House of the Dragon' episode 3

King Viserys has had enough with politics in 'House of the Dragon.' Here's our recap on Sunday night's episode on HBO.

The stag is screaming bloody murder the whole time, which is a little bit of a buzzkill. Laenor also arrives on the back of a white dragon, burning a whole host of the enemy’s army alive. Faking a surrender, the prince marches out to the middle of the battlefield and slays nearly 20 of the Crabfeeder's men on his own, before he's clipped by flying arrows. Ser Vaemond doesn't believe in Daemon and his dragon to get the job done, but Laenor plots to use Daemon as bait to draw the Crabfeeder's men out. "Was I named heir to the Iron Throne so that I might only further raise the standing of a lord of Casterly Rock?" Trying to console the king, Lord Strong reminds him that the previous King Jaehaerys was driven to the edge of madness by his daughters as well. The king is in a drunken-no-more-fake-friends tantrum. Outside of Craghas the Crabfeeder—the man who has crabs eat people alive on the beaches of the Stepstones!?—the realm is now a relatively safe place. Tyland is a political strategist in the king's court, while Jason is the lord of a castle in the west, called Casterly Rock. If a raven hasn't delivered the message to you yet, [House of the](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a36342276/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-game-of-thrones-prequel/) [ Dragon](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a36342276/house-of-the-dragon-hbo-game-of-thrones-prequel/) doubled its massive viewership numbers last Sunday from roughly 10 million viewers—to over 25 million. House of the Dragon may not have all the dragons it promised us just yet, but it certainly has drama. Like it or not, House of the Dragon Episode Three begins with a time jump.

House of the Dragon is based on George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, which was mostly a straight recounting of Targaryen history. But Game of Thrones' ...

Only the gods ( [and book readers](https://www.polygon.com/23057740/read-fire-blood-house-of-the-dragon)) may know. [Aegon the Conqueror’s dream from episode 1](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/23289499/house-of-the-dragon-aegon-conqueror-prophecy-ice-and-fire-game-of-thrones), is a step back toward the more supernatural world of Thrones. The book itself is a fairly dry recounting of the events as told How to read the moment (or even how she reads the moment) is opaque, by design. It is, as one of the helpers holding it in place so the king may kill it notes, still a “big lad,” but the animal is not white. At a hunting party thrown in honor of Prince Aegon’s second birthday, many push for Aegon to be next in line (him being the firstborn son of King Viserys), while others insist [the throne is still Rhaenyra’s](https://www.polygon.com/23321956/house-of-the-dragon-episode-2-review) (being [the actual firstborn and named heir](https://www.polygon.com/game-of-thrones/23058669/house-of-the-dragon-cast-characters-story-fire-and-blood-targaryens)).

This slow-burn episode of House Of The Dragon is Game Of Thrones as we know it – for better or worse – but the Targaryens' internal squabbles are still ...

This is Game Of Thrones as we know it, almost to a fault, with all the same backstabbing and family dramas. Back-up arrives in the form of the Velaryon forces and dragonfire to warm both the heart and all the other bodily organs. Whether he can hold the Stepstones is another matter – he’s not a details guy – but he appears to be on the up once more. Since they do, we’re back to resting on questions of marriage and babies for all the principal women, and old women discussing the fate of those who fall to enemies: namely, being exiled to a brothel to be raped. When Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) suggests that Rhaenyra marry her toddler half-brother to set things to rights, and he actually has a point dynastically speaking, it’s clear that something is rotten in the state of Westeros. Jason’s sensible twin Tyland Lannister (also Hall) is around, and appears to be the brains of the two. These men (so many men) all feel like the upcoming victims and villains of whatever schemes the show is cooking up, so they’re probably worth keeping an eye on. There’s lots of public bickering in this episode, the kind that would start unsettling rumors in a more stable court than any in Westeros. Viserys (Paddy Considine) and his court are off into the woods to celebrate the second birthday of his son, Aegon. The noblemen of Westeros have assembled to pay tribute to the baby, who they assume will eventually become the king’s heir – however much he protests that he’s still backing Rhaenyra (still Milly Alcock), his anointed heir. Rhaenyra looks and feels isolated – though she also doesn’t seem to have much grasp of the politicking that might make her position more secure. But after that familiar theme plays and those clockwork credits spin, this week’s episode comes with a little homework: time to start making notes on the Lords of Westeros, because the movers and shakers have arrived in great numbers now, and they’re beginning to look like sharks in the water.

In the third episode of the new Game of Thrones prequel, family parallels become dangerous. Here's a recap of what happened in season 1, episode 3 of House ...

But it’s also a sign from House of the Dragon that this character is not a real character but a symbol. He is not meant to stand apart as his own person, but merely as an entity in opposition to Daemon, as a sign of what the prince is willing to do to his opposition. Waving a white flag before the Triarchy forces, he draws the Crabfeeder and his men out into the open, kneeling before them with his sword held open-palmed. After reading Viserys’s letter promising aid to the Stepstones, Daemon is royally pissed-off, so he pulls a classic Daemon and does exactly what he wants. He did so out of guilt over Aemma’s death, but also out of love for his daughter, and now he fears he’s endangering the vision he saw so clearly as a younger man: of placing a son upon the Iron Throne. His stabs are imprecise, prolonging the stag’s suffering as well as the scene’s longevity, forcing the audience to watch and listen as the innocent creature writhes in agony. In the Kingswood, the Targaryen family members gather with the lords and ladies of Westeros, the wine and the gossip flowing. But Rhaenyra is not such a fan of peacocking, and is so insulted that she initiates a public shouting match with her father. And she’s hesitant to test out that authority on Rhaenyra, who’s resentful that a towheaded toddler seems likely to steal her claim to the throne. Taking place three years after the events of “The Rogue Prince,” two key settings are smartly juxtaposed in “Second of His Name”: the war in the Stepstones and a hunt in the Kingswood. One features Daemon, fighting the Triarchy and glowing in the light cast by his dragon’s gasps of fire, while the other features Viserys, honoring his son’s name day in a genteel forest celebration. Targaryens might come from a long line of warriors, but not all of them seem so comfortable with the nastiness of bloodshed.

House of The Dragon to travel through time. Who will replace four significant cast members in episode 3. And will it impact HBO's Game of Thrones spin-off ...

Laena Velaryon and Laenor Velaryon's on-screen counterparts will likewise be replaced. Olivia Cooke will portray Emily Carey aka Alicent. Emma D'Arcy will replace Milly Alcock, who played the younger version of Rhaenyra. Blood will flow in Westeros, new characters will be unveiled, and the conflict for the Iron Throne will get murkier. Photo Courtesy: Poster And will it impact HBO's Game of Thrones spin-off series?