HotD Season 3: Episode 3 - Rhaenyra Triumphant
7/31/202612 min read
Watching this episode, I have 2 main thoughts. Firstly, Rhaenyra is me when I have two things to do in one day. Secondly, a bit more deep, what makes a ruler? Yes, Rhaenyra now sits at King’s Landing but is it a throne that makes her the queen? Was it the crown she’s had since season 1? Is she not yet queen because she can’t rule the city without money? Is it finally over when there’s no one to oppose her? Kill every green Robert Rebellion style?
First, I wanna touch on how this episode was presented. Obviously, the last two episodes were intended for season 2 so from here on out, we’re fully in season 3 territory and this was all written to follow on from the last two episodes being the start of season 3. I loved that this episode was pretty much a vignette of Rhaenyra’s life now with all of the struggles that come with being a new monarch and ruling over people and I do feel like no one talks about the fact that despite being the ancestral seat of House Targaryen, no one lives on Dragonstone except the servants that look after the keep and the dragonmont. This is essentially Rhaenyra’s first time as a queen rather than a war leader and although I love the structure of this episode, I feel like it wouldn’t have worked as a season opener if HBO had the funds to have a 12 episode season 2. The very first episode of the season having a single scene with the greens forces, Ormund surrendering to Daemon, and the rest all being a day in the life with Rhaenyra would’ve felt flat. But as the third episode and following the bombshell of the blacks storming the Red Keep, it works so beautifully.
In season 1, I was hesitant about Matt Smith being Daemon because whenever I saw his face, I’d only see the Doctor. But oh my word is he perfect in this role. He seriously embodies the way Daemon is ruthless and doesn’t give a damn while keeping the deep emotional ties that pull him towards Targaryen ancestry and prophecy and treat it with respect. He’s a lot more like Viserys III, the beggar king, than I had originally thought. It’s amazing how he can draw such awe and humour at the same time when ordering Ormund to surrender. The Daeron swap, I’m afraid we all saw coming. I think it would’ve been much better if they hadn’t announced the casting for Daeron otherwise it wouldn’t have been so obvious that they were handing over a fake Daeron. But even so, the way that Ormund said goodbye to the fake Daeron really made it feel like he had no genuine relationship which wouldn’t have made sense since Daeron is literally his squire and we saw in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms what the relationship between a knight and their squire looked like. And when Alicent saw him and revealed that it wasn’t actually Daeron, it felt like that should’ve been a massive stomach-dropping moment which the actors delivered perfectly but it was so obvious that it felt like the plot twist had been spoiled by HBO themselves because it kind of was. Ormund did such a good job with fake Daeron’s roots that it hadn’t even crossed my mind that his hair was dyed until Rhaenyra inspected it (I didn’t catch that he said he bleached his hair the first time watching it). I thought they just found some Targaryen bastard someone (probably Aegon) left around. I got my own hair coloured today and all I could think of was how they managed to do such a convincing job on that kid’s hair without any bleach. I am very excited to properly meet the real Daeron next episode based on what Gwaine had to say about him last season and it seems like he’s very similar to his uncle, who is one of my favourite greens.
Let’s talk about the gold, Rhaenyra’s gold. I swear this show does humour so well and I wonder what on earth made Olivia Cooke decide that turning to see who Rhaenyra was talking to when she stormed in was the right choice because it seemed so out of the blue but I kept replaying it because it’s just that good. I may have missed something in season 2, maybe I was asleep, but I would’ve liked to have seen a nod or two to the crown’s wealth being sent off because I love tiny easter eggs like that that you only realise much later was actually loaded, like Olenna playing with Sansa’s hair at the purple wedding actually being her picking up the poison she was about to kill Joffrey with. It was seriously a good move by Larys to move the crown’s wealth before fleeing King’s Landing with Aegon but I wonder since there’s no way he could’ve predicted Alicent turning and Rhaenyra waltzing in, did he intend to sabotage Aemond and his rule? Or did he sense that Rhaenyra’s takeover of King’s Landing was inevitable? That scene between Rhaenyra, Daemon, Mysaria, and Corlys was so funny too. Daemon just muttering “no one asked you” to Mysaria, starting up again their sparring for Rhaenyra’s ear was so fun to watch. That’s another thing I noticed, actually. In the opening credits, we have a new visual of Rhaenyra with Mysaria behind one shoulder and Daemon behind the other and it’s really playing into the ‘angel and devil on her shoulder’ idea. It actually reminds me as well of a brilliant shot of Ned in the pilot episode of GoT when he’s deciding whether or not to accept Robert’s offer of hand of the king. It’s a closeup of him deep in consideration and in the background, Cat is behind one shoulder telling him not to go and then the camera moves to show Maester Luwin behind the other shoulder, telling him he should go. And here, Mysaria is trying to convince Rhaenyra to focus on the people of the city and nurture them, whereas Daemon is saying they should look outwards to conquer lands and grow their power. And of course, Daemon gives a line about the inconvenience of the people constantly needing to be fed. I’m very glad that Rhaenyra never considers him as hand of the queen. He’d do a terrible job.
