House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 sees war come to Westeros after a whole load of bloodshed in the opening two episodes. Yet, it remains a classic Game of Thrones episode, more reliant on talking strategy than enacting it, as we see the changes the new Hand of the King brings and more fallout from the fight between Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk.
Woven into the action are new characters and locations too, that will prove pivotal to the story going forward. For all you need to know on that, read on for our complete recap and breakdown of the major Easter eggs below. And it’s worth remembering as we reach the end of the episode, we’re near the halfway point of this season – meaning dragon fire is heating up in Westeros.
We get into big spoiler territory below in our House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 recap, so make sure you’re up to date before reading any further.
Grisly scenes
The war between the Greens and the Blacks has now spread beyond the palace gates as episode 3 begins on the battlefield with conflict between the Blackwoods and House Bracken. A skirmish between the houses ends in bloodshed for both sides, which we see the grisly aftermath of. War has fully come to Westeros now.
Meanwhile, in Dragonstone, Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk are buried in the aftermath of their fight at the end of episode 2, as Rhaenys counsels Rhaenyra to try and stop the fighting before it begins by speaking with Alicent. “There is no war so hateful to the gods as a war between kin, and no war so bloody as a war between dragons,” she tells her.
Rhaenyra is more focused on pragmatism though, bringing the White Worm on her side as her spy, before sending Rhaena to Pentos with her sons for safety. She also hands her a set of four dragon eggs, which may look very familiar to Daenerys Targaryen fans.
In King’s Landing, Ser Criston Cole is taking his role as the Hand of the King very seriously, cleaning up the city and joining the war council. Discussions move to how to turn the victory in their favor as they decide on Harenhaal as the key to the Riverlands. Cole decides to go out, taking Alicent’s brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower, with him. The tension between Cole and Alicent is only intensifying though, as betrayal and lust blur for the dysfunctional pair over a conversation for a favor.
Familiar faces
Daemon is in Harrenhal, where he arrives on Caraxes to take the castle, and finds Simon Russell Beale’s Simon Strong holding fort in the crumbling remains of the fire. “I’m claiming Harrenhal,” Daemon declares. “Apparently so,” Simon simply replies. The pair discuss Larys Strong, who Simon has no love for, and as the standing lord of the castle declares his fealty to Rhaenyra and bends the knee.
Speaking of Larys, he decides to try and stop Aegon going to war with Criston. He’s successful, and the rash king decides to stay at home instead, asking Larys to become his Master of Whisperers. Instead, Aegon goes to the tavern, where we’ve just watched someone claiming to be a Targaryen bastard and saying they’re the son of Baelon the Brave. He calls himself a “dragonseed,” which is a catch-all term for the many, many bastards of Valyrian descent in Westeros.
Daemon starts having weird visions in Harenhaal, as the doors to his chambers shake and he sees a very familiar face. That’s right, Milly Alcock is back as young Rhaenyra who is seen sewing the head back onto the slain Jaehaerys’ corpse. It’s all very Geralt of Rivia as Daemon stalks around the castle, before he sees a woman staring at him. “You will die in this place,” she warns him. Who is she? Why, Alys Rivers, a bastard of House Strong.
Meanwhile, Criston and Gwayne narrowly escape an attack from a dragon as Rhaenyra continues to plot her course. Her decision is to go to King’s Landing in disguise and meet Alicent in the Citadel as she goes about her daily worship. She pleads with her to try and find peace, as Alicent finds out how mistaken she has been in thinking Viserys had mentioned Aegon as his heir. It was actually the prophecy of ‘The Song of Ice and Fire’ that he’d been speaking of. Oops, well that’s been quite a momentous mishearing…
House of the Dragon season 2 episode 3 Easter eggs
- Opening credits: The tapestry has grown more intricate in the opening credits of episode 3, and now features a Blood and Cheese moment as well as the death of the assassins. We expect this won’t be the final change we see either.
- Samwell Blackwood: The Blackwoods and Brackens go to war at the beginning of this episode, introducing two major houses into the skirmish that we haven’t seen before. Among them is Samwell Blackwood, who is murdered along with his men at the Battle of the Burning Mill, a key moment in the Dance of the Dragons.
- Simon Strong: Another new arrival in season 3 is Simon Russell Beale’s Simon Strong, who is the great-uncle to the Lord Larys Strong. Another big player in George RR Martin’s books, he’s held hostage by Daemon at Harrenhal.
- Lord Tully: Mentioned rather than seen, Lord Tully gets a few callouts during the latest episode. As Lord of Riverrun, he’s in a pretty pivotal position in Westeros, making both sides desperate for him to declare for them. It’s not yet clear if we’ll actually see him in season 2 though.
- Dragon eggs: Rhaenyra sends Rhaena to Pentos with four very intriguing eggs. A closer look at these reveals that they are red, cream, green, and blue, and could be Drogon, Viserion, and Rhaegal – Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons who hatch centuries later – and another mystery dragon.
- Dragonseed: The man in the tavern calls himself a dragonseed after revealing that he’s the bastard son of Baelon Targaryen, but what does that mean? Well, put simply, they’re what bastards with Valyrian heritage are called. They also play a pretty big role in the battle to come – for a spoiler-filled breakdown on that, read our explainer on dragonseeds here.
- The Prince that was promised: We get another mention of the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. As you might remember from season 1, Viserys reveals that Aegon the Conqueror foresaw a winter coming from the North marking the end of men. Sound familiar?
House of the Dragon season 2 airs weekly on HBO and Sky. Read our House of the Dragon season 2 release schedule to never miss an episode, as well as our guides to:
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