HBO’s House of the Dragon season 3 has reached an interesting juncture in the Targaryen internal conflict, with episode 3 bringing to light the aftereffects of the events of the previous episode and a new challenge to Rhaenyra’s claim to the Iron Throne. At the end of episode 2, Rhaenyra seized the Iron Throne after a show of her ruthlessness as a Queen by publicly beheading Otto Hightower - Alicent’s father and the brains behind the Hightower takeover of the Red Keep.

With Rhaenyra reclaiming her birthright at last, the episode gives her journey a new turn, as the question now shifts from whether she can get to the Iron Throne to whether she can hold on to it. To find the answer to that question, one must go through all the ramifications of the steps that she took in her quest to take King’s Landing, like the blockade and the fix to these repercussions that involve a whole lot of politics and some bold steps.

And do not forget the looming threat to Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne: Aemond, still at large on Vhagar, and Aegon, who fled with Larys. On top of that, the episode introduces a new contender to the throne - Daeron Targaryen, the youngest of Alicent’s four children. The list of threats does not end here, and to be honest, Rhaenyra seems to be in deep water now more than ever.

Anyhow, the episode starts with Daemon trying to nip a potential threat in the bud, and that too in his signature daredevil fashion.

The opening scene of the episode depicts two sides on the battlefield. On one side, there is an entire army with Ormund Hightower, Alicent’s cousin, and on the other, there is just Daemon and three dragons behind him. Despite facing an entire Green army himself with dragonseeds, Hugh the Hammer and Ulf by his side, there is little hesitation or doubt in Daemon’s tone with which he negotiates with Ormund into submission.

He informs him of the changes in leadership in King’s Landing and that his uncle Otto Hightower has been executed, with his cousin in custody. Ormund demands some proof, but Daemon seems to be under no obligation to prove to him anything, and he makes it very clear. He simply presents the Hightower Prince with his options to either fight and lose his life instantly or to swear fealty to Rhaenyra and get to go back home alive and in one piece.

For the safety of his men, he chose the latter instead of a futile battle over nothing. While he was about to leave, Daemon added one more condition to their surrender. He demanded that Daeron Targaryen, his ward, must be turned in to the new Queen’s custody, as it would be unwise to leave one of Aegon’s heirs with his dragon to do as he pleases. Ormund reluctantly does as Daemon says, and Daemon promises to treat him fairly as he is his brother Viserys’ son. But his promise stands as long as the Hightower Prince behaves.

While Daemon is fighting off outside threats, Rhaenyra has her own battles inside the Red Keep.

The thing that Rhaenyra has been pining for so long is now within her grasp, but still not quite hers, not before she straightens out a few kinks. First of all, there is the matter of her coronation that would proclaim her to be the legitimate Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. But there is a slight hiccup that is obstructing her formal coronation.

It seems that the royal treasury was moved, and currently, there is no gold at the new Queen’s disposal. To add to her misery, there are people, mostly common folks, who are starving due to the blockade and are now looking at Rhaenyra for help. However, more than the worries of her people, she is more fixated upon revenge. She wants Aemond to be found, and to that end, she is ready to offer a bounty, but with no gold, she grows desperate and decides to give Harrenhall to the one who slays Aemond.

Meanwhile, she is bombarded with a slew of requests from different officials and lords for provisions and funds, which overwhelm Rhaenyra. She is clearly struggling here mostly due to the lack of funds in her treasury. To find a solution to this, she goes to Alicent, who is being held in custody along with her daughter Helaena. She demands that she reveal the whereabouts of the gold, and the conversation quickly escalates when she is unable to answer her questions.

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Rhaenyra accuses Alicent of conspiring against her by moving the gold and helping Aegon escape. Alicent vehemently denies all of that and reminds her that all she did was help Rhaenyra against her own sons. She kept her end of the bargain with the smooth ascension, and now it was time she kept hers. Rhaenyra refuses to let them go just yet, but promises them their freedom once Aemond has been found. In the meantime, she assures them that they will be treated fairly in the Red Keep.

Anyhow, during their conversation, Alicent suggests a fix to her problem with legitimizing her ascension. She advises her to declare Aegon dead, as even if he is found or returns, he is beyond recognizable with all the burn scars. This would save the time and effort she would have to waste in the hunt for her absconding half-brother and the challenger to the Iron Throne.

She takes her advice and goes to see the head priest to ask him to formally anoint her, as a proper coronation does not seem to be a possibility for now. However, he refuses to do so as, according to him, he already anointed Aegon as the King of the Seven Kingdoms and the rightful heir to the Iron Throne in front of Gods and men. A simple claim of his death from Rhaenyra without any evidence or his remains would not suffice for her ascension to the throne.

If these seem a lot for the new Queen to handle, there are more coming her way.

During her first petition hearing as the new Queen, Rhaenyra comes across a situation that requires her to take a definitive action. It was revealed to her that while the blockade was still in place, the rich hoarded provisions, leaving little to nothing for the common folks, who are now starving as a result. They urge her to do something about it.

