Two years after Season 2 came to an end, House of the Dragon is finally back, and the fight for the Iron Throne is messier than ever. Rhaenyra is still trying to secure her claim, the Greens aren’t exactly backing down, and the Targaryen family drama has now grown into a full-blown war.

After spending so much of the previous season building tension and moving pieces into place, Season 3 had the chance to really let everything explode. With alliances shifting, dragons becoming an even bigger part of the conflict, and both sides being pushed further than before, a lot was riding on this season.

Season 3 picks up right where Season 2 left off, with the Targaryen civil war fully underway and tensions finally boiling over. I didn’t think Season 2 was particularly great, so I went into this one with fairly modest expectations.

Those expectations changed quickly. Season 3 feels more intense, more consequential, and far more willing to push the conflict forward. The stakes are higher, the characters are forced into tougher situations, and it finally feels like everything the show has been building toward is starting to pay off.

Rhaenyra benefits from that shift more than anyone. For much of the first two seasons, she tried to lead with mercy and compassion, but war has a way of testing those ideals. Over time, I found myself understanding why Daemon and others around her kept pushing for a harder approach.

Without getting into spoilers, that evolution is one of the most interesting parts of the season. Rhaenyra still feels like herself, but there’s a harder edge to her now, and watching that side of her emerge made her much more exciting to follow.

Another character I want to highlight is Ormund Hightower, a new addition to the cast this season. At first, I couldn’t figure out why he looked so familiar, and then it hit me: “This guy was in Happy Valley!” He was a dick in that series, and somehow, he’s managed to be a dickhead here too. Now, I’m sure James Norton is a really nice guy in real life, but he’s really mastered the art of playing these slimy, irritating characters that get under your skin.

The fact that he had me feeling that strongly about the character is really just a testament to how good James Norton is. He brings a sharp, antagonistic energy to Ormund that makes every scene with him feel a little more tense, and his performance was one of several this season that made it incredibly easy to get immersed in this world.

The last character I want to acknowledge is Daemon. After everything we’ve seen from him over the first two seasons, it was refreshing to watch him seemingly put his own ambitions aside and genuinely support Rhaenyra’s claim. There’s a different sense of loyalty to him this time around, and seeing him actually believe in her rather than constantly feeling like he has his own agenda added another interesting layer to their relationship.

Of course, this is still Daemon we’re talking about, so his more questionable tendencies don’t disappear entirely. That unpredictability is still very much a part of what makes him such an entertaining character to watch.

Moving on from the characters that stood out to me, I also want to talk about the scale of this season. As someone who loved just how massive Game of Thrones managed to feel at its peak, Season 3 is the closest House of the Dragon has come to capturing that same sense of scale for me.

The battles, dragons, set pieces and overall production all feel like a noticeable step up, and there was a real sense of anticipation around where each episode might take things next. Obviously, not every episode is built around some huge spectacle, nor should it be, since the story still needs time to breathe and move the narrative forward.

But when Season 3 decides to go big, it really goes for it, and that added scale made the season much more exciting to watch.

Unfortunately, nothing is rarely ever perfect, so I want to acknowledge the parts of the season I didn’t enjoy. I feel like a bunch of the characters were severely underutilised this time around. From key character like Alicent & Aemond, to new entries like Alys Rivers and Daeron Hightower. All of these characters felt like set dressing with storylines that maybe are being kept for the fourth and final season. I’ve never read any of the books so I can’t speak to if these characters were probably adapted for the screen but while I did enjoy what I got, I do think much more could have been done with these folks.
Overall, Season 3 ended up being far better than I expected. After feeling somewhat disappointed by Season 2, this was the first time in a while that House of the Dragon consistently had me excited to see where the story would go next.

The larger scale, stronger character development and willingness to finally push the conflict forward made this feel like the season the show had been building toward. There are still characters I wish had been given more to do, but that wasn’t enough to take away from just how much I enjoyed the season overall.

For me, Season 3 is easily House of the Dragon at its best so far, and if the fourth and final season can build on what worked here while giving some of its underutilised characters their time to shine, this series could still end on a very strong note.

House of the Dragon Season 3 Review: The Best the Series Has Been.

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