It’s fair to say the first two episodes of House of the Dragon have done an excellent job of setting the scene for the conflict that lies ahead. Everyone’s motivations have been established, there are clear lines in the sand, proposals have been made, noses have been put out of joint, and the stakes have been set.
HBO already has a pretty successful show called Succession, but this Targaryen family drama – set 200 years before the events depicted in Game of Thrones – promises to make it look like a minor family squabble over the fate of a corner shop.
The succession plan for King Viserys (Paddy Considine) has set the cat amongst the pigeons at King’s Landing. The King, fresh from losing his wife and newborn son in childbirth, has controversially selected a new air – his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). That hasn’t pleased the king’s brother Daemon (Matt Smith), who has now been exiled from the King’s Court and he’s taken his dragon and gone elsewhere.
In Episode 2 we found up he’d taken up residence at his family’s ancestral home of Dragonstone, which you’ll remember from the latter seasons of GoT as being important. Not only that, he’s looted a dragon egg and the king isn’t too chuffed about it. In swoops his new heir, on a dragon of her own to get the prized egg back from her rogue uncle.
Meanwhile, her dad has to choose a new wife and procreate in order to create a new heir and perhaps supplant the pair of those blondies. He’s annoyed one of the realm’s richest houses by rejecting their 12 year old daughter. Ok. Instead he chose the Hand of the King’s daughter who’s also of dubious age and best mates with Rhaenyra. Marvellous.
How to watch House of the Dragon Episode 3
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