Rhaenyra is not sure what to do with the petitions and how to go about ruling the kingdom when the challenges in front of her just demand that she be something she might not like. She seeks advice on the same from Alicent, who comes to see her regarding a request of her own. She wants her father’s remains to be buried in Old Town beside her mother’s, which Rhaenyra reluctantly approves. In return, Alicent offers her counsel on Rhaenyra’s situation.

She acknowledges the burden that Rhaenyra might be bearing right now, as she herself was once in that same position when she ruled in Viserys’ stead while he was unwell. According to her, in order to rule, one might have to do things they usually do not approve of. They might, at times, have to even turn their face away while people starve and die.

However, Rhaenyra contends that her father was able to remain true to himself, to which Alicent replies that he ruled in an era of peace, which is not true for her, and she must make hard choices if she wishes to keep the throne. Rhaenyra obviously was not looking for that answer, but somewhere she knew that Alicent was right. The next scene is evidence of this deduction.

She organizes a banquet for all the noblemen and rich folks, making them comfortable at first with her amiable words. But the tables turn when the food is served. Each guest was served the same food that the common folks of the realm had been eating every day. This unexpected move baffled the guests, who asked for an explanation.

Rhaenyra did not beat around the bush and called them out for hoarding provisions while the common folks died of hunger in the city. They all tried to defend their actions, but the Queen did not budge from her position and informed them that their houses were being raided by the Gold Cloaks as they spoke. With this move, she showcased her absolute authority over the resources and concerns of the people of the realm.

However, whether it was the right move to aggravate the highborns, no matter how noble her intentions were, remains to be seen, especially when she has already infuriated one of her most important allies.

For their efforts so far in the war, Lord Corlys wanted his illegitimate sons, Alyn and Addam, to be granted his House’s name, and for that he needed Rhaenyra, as word from the crown could surely do so without any problem. But Rhaenyra was hesitant about this request, as Lord Corlys did not just want to give them his name but also declare Alyn his heir, which should legitimately be Joffery - the only surviving son of his legitimate son, Laenor Velaryon (in the eyes of the world only).

So, fearing the obvious, she decided against giving Addam the title Velaryon while he was being knighted by Daemon. Instead, she gave him the title Addam of the Hull, which did not sit well with Corlys. He immediately called Rhaenyra out on the denial of his request. She tried to explain her concerns over her son, Joffrey’s legitimacy being questioned if Alyn is named his heir or both of his sons get his name.

However, her selfish reasons only added fuel to his fury, and he openly called her first three sons Jacaerys, Lucerys, and Joffery bastards. His reasons were simple and stemmed from the fact that she was denying his children what she desperately wants for her children, despite being in the same boat.

Things are really going south for Rhaenyra in the short span that she has been Queen, and a final blow is yet to come.

It cannot be emphasized enough how well-rounded the episode was. The episode, which started with Ormund Hightower’s surrender, ends with him getting the best out of Rhaenyra. After Daemon brought Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron, Rahenyra was struggling with what she wanted to do with her half-brother, who is a claimant to the throne.

Daemon constantly reminds her that she needs to kill him if she wants to remain Queen while she is internally struggling to bring herself to justify his killing. According to her, he just did what was expected of him by his elders. It was this inner conflict that prevented her from telling Alicent about her son being held in her custody initially.

But she ultimately told her that her son, Daeron, is within the confines of the same walls as her. Alicent was dreading the worst when she heard the news for the first time, and that Rhaenyra waited two days to tell her this. However, Rhaenyra put her mind at ease when she informed her that she was not going to kill him. However, she does plan on sending the boy to the north of The Wall to take the Black.

Although she is not happy at the prospect, she is confused about how she feels about this, as she hardly knows the boy. He was sent off to Old Town to be a ward of the Hightowers when he was just an infant. Still, she accepts the fate of her youngest, which is far better than what her other two sons might have in store for them.

Rhaenyra takes Alicent to meet her son one last time before he is sent off to the North. But Alicent barely recognizes him, and this is not because she has not seen the boy for years, but because he is not her son, Daeron. It seems that Rhaenyra got outsmarted by Ormund Hightower, who managed not only to save his ward but also to keep them in the dark for a few days before he launched his next attack.

In the wake of this infuriating revelation, Rhaenyra is informed that the dragonkeeper from Tumbleton has arrived at the gates of the Red Keep, all wounded and out of breath. He tells her that they were attacked by the Hightowers, who also took one of the young dragons hostage along with the many people who lived there. Rhaenyra is now beyond furious and a bit baffled at the audacious move by the Hightower Prince. She cannot understand his end goal here, but regardless, vows to annihilate him.

After House of the Dragon season 3 episode 2, one would have assumed that the show might give the viewers and Rhaenyra some reprieve, even a moment to celebrate. Instead, the battle continues - not on the fields or in the air where dragons breathe fire - but in the councils, the hallways, and in the minds of the characters. Episode 3 packed a solid punch, and it gave a lot of insight into what Rhaenyra’s mindset is like after all she suffered for the Iron Throne, and she continues to endure trying to hold on to it. The upcoming episodes might see a very different Rhaenyra, as indicated by the current proceedings.

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What do you think Rhaenyra will do about Ormund Hightower and his act of treason? Do let us know.