Who’s Who in House of the Dragon Season 3: The Ultimate Guide to Every Main Character

So, if you’re still licking your wounds from that Game of Thrones ending (aren’t we all?), you’ve probably noticed HBO is deep in damage control mode – and making solid progress. After the prequel series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms made an unexpectedly big splash this winter, all eyes are now on House of the Dragon as it lurches toward Season 3. The long and short of it: after a sophomore season that felt a bit like a warm-up lap rather than an all-out sprint, the bloodiest part of Westeros' Targaryen civil war is right around the corner. HBO seems to be betting hard that you’ll stick around for the carnage.

The Set-Up: Season 2’s Slow Burn

Let’s be honest, Season 2 didn’t exactly fly through George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood. It dragged its heels, roped off a big battle for the start of next season, and mostly set up dominoes for a pay-off later. But now, all those hints are about to pay off: Season 3 should open with a pretty major brawl that’ll shove the story full throttle into the infamous Targaryen “Dance of the Dragons” – aka, an all-hands (and claws) on deck civil war.

Team Black: Rhaenyra’s Crew

If you like rooting for the reluctant revolutionary, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) is your ticket. The late King Viserys named her his heir, but politics being what they are (and this being Westeros), that promise is hanging by a thread. Rhaenyra keeps trying to take the high road – she even sneaks into King’s Landing to try talking things out with her old friend/rival Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Spoilers: that goes about as well as you’d think, but it does eventually lead to some surprising olive branches.

Rhaenyra isn’t all peace and slow talks, though. She finally starts embracing her badass side, hosting the Sowing at Dragonmont (think: dragon-rider recruiting day for anyone with Targaryen blood desperate enough to try). She pulls together a more credible fighting force, her husband/loose cannon Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) re-finds his motivation, and things are almost set for her big play on King’s Landing. Then, in the kind of twist only this show can pull, Alicent swings by Dragonstone to straight-up hand over the Iron Throne – on the condition Rhaenyra will accept Aegon getting thrown to the wolves.

Meanwhile, Daemon spends most of Season 2 at Harrenhal (that notoriously cursed hulk of a castle), throwing his weight around and getting toyed with by Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who is either a random wet nurse, an actual sorceress, or some mix of both. In a genuinely wild moment, he starts tripping on visions of the future: Night King, Three-Eyed Raven, Dany and her dragons – basically the showrunners doing a neon-sign 'Hey, remember the old show?'

Not to be outdone, Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), aka ‘Sea Snake,’ is back in naval action. He rebuilds the storied Velaryon fleet, almost bails on Team Black after his wife Rhaenys gets herself roasted in battle at Rook’s Rest, but ends up getting promoted to Hand of the Queen for his trouble.

The next generation isn’t slacking off either. Rhaenyra’s teen son Prince Jacaerys Velaryon ("Jace") spends the season collecting allies, including recruiting House Stark (so, yes, Winterfell’s officially back in play) and making friends with Cregan Stark (Tom Taylor). Jace also pops by The Twins to talk terms with House Frey – centuries before they started organizing surprise murders at dinner parties.

Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) – Jace’s fiancée – is out scouting Team Green. Her sister, Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), is still missing her own dragon but, rumor has it (if you know Fire & Blood), she may soon tame Sheepstealer, thanks to an adapted version of the Nettles storyline. For once, book fans are almost as in the dark as everyone else.

Under Rhaenyra’s banner, you’ve got this roster of heavy-hitters:

• Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy)
• Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith)
• Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint)
• Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett)
• Princess Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia)
• Princess Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell)

Team Green: Aegon’s Gang (and Family Drama)

On the other side, King Aegon Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) is technically sitting the throne, but things haven’t gone great lately. His dragon Sunfyre is out of commission thanks to a brutal skirmish at Rook’s Rest (which, get this, was partly orchestrated by his own ambitious brother Aemond), and Aegon himself is barely limping around after some severe burns.

While Aegon heals, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) grabs the regency and uses his own beast, the ancient dragon Vhagar, to torch any unfortunate village that backs Team Black (pour one out for Sharp Point). He also tries bullying his sister Helaena (Phia Saban) into throwing her dragon into the fight, but Helaena is clearly done with all this – probably because she’s already seen in her dreams how Aemond’s demise goes down.

The journey to villainy keeps going: Aegon kicks his grandfather Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) to the curb as Hand, giving that promotion to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Meanwhile, slippery Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) whispers in Aegon’s ear and encourages his escape route to Braavos as everything falls apart.

Queen Alicent Hightower spends most of the season having regrets. She gets axed from the Small Council thanks to Aemond, directly witnesses the consequences of her scheming (including the infamous ‘Blood and Cheese’ disaster that killed Helaena’s young son Jaehaerys), and ends up face-to-face with Rhaenyra, asking her to spare the few family members she has left. It’s not quite redemption, but it’s a rare moment of honesty in this blood feud.

Then there’s more palace intrigue: Alicent's brother Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) joins Ser Criston in muscling vassal houses into switching sides and leads a march on Harrenhal. Elsewhere, Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) travels overseas to Tyrosh and gets the Triarchy navy into Aegon's corner, bonding with Admiral Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) and setting up an epic collision with the Velaryon fleet.

New Arrivals for Season 3: The Most Hyped Mystery Yet

Book lovers have been fussing for ages about one missing Targaryen on the show: Prince Daeron, Alicent and Viserys’ youngest. Despite being name-dropped multiple times across two seasons, Daeron hasn’t officially shown up yet (and HBO’s been suspiciously quiet about who’ll play him). What we do know: he’s been fostered in Oldtown with House Hightower, and he’s apparently just as skilled with a sword as with a lute – 'stalwart' and 'clever' is how the fam describes him. His dragon, Tessarion, debuted as a silhouette flying above the Hightower army in the Season 2 finale, hinting Daeron’s going to be a big deal in Season 3. In the books, he’s basically Team Green’s clutch player when it matters most.

Some other newcomers are primed to shake up the board next season, but as of now, HBO isn’t spilling much about specific casting or plot changes. If you’re a spoiler hunter, now’s the time to start digging for leaks.

Looking Ahead

If you made it through Season 2 feeling like the show was holding back, get ready – all those moving pieces are finally about to crash into each other. The war for Westeros is just getting started, and this time it actually looks like the dragons (and people) mean business.

Gwayne describes Daeron as 'stalwart' and 'clever.' He's as skillful with a lute as he is with a sword.

One thing’s for sure: however you feel about the last few Thrones spin-offs, House of the Dragon Season 3 is out of warmup mode. Let’s hope HBO keeps its foot on the gas.