've been keeping up, yesterday's (2nd August) episode saw Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen finally cottoning on that Sheepstealer's secret rider is actually her own step-daughter-cum-cousin, Rhaena Targaryen. Family get-togethers on this show are never dull, but four dragons barrelling into a fiery quarrel does take the cake.

Which Bits Are Changing?

The big buzz this week is that director Nina Lopez-Corrado has come out and said: Season 3 will not be sticking entirely to the script—the George R.R. Martin script, that is. So if you're one of those fans who enjoys pausing the episode and checking the wiki mid-scene, now might be a good time to revisit your Fire & Blood notes.

Episode director Nina Lopez-Corrado told Entertainment Weekly: 'We do deviate just a little bit in episode 7 from what's originally in the books and, personally, from a character standpoint, what Ryan [Condal, showrunner] and the writers did in terms of that really helped evolve the character storylines from what were in the books [...] I know that's a very controversial thing to say for diehards, but I think some of the storylines that you're gonna see in 7 that'll carry on into 8 were really executed strongly by the writers and also by the actors.'

Translation: yes, things are about to get spicy for both camps—show-only viewers and the book loyalists who know every obscure Targaryen genealogy by heart.

All Eyes on Tumbleton (and Sunfyre)

If you've got any recollection of the Battle of Tumbleton (and honestly, if you don’t, you’re probably not alone), now’s your cue to swot up. Lopez-Corrado more or less told fans outright to 'start refreshing your memories for the Battle of Tumbleton'; the show’s teeing up not just one but two major fights in the innocent-sounding market town. Episode 7 sets the path: Lord Ormund Hightower—who’s holding Lord Corlys Velaryon prisoner, because why not—sidles up to Ulf the White with an offer he’ll struggle to refuse. In exchange for betraying team Rhaenyra, Ulf gets to be Lord of the Tides at Driftmark. Not exactly subtle, but then, nothing ever is with these people.

Lopez-Corrado's warning: 'Start refreshing your memories for the Battle of Tumbleton,' as both book and show are building towards not just one, but two massive battles in the town.

It’s not exactly breaking news that Ulf’s sense of being undervalued by Rhaenyra and Daemon has him seriously primed for a mid-war career change. A double-cross is more or less nailed on for Season 4.

But—as every good Targaryen war demands—there’s even more dragon mayhem in the pipeline. There’s a particularly nasty event looming at the Dragonpit in King’s Landing (more vision-hints courtesy of Helaena, who is rapidly replacing Melisandre as the resident cryptic-prophet). In the meantime, King Aegon II was finally reunited with Sunfyre, who’s battered but still burning after the Rook’s Rest skirmish. And, by all accounts, both Aegon and his scaly menace are going to be pivotal as the war gets bloodier. Best get used to the phrase 'fire and blood', as the show is saving a lot of it for Season 4.