One of the main struggles for Rhaenyra in this episode comes from her trying to live up to her father. It’s why she can’t bring herself to sleep in his bed or settle into a ruling style because she is constantly comparing herself to her father, however I think she is so blinded by her love for her father because he should not be a role model. Similarly to real life, a leader’s rule or term is often defined by the one they inherited. I know I’m in the majority when I say that Jaeherys the Conciliator was one of the best kings Westeros ever had, along with little bald Egg. He did so much good for Westeros like fixing the relationship between the Targaryens and the Faith of the Seven, and bringing about a time of wealth for the people he ruled over. Viserys inherited the long peace Jaeherys had created and maintained and all he had to do was keep people happy and discuss things like wool tax. Viserys set up the dance to happen. It was obviously completely unintentional but he failed to solidify the succession and after naming Rhaenyra, I personally see no need to remarry and give more heirs. He also should have reaffirmed Rhaenyra’s rule following Aegon’s birth instead of believing the best of everyone and only rejected the idea of Aegon being the new heir when someone said it straight to his face in private. When Alicent said that Viserys lived in a world of his own construction, I think she wasn’t talking about his Old Valyria LEGO set. I think she was referring to the fact that Viserys failed to see the realm as it was. In episode 3 of season 1, I think it was Lady Redwyne who said to Rhaenyra that the crown was at war and the king refused to acknowledge it. I feel like that’s pretty much how it went for Viserys’ rule. Yes, Otto was a good hand but he was self-serving and even Rhaenyra, who was young at the time and hadn’t been taught how to play politics, had to tell her father that his hand was self-interested more than dedicated to serving the realm. I’m glad Viserys listened to Rhaenyra and took that feedback on board but until she said something, he was completely oblivious. Rhaenys wouldn’t have been so blind if she was on the throne, just saying. But my main point here is that Rhaenyra is trying to follow in her father’s footsteps when really, she should be following in her great-grandfather’s. I mean, we literally have a septon (the big boss septon, whatever his title is) telling Rhaenyra not to make an enemy of the faith and yet it seems her mind doesn’t even flicker to how Jaeherys settled the conflict between them. The faith are such a powerful ally, as we saw in Game of Thrones, and although I don’t like them, if you’re going to rule, you need them on your side.
Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship has gone back and forth more times than Elon Musk and Talulah Riley and you can really feel their history when Alicent says “it is odd to be here with you.” I often think back to something said in an interview that neither of them wanted any of this conflict but that “they were forced into this position by… the men in their lives” and I think that although it’s a major departure from the books, I love that they decided to make their complicated relationship a focal point of the show. Yes, in another world, they might’ve gotten along but here, they were both influenced against each other and the circumstances refuse to let them reconnect. But I think we can all agree Alicent took it further than Rhaenyra and to hear Alicent say the words “will you blame me only for what men have done,” I first thought ‘yes, this is the problem. We’re not addressing that the men are the ones to blame for this rift’. But then after a minute, I thought about all the times Alicent belittled Rhaenyra simply for being a woman. Granted, she was conditioned that way by her father but it was Alicent who ordered Rhaenyra’s not-ten-seconds-old newborn baby taken to her, Alicent who pointed out Rhaenyra’s leaking breastmilk when she was trying to do her job in front of the small council, Alicent who paid Dyana to not tell anyone about Aegon’s treatment of her, Alicent who instilled the idea into her children’s heads that Rhaenyra was a threat to them. Alicent has spent years trying to uphold the patriarchy and it does sort of seem like she is a completely different person to how she was in season 1, rather than having had a change of heart about how the succession should’ve gone.
