It almost feels like I am living in a dream, living and breathing in the world of George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, not once but twice in 4 months. Perhaps this is the greed written about in the Bible. First, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and now the returning House of the Dragon Season 3, it truly is the best time to be a Game of Thrones fan.

The premiere episode of the third season of the prequel barely takes a few seconds before putting right in the middle of the chaos that we left behind at the end of Season 2. Family members are divided, caged, on the run, or just having a surprisingly long vacation in Harrenhal of all places. 

Like drops of gentle rain hitting the canopy at the end of every hot and irritating summer, the title track of House of the Dragon by Ramin Djawadi hits my ears, and as if that wasn’t enough, the very first scene of the season opens with a dragon. Princess Rhaena tries to befriend Sheepstealer, the same dragon who had been laying waste to the Vale. And finally, after getting Vhagar stolen from her after her mother’s death, the young lady is bonded with a dragon and takes her first flight.

Back in King’s Landing, we see a clearly angry Aemond searching the entire palace for his brother and King Aegon. Meanwhile, Aegon is on the run, travelling in a carriage filled with ravens that are being transferred alongside his Master of Whispers, Larys Strong. Amidst pain and raven poo, the trip is soon paused by men who have pledged their loyalty to Rhaenyra, and are asked to bend their knees and do the same. As expected, the burnt king refuses to acknowledge his adversary and is soon found out. Only saved from death by Larys’ admitting their true identities and manipulating the men not to kill but to carry them to Rhaenyra Targaryen, and off they ride to Duskendale. 

At Dragonstone, we see Rhaenyra fully believing in the plan Alicent laid out for her, where she will send Vhagar and Aemond away to Harrenhal and open the gates of the capital so her childhood best friend can take both the city and the life of her eldest son, to claim the iron throne finally. While her son Jacerys and the entire council doubt if this is just another ploy, Rhaenyra just refuses to listen to anyone as she sends words to Corlys to send fighting men from his blockade to King’s Landing and Daemon to return to Dragonstone, and join her in laying claim to the capital in two days. 

In King’s Landing, Aemond is calling himself king and is faced by his mother, Alicent. Upon being questioned where she was, a visibly surprised queen dowager, who just laid out the plot to sack her own city, says she was in King’s Wood after feeling rather useless in the castle. To add to her misery, Aemond lays out the next steps in the plan, telling her that a deal has been struck with the Triarchy and they will be attacking the Sea Snake’s ships in the Gullet, while 15000 Hightown men march in aid alongside Lord Ormund Hightower with Daeron Targaryen and his dragon Tessarion. 

In the Riverlands, Daemon is fighting battles with Oscar Tully and his men on his side, and laying waste to the army of the Lannisters who stood in support of the Greens. He is informed that the Lord Lannister has fled to God’s Eye, and he insists on pursuing him. Meanwhile, young Lord Tully insists on burying their dead first, and dismisses Daemon's idea of Caraxes burning the dead bodies with sass only Marilyn Monroe could match. Amidst all this, Stark’s promised Winter Wolves arrive at their camp with the severed head of the Lannister Lord. 

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Somewhere on the road to Harrenhal, we see Gwayne Hightower and Criston Cole camped outside a village, where Ser Gwayne sees a knight ravage a village girl outside his tent, and upon bringing this matter to Ser Criston, being a knight who has been his on vows, is quick to defend the animalistic nature of men that comes out near death. 

At a watch-post on the way to Harrenhal, the Dragon Seeds Hugh, Ulf, and Addam bond by sharing their stories and how they landed where they are right now. With dreams of getting a castle after he is knighted, Addam, who tells him a knight never gets a castle, shatters Ulf’s sweet imagination. 

Back in the Red Keep, Haelena tells Alicent that Aemond has just started to feel fear again; he had lost the ability when he claimed Vhagar, but ever since he saw multiple dragons join Raenyra’s side, he has been afraid. Amidst all this, Alicent sends a message with a rider for her cousin Ormund, very cunningly calling it “the king’s message”. 

In the Gullet, Corlys tries to bond with his bastard son, Alyn. The two share a drink, while the son passes backhanded remarks at his father’s decision to keep him and his brother away and refuse to acknowledge their existence. And as the moment slowly gets comfortable, we hear the horns of war blow out as an attack from the Triarchy is announced. 

