By Jordan Moreau, Jennifer Maas
HBO “House of the Dragon” returns after a two-year break on Sunday night for Season 3, bringing “Game of Thrones” fans back to the dragon-filled days of Westeros.
After Season 2 built up the Dance of Dragons civil war but stopped short of showing the first major battle, Season 3 will continue the action and kick off with the Battle of the Gullet. In George R. R. Martin’s original novel, “Fire and Blood,” the Battle of the Gullet is one of the deadliest naval battles in Westeros history. It’s the first of many bloody battles between Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Aarcy) black army and the greens, led by King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his mother Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
Back in Season 2, Aegon was severely burned and crippled at the Battle of Rook’s Rest after his brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) turned on him during a high-flying dragon showdown. Aegon plummeted to the ground and was slowly nursed back to health, while his one-eyed brother sat on the Iron Throne in his stead. In the Season 2 finale, Aegon and his advisor Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) flee King’s Landing for his safety. Meanwhile, Alicent held a secret meeting with Rhaenyra that would allow the Targaryen to take King’s Landing in exchange for Alicent’s family to go unharmed.
While Rhaenyra was assembling her forces, including several Targaryen bastard dragonriders known as dragonseeds, her uncle/lover Daemon (Matt Smith) was holed up at the ancient keep Harrenhal getting some prophetic visions. He saw his future descendant Daenerys from “Game of Thrones” and a White Walker, which convinced him to rally his troops behind Rhaenyra and support her efforts to take the Iron Throne.
Here’s a guide to each of the new and returning characters for Season 3 of “House of the Dragon.”
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Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy)
Image Credit: Nye Caple The firstborn child, daughter and appointed heir of the late King Viserys Targaryen, Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) has maintained her claim to the Iron Throne throughout the first two seasons, even as she’s left King’s Landing for the safety of Dragonstone. During Season 2, Rhaenyra struggled with the death of her son Lucerys and estrangement from her husband/uncle, Prince Daemon, who has been at odds with her since finding out that his brother, Viserys, only trusted Rhaenyra with the prophecy of the “Song of Ice and Fire” that tells of the battle ahead for Westeros. She makes peace with Daemon by the end of the season when he bends the knee and accepts her as his leader and agrees to lead the “Blacks” to victory against King Aegon’s supporters, the “Greens,” and help her take back King’s Landing. Later, Rhaenyra is paid a secret visit by her childhood-friend-turned-enemy Alicent Hightower, who tells Rhaenyra she will let her take King’s Landing in order to stop the violence between their families. Rhaenyra tells Alicent she will trust her and do this, only if Alicent accepts that Rhaenyra will need to kill King Aegon to publicly secure the throne. Rhaenyra and Alicent are unaware that Aegon has run away in hiding.
