House of the Dragon S 3 on Sky

[LobeliaBaggins]

Beginning June 22nd. Anyone else watching?
It's been so long since S2 that I had to do a quick rewatch!
Can't wait for the Battle of the Gullet, but may also have to watch through my fingers. ( I read the book so am forewarned)

Yes E 6, sorry.

I found Harrenhal boring last season and just as boring this season, with all the bumbling around in the dark. Aemond is best on Vhagar.

Agree Christon Cole is not a patch on the glorious Ramsay Bolton.
Did enjoy Vermithor cuddling with Silverwing.
James Norton appears to be enjoying himself chewing the scenery.
Such an irony that Alicent sent Daeron away to protect him, and he ended up being under Ormund's thumb instead. Interesting that he hates him though.

Can everyone stop watching so that, finally, GRR Martin finishes writing A Game of Thrones series. After all, if not for his readers making it popular back in the 90's -when he started writing them, then there wouldn't have been any TV series, or indeed, this offshoot.
Scared he'll do a Robert Jordan and die before finishing the series!

No - I’m sorry, those of you not taken beyond ecstasy by the discovery of what Alys has been guarding at Harrenhal must have no souls! 😄

I just wonder (full of grief) whether Ser Simon Strong knew what his castle housed. It’s so, so exciting!

I like what she was guarding but I just find Alys so dull and pompous. Are those Dreamfyre's eggs? I don't think Ser Simon knew.

One thing missing in HoD is the humour of GoT. The twinkle in the eye-so to speak- of Tyrion, Varys, Petyr Baelish even.

Will be watching today's episode later.

It’s true it’s all a bit dour, with a paucity of wit in the script.

But Freddie Fox is just naturally and hilariously side eye sardonic; Matt Smith cannot help bringing a cartoon element; Abubakar Salim is constantly baffled and bewildered - it’s impossible to imagine how Alyn has survived into adulthood. Most importantly Tom Glynn-Carney and Matthew Needham as King Aegon and Larys Strong are the comedy duo for the ages. Just outstanding. I’m not sure I ever laughed out loud during any season until they set out on their runaway road trip.

Actually, I’ve been wondering - why did Larys rescue him? I mean, he could have got himself far, far away much more easily without encumbrance. King Aegon didn’t look like a good bet - any sensible person would assume he was about to die. Aegon surely wasn’t worth risking one’s life for in the very vague hope of reward if he should be restored as king. So what is Larys intending? Is he himself planning to sell Aegon to the highest bidder as soon as it’s safe to do so?

Aemond despised Larys, so Larys wanted to befriend Aegon. And he wagered that the risk was worth taking.

Aegon and Varys are HotDs Hound & Arya! I love them together! The way that Varys just openly slags him off while Aegon accepts it is fabulous!

Now that was bloody excellent.

Fantastic.

(Absent a few nonsensical moments.)

Episode 7 was like receiving everything on your Christmas list. 😄

E 7 was fire! 😄

I predicted some of it as have read the books but not all.
Great scheming, dragons and twists!
Will discuss later in the week.
What a pity only 8 episodes rather than 10.

And Ep7 of The House that Dragons Built (the behind the scenes programme) is equally epic.

This is quite lol:

https://www.npr.org/2026/08/02/nx-s1-5896203/house-of-the-dragon-recap-season-3-episode-7

And this seems relevant:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/aug/05/getting-old-is-no-fun-game-of-thrones-author-george-rr-martin-speaks-out-about-depression-amid-further-book-delays

Right..E 7.

What I liked:

The dragon fight. So interesting to see the different dragons, each with their own personality. But was so sad to see Sheepstealer injured. I dont think he's dead.
Aegon's renaissance. I had read the book so I knew Sunfyre was alive. But it was still a fabulous scene.
Rhaenyra and Helaena's conversation. Both actresses fabulous.
Ormund wooing Ulf.

What I didn't like
Alicent's storyline. Is she going to sacrifice and kill all her sons? Olivia Cooke deserves better.
Aemond 's Oedipus complex.