Rhaenyra’s anxiety this entire episode is quite relatable and I think I’ve finally fully understood the significance of the rats. I loved their presence in season 1 but admittedly, I struggled to find the one theme that tied all their appearances together but now I understand that the rats symbolise the rot in the Red Keep. They used to be hidden in shadows, in the secret passages, only shown at night but now, they’re out in the open at the foot of the throne during petitions and in the small council chamber for Rhaenyra to trip over. The downfall of the Targaryens used to be only seen by closely examining the events and decisions made in those years of Viserys’ reign but now, it’s all out in the open. Anyone in the Red Keep can see how much is happening, how many things Rhaenyra has to address. She hasn’t had a coronation, her rivals are missing, a wild dragon has an unknown rider, the money is gone and they can only afford a week of rule. And on top of all that, Alicent and Helaena want to be released, Daeron needs to be dealt with, the dragonseeds need to be settled, and Corlys wants his bastard sons legitimised. This has got to be one of the worst starts to a reign in Westerosi history. Oh and to add to it all, Rhaenyra doesn’t have a full council she trusts, the ones she does trust are squabbling about where to start, and in a cruel twist of fate, she’s suffering period cramps the entire time. Poor Rhaenyra’s barely started the job and already needs a 3 week paid vacation. I think that the inclusion of her sensing the presence of ghosts like Viserys and Jace was a bit unnecessary because she already has a thousand reasons to be stressed and it didn’t really go anywhere this episode. Maybe it will in future episodes but here, they opened with Rhaenyra addressing the feeling of ghosts, had her hallucinate Jace, and then move on entirely. I suppose you could argue that Rhaenyra refusing to sleep in her father’s bed, where he spent the last years of his life and died, and instead going to sleep with Daemon (very cute, by the way) was her feeling like her father’s ghost still lingered in those chambers. I was gonna ask what they did with Viserys’ LEGO set but I just had flashbacks to Aegon smashing it all after blood and cheese. But I think I would’ve preferred the exclusion of that line from Rhaenyra after the credits and if they changed her straight up hallucinating Jace to her seeing the back of someone’s head who looks like Jace but when they turn, she’s reminded that her son’s actually dead. I recently rewatched Bridgerton and I feel like the moment when Anthony thinks he sees Sienna at Whites because of the lady’s hair and dress, only for her face to come into view and he’s immediately pulled back to reality was done really well and I think HBO could’ve benefitted from that kind of approach rather than giving me PTSD from Daemon in Harrenhal.
I can’t believe I nearly signed off without talking about Rhaenyra vs the highborn. I won’t lie, when the dinner was served, I didn’t immediately think that Rhaenyra was doing them dirty. My first thought was that this was a normal medieval meal but then I realised they probably expected a massive glazed pig and all like the awkward family dinner in season 1. This was such a bold move by Rhaenyra and while I always appreciate people in power standing up for those in need, I wonder how Rhaenyra is planning to rule. She’s not making an ally of the faith, she’s not making an ally of the nobles. She doesn’t have the land army she did a few days ago (thanks to Aemond and Vhagar) and she doesn’t have any money. So what is her rule standing on? The fact that she sits on the throne? She seems to be making enemies of people everywhere. Except the smallfolk, that is. It’s clear that Mysaria’s approach to ruling is making more of an impression than Daemon’s with Rhaenyra handing out food to the people. Rhaenyra absolutely clocked when one of the lords at the table said the poor would fight for every crumb and she basically pointed out that he did exactly that when there was little food in the city. Also i just have to say that I was completely taken out of it when Jacob Kowalski showed up doing possibly the worst job I have ever heard of trying to hide an American accent. You can tell he’s amused by her attempt to play the game but I don’t get a cunning vibe from him yet and I think that’s the vibe we were supposed to get but I guess we’ll see.
Overall, I think this episode did a really good job of centering on the struggles Rhaenyra’s facing at the beginning of her reign and it’s always fantastic when I reach the end of an episode and then realise we were following a single character the whole time and I never felt the story dragging. I really hope that energy carries through the season because I’m really enjoying these episodes now. I know I’m like four weeks behind at this point but in my defense, I’ve been a little busy. So hopefully I’ll find time to catch up because despite managing to steer my TikTok algorithm away from HotD to avoid spoilers, I’ve already been spoiled about something big in episode 6 and I wanna try to be caught up before the finale as I have a sneaky feeling this season will end with the God’s Eye and if it does, I just know I won’t be able to avoid spoilers.