House of the Dragon Season 3 Was Much Better. But…

I finally finished House of the Dragon Season 3, so here are my thoughts and a review. I’ll try and keep it spoiler-free, so that if you gave up during season 2, you’ll have a better idea as to whether you should bother continuing. But keep in mind, I will be saying what I like and don’t like, so maybe just read the opening sections.

Season 3 feels like the show is going somewhere

First off – if you have slogged through season 2, then definitely give season 3 a watch. My main complaint about season 2 was that it started with the two sides about to go to war. Then, at the end of the season, it felt like the two sides were still about to go to war. There was one main awesome fight with dragons, but that was about it. (You can read my season 2 review here.)

So I was all prepared to experience a mix of hope, boredom, and the odd burst of excitement – like the last season. Then I watched episode one: “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood” and loved it. I know I wasn’t alone in wanting more from the last season, so I guess the showrunners listened and decided to kick it off with a bang.

This season goes some of the way towards justifying the build-up of the first two. There was less chatting and fewer people hanging around in castles discussing what to do.

Is it better than the first two seasons?

I think so. The first season was fun and felt like classic Game of Thrones intrigue, with some great characters. Not quite as memorable as Game of Thrones, and there were fewer shocking moments and less tension, but it was still pretty decent. The second season… I think my views are clear. Not bad, but a bit meh.

I generally find myself not caring as much about the characters in this show. The problem with prequels is that we pretty much know how it will all pan out. The main tension is which of the characters will survive, and I am not as invested as I was with nearly all the main GoT characters.

But at least I am figuring out who the characters are

Despite all the hours I have spent watching this, I still get confused. I know the faces and the names, but if someone is talking about an offscreen character – especially if it’s Daeron, Daemon, Aemond, or Aegon – I have to try and remember which blonde dude it is.

This might be because I am getting old, but this is not a problem I had with GoT or A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. (You can read my review of the latter here.)

Some of the better characters

All actors involved are talented and do a great job. This season, my standout by far was Tom Glynn-Carney as Aegon. Aegon was a bit shite up until this season, and now he is suddenly one of the best characters. Helaena was also really good, but in a less fun and more emotional way.

Daemon – aka Matt Smith – also remains fun to watch. Rhaenyra going from a bit whiny to a bit angry and messianic was another improvement. Ormund Hightower was pretty decent as an antagonist, but it was kind of brief.

Things I was a bit iffy about

I don’t quite follow what they are doing with the Alicent character. She’s doing stuff, and I often question why, exactly. Her motives are a bit odd, and she does the occasional thing that makes me want to check Reddit and find out why. I get that the show wants her and Rhaenyra to hang out more, but making that happen also sometimes feels a bit strange.

Then there’s Mysaria. She’s supposed to be some kind of manipulative genius, but she doesn’t actually seem like she’s particularly good at it. She feels a bit wasted and not a patch on Varys or Littlefinger. And the way the series ends for her reinforces her general lack of ‘deviousness’ skills.

Season 3 continues the sense that although the characters get a lot of screen time, they still feel lacking. I think this is partly because they are mostly chatting in fixed locations. In the other two GoT shows, the characters are also moving and doing stuff and having adventures while they chat. So you get to learn about them through actions as well as dialogue. This may be why watching Aegon this season has been such fun.

Final thoughts

This has been my favourite season so far. House of the Dragon is fun, but it doesn’t hit the heights of Game of Thrones. Personally, I loved all the individual adventures of GoT, while this feels a bit more static.

It has filled me with enough optimism that I am now trepidly awaiting the fourth and final series. Hopefully, it won’t be rushed, but also hopefully – it isn’t too dull. That is a hard line to walk, I know, but at least this show knew the entire story going in, so that should be able to pace it all out a bit better.

It’s even possible that if they pull off a decent final season and things wrap up well, it will somehow equal GoT. The first six seasons of that were superb, and HoD won’t hit those heights, but as an overall show it might land the ending. We’ll see. I’m definitely in it till the end, though.