What gets me about HOTD (which i really like) is that there are no really likeable characters - GOT had total dicks but it also had Tyrion, Davos, Brienne, Tormund, Bronn, etc who were all great fun to watch. HOTD has no-one like that.

Agree. They are all very dour and serious.

One thing that I do like is there is no female nudity and unnecessary sexualisation of women, unlike GoT.

But I really hate the Mysaria- Rhaenyra situationship, as the young call it.
It seems wholly unnecessary.
Also, how many times is Alys going to save Aemond?
Maybe he comes out full of rage in the finale.

Well, that finale was grim.
The departures from the book are not making any sense.
" The blood of old Valyria" is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
Can't believe we now have to wait two years before S 4!

I found it mostly fantastic.

What happened to Helaena made no sense to me. (And must surely have been a rather unrewarding role.)

If I’d been Olivia Cooke - and had read the script for this season - I’d have resigned. The writing for Alicent has been deeply disappointing across all eight episodes.

I am more and more in love with Aemon and Alys.

And who knew I would end this season thinking Aegon one of the best fictional characters ever?

(All the reviews I’m reading wail at the diversion from the written text. Having never read it I don’t have that disadvantage.)

Does anyone else think Olivia Cooke has a beautiful speaking voice?

Will discuss this episode later this week.

I’m going to miss going behind the scenes after every episode …

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26761151/

I got so so bored. Why did they waste Aemond fannying about in Harrenhal with spooky Alys (the least convincing character in the whole thing)?
The final battle was good.
As a PP said, there are no characters to root for at all. I don't care who sits on the Iron Throne. I probably won't watch the next series.

But Aemond has been re-born during his exile at Harrenhal.

I guess one might see it as frustrating - but otherwise he could only have carried on doing what he’d been doing before - swashbuckling and throwing his weight around. What they actually did with him was far more interesting. (Speaking as someone who had no previous knowledge of the story.)

Aegon’s rise from the almost dead (alongside his dragon) was even more exciting.

My thoughts on the finale. It was pretty much a mess.
Helaena's suicide was deeply unconvincing. In the book, she leaps off the ledge herself, because she has a third son who is killed. Here, it seemed too hasty.
Alicent's arc was such a waste. She did practically nothing this series.
I also hate Aemond and Alys's storyline.
They have been moping around that castle for the whole series! How on earth could he have been so badly injured by Simon Strong's wussy son?
And then the big reveal: Alys is Harren's wife of yore. No one cares.
Did not buy Rhaenyra forgiving Rhaena without even a word with her.
And Rhaenyra is really ridiculously obsessed with that prophecy.

What I did like: Matt Smith was on fire.
Tom Glynne-Carney too, rising from the dead. Though Aemond repenting was again deeply unconvincing. This is Aemond One- Eye, not Jon Snow. He's mad, bad and dangerous to know!
The little kids as shields were heartrending.
Foolish of both Daemon and Ormund to kick Ulf around, but ugh, he's so repulsive.
Are Gwayne Hightower and Daeron the only likable characters?

In re not caring who sits on the Iron Throne, that is very much the spirit of the book. It's not good versus evil. It's more " Everybody is evil, when it comes to power".

I don't know how I will stay mum on the fates of the characters for two years!

I am quite surprised that there are so few comments on here more than a week after the finale. Is no one watching?

Do we think Daemon's decision to.let Sheepstealer and Tessarion go will come back to bite him? ( pun intended).
Also, why the hell is Roderick Dustin so keen to die painfully for Rhaenyra? Excessively eager.

Possibly it lost viewers during earlier seasons?

This has been its best season for me - mostly because of The Aegon & Larys Show. But also Raena and her wild beast. And Aemond, wings clipped, becoming almost human, rather than a machine for destroying everyone who’s not him. That’s been an improvement.

And I’ll say again, one more time, the behind the scenes ‘how we made it’ series, with an episode after each main episode, has been a delight and helped me feel more invested in the production, as well as the story.