House of the Dragon’s big book change finally pays off

If you’ve stuck with House of the Dragon this far, you’ll know it’s been a bumpy journey of peaks and lulls, but Season 3 is finally picking up steam again. The latest episode, 'Rhaenyra Triumphant,' actually lives up to the name—at least in terms of focus—even if not everyone on screen is feeling terribly triumphant about anything.

This one is almost entirely told from Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s point of view. Not something this show tries all that often, which is odd given George R.R. Martin’s books are all about perspective. Martin himself has actually had a whinge about the show veering away from 'Fire & Blood,' so getting a taste of the books’ style isn’t the worst thing, if you ask me.

The Curious Case of Rhaena Targaryen (And Where Nettles Went)

Now, if you are a book-reader, you’ll start to notice something a bit odd with how the show is handling Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), the daughter of Daemon (Matt Smith) and stepdaughter to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). All the dragon antics Rhaena gets up to? That’s actually a borrowed storyline—borrowed from a character called Nettles in the novel. In 'Fire & Blood,' Nettles is this no-name girl without a drop of Valyrian blood, but somehow ends up riding the dragon Sheepstealer thanks to some serious tenacity and, frankly, brass. In the book, you get a gang of so-called 'dragonseeds' (i.e., non-Targaryens who can ride dragons)—Nettles, Addam of Hull, Hugh Hammer, and Ulf White—who all sign on to help Queen Rhaenyra in her war.

The showrunners, for reasons that haven’t always seemed obvious, decided to roll Nettles’ part into Rhaena. Which, yes, does mean we miss out on one of the few non-Targaryen dragon-riders. Seems a bit of a wasted opportunity to challenge the whole 'dragon-riding is a Targaryen-only club' idea. Especially when Daemon himself could use a bit of shaking up on that front. But here we are—all eyes on Rhaena.

Across the Narrow Sea, Things Get Messy

Rhaena’s big moment comes at the Battle of the Gullet. In the series, she goes in riding Sheepstealer (nod to book-Nettles again). But, instead of everything going swimmingly, Rhaena loses control of the beast. Sheepstealer ends up torching Rhaenyra’s own ships. Not great optics. It gets worse: her brother Jace (Harry Collett) gets distracted just long enough for the enemy to shoot his dragon full of iron, sending both of them for a swim they’re not climbing out of.

In short: Rhaena’s actions, whether she meant to or not, end up indirectly causing the death of Rhaenyra’s firstborn son. That’s a hefty bit of guilt for anyone to lug around, never mind with a dragon breathing down your neck.

So what does she do? Flees to the Vale, holes up in a cave, and wants absolutely nothing to do with anyone for a while. Daemon tracks her down after visiting Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin)—using those famous Targaryen people skills to convince Rhaena to come back. She flat-out refuses. Rhaenyra, she reckons, will never forgive her.

This is where things get even more tangled. Rhaenyra starts hunting for whoever rode Sheepstealer—she wants answers and probably a head or two. Daemon, instead of clearing it up, tells a flat-out porky: he says he killed the rogue rider, and the dragon legged it. Not the smartest family therapy I’ve seen, but this is Westeros; honesty’s never been the Targaryen strong suit.

'Sheepstealer’s rider is dead, and the dragon’s vanished. That’s all she needs to know for now.'

Why This Dodgy Cover-up Matters (And What’s Coming for the Strained Targaryens)

The writers look to be setting up a proper wedge between Daemon and Rhaenyra. Good move in terms of drama, given that in the books, Daemon and Nettles (the original), end up with a close, slightly ambiguous relationship—one that gets Rhaenyra all kinds of suspicious once it’s stoked by her spymaster, Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno).

With Rhaena now in that 'book-Nettles' slot, there’s suddenly a strong reason for Queen Rhaenyra to hold a grudge: blaming her for Jace’s death. Meanwhile, this sets up a string of possible scenes where Daemon and Rhaena actually interact as father and daughter—in previous seasons, she’s been left hanging story-wise, only defined by wanting a dragon. Now she’s got one, and promptly vanished herself into self-exile at the very first real consequence. There’s your character arc—and, frankly, about time.

Where All This Leaves Us (And Who’s Left Standing)

• Emma D’Arcy: Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen
• Matt Smith: Prince Daemon Targaryen
• Phoebe Campbell: Rhaena Targaryen
• Harry Collett: Jace (dearly departed, but relevant for this arc)
• Amanda Collin: Lady Jeyne Arryn
• Sonoya Mizuno: Mysaria
• Clinton Liberty: Addam of Hull
• Kieran Bew: Hugh Hammer
• Tom Bennett: Ulf White

There are four episodes left in Season 3—which honestly doesn’t feel like quite enough to sort out all this fallout. New episodes are still coming out Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max. Expect the fourth season to be the final curtain, as confirmed by the network.