Tyland Lannister, who secured the help of the alliance of the three free cities, suggests that the captain of the fleet, Lohar, only engage in close battle so they can avoid being burned by the dragons. However, his advice is quickly ignored as the female captain of the armada plans to launch an attack at the home of Corlys Velaryon, High Tide. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in the mountains, an abandoned Rhaena is greeted once again by Sheepstealer with a dragon fire-cooked sheep, which she feasts upon. 

Back at the Red Keep, Alicent tries to convince Aemond to fly to Harrenhal by nudging at his newfound fear. She admits that maybe he should have been a king instead of Aegon, and she only made him king but never taught him how to rule. Aemond is quick to counter it, saying it is no fault of hers. At the end, Aemond does agree to fly Vhagar to Harrenhal, but not before what I can only believe will be one of the most chaotic moments of this show; kissing his mother, which, by the looks of it, was not platonic at all. 

In the woods, the Dragon Seeds happen to catch a glimpse of a Green Man after Ulf sees an elk while taking a shit. Not to anyone’s surprise, they are frightened to death before Alys Rivers appears in front of them, announcing that she is a witch, and they are missing out on battle by being away from Dragonstone. Upon hearing that, the three dragon seeds take off to their base. 

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At Dragonstone, Baela informs Rhaenyra about the battle at the Gullet. Enraged, the queen herself decides to take her dragon and join the fight, to which Jacerys disagrees, but his advice is ignored. However, adamant to help his mother’s cause and ensure her safety for the same, Jace asks Ser Lorent to lock her inside her room and flies off to the battle alongside his betrothed, Baela. 

Back at sea, Corlys and his men are fighting tirelessly against the forces of the Triarchy, and ask to sail towards the flagship to battle Lohar head-on. While Tyland Lannister tries to reason with the commander, she refuses to listen and wants to exact revenge for the persecution and slaughter of her men, the Sea Snake did for 20 years. 

At Dragonstone, a helpless Rhaenyra cries about being underestimated and taken for granted all her life by men around her. Even though Mysaria tries to reason that Jace only wanted to protect her, it is in vain. “I may appear to have the weak and feeble body of a woman, but I possess the heart and spirit of a king,” she cries. 

At the battle, upon seeing Jace and Baela arrive at the battle riding Vermax and Moon Dancer, Corlys is filled with confidence. And eyes to isolate Lohar from the rest of the ships in her fleet by passing through a narrow stream of sea only he can sail through, but it all is in vain as the gritty Lohar manages to sail through it by tossing armour-clad Westerosis into the sea and shedding weight from her ship. 

Before that, Lohar also manages to hit Vermax with a large arrow, with a weight attached to the other end, almost drowning Jace along with his dragon. However, Baela and Moon Dancer swoop in right in time to save the duo. On the other side of the narrow pass, Corlys sees his beloved castle High Tide burning, courtesy of a small group of people Lohar sent ahead. Shocked at this sight, Corlys turns his ship around to battle Lohar and her crew. 

Engaging in a fierce fight, both ‌ships ram into each other, laying waste to everyone on them. The men and women start swinging swords, standing on what little footing they could find, before Corlys and Lohar finally meet and swing at each other. Although Corlys loses his balance and falls into the deep waters, Alyn does manage to kill his father’s enemy with animalistic brutality. 

Amidst all this, a confident Rhaena arrives at Dragon Stone along with Sheepstealer, and upon seeing the rising smoke on the horizon, decides to fly into battle. And to no one’s surprise lays waste to a few ships with dragon fire.

However, she soon understands why it takes years to develop a bond with a dragon, and to bring a dragon into war is a whole different ball game. As the wild dragon gets confused and starts attacking the Black’s ships. Despite Rhaena screaming and crying to control him, the dragon refuses to listen and starts chasing a much smaller Moon Dancer. Jace and Vermax try to help them out, and almost take out the rider before realising it is Rhaena. 

But in helping them, Jace and Vermax step into yet another attack from the enemy ships. Weighed down, drowning, and helpless, Vermax slowly disappears in the red, hot, and shimmering waters of the sea while Jace manages to cling onto a plank of wood. And after giving hope for mere seconds, another son of Rhaenyra Targaryen meets his sad death.

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What did you think about the first episode of House of the Dagon Season 3? Let us know in the comments.