House of the Dragon Episode 3 Review: Explodes In All Its Epicness Between New Threats, Betrayals And Spectacular Battles
Cast: Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint
Director: Greg Yaitanes
Streaming Platform: HBO Max
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4.5/5 (four and half a star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
With a further time jump compared to the previous episode, House of the Dragon Episode 3 takes advantage of the most propitious moment to present the elements that will indelibly mark the fate of the Targaryen house. The series, which already with the first two episodes showed off a technical sector of absolute respect and a long line of interesting characters, is now overcoming the transition of events to surprise spectators with twists and spectacular features worthy of the days. Game of Thrones gold. The segments of the spin-off seen so far featured particularly intriguing narrative elements and highlighted perpetual machinations, but the third episode brings to light (in every sense) the first, enormous consequences of the choices made in the course of past episodes. On the one hand, the narrative takes the viewer on increasingly unstable tracks in observing the crumbling of the balances within the Targaryen family on the other, the show explodes in all its vehemence in a crucial step of the war in the Stepstones.
House of the Dragon, with its third installment, offers exactly the spectacle that fans have been eagerly awaiting. Let’s analyze the episode together. The house of the dragon continues its course! HBO Max premieres the third episode of the Game of Thrones prequel in which the same trend is followed as in the previous ones: the juiciest parts are reserved for the beginning and the end of the chapter and the succession policy is the one that attracts the most attention. From this point on, you will find spoilers for The House of the Dragon Episode 3 “Second of His Name”, written by Gabe Fonseca and Ryan Condal and directed, like the previous one, by Greg Yaitanes.
House of the Dragon Episode 3 Review: The story
More than two years have passed since the choice of the new queen for King Viserys, the Targaryen family seems ready to welcome new heirs to strengthen the bloodline. However, the feelings of joy shared by the population and the Council are not shared by everyone. The new lady of the king, the young Alicent Hightower, has given birth to a male heir: Aegon Targaryen, according to her name, be with the mere presence of her the main element of imbalance in the whole episode. Rhaenyra begins to feel the weight of a position in the balance and a role to be preserved at all costs. As much as her father tries to reassure her, the idea of having to find a husband to strengthen his position on her throne begins to become a weight of no small importance. The conflict between conflicting opinions and difficult decisions will haunt the king’s mind, who after having contained will let go of all his frustration with his duty and heavy legacy.
At this juncture, Viserys’ fragility is opposed to Rhaenyra’s resolve, more than ever determined not to give in to the claims of the Hightower and totally in conflict with her old friend, now her stepmother. In the escape from duties that she does not intend to recognize, the young princess takes time for herself as important news arrives from the east, where Daemon Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon are working themselves to face the threat from the Stepstones. The battle against the Crab Eater is turning in an unexpected direction and only the crown can remedy such a thorny situation. When the king prepares to intervene, the very idea of being pitied or receiving help will make Daemon’s dragon blood boil, and he will seize the ball to launch a furious attack on the disputed territory.
House of the Dragon Episode 3 Review and analysis
Throughout the entire episode, many of the leading faces of the series are explored with particular attention. While remaining a long time with Rhaenyra, overwhelmed by inner conflicts and unexpressed desires, the third episode shows in a clear and limpid way the profound humanity that distinguishes King Viserys. Faced with a very complex family situation and on the brink of the abyss, the ruler of the Targaryen house reveals (at least openly) for the first time all his fragility (or weakness, for some). With particular emphasis on its paper counterpart, Viserys’ ruler ineptitude emerges primarily through his inner evil. A righteous and good-natured man he doesn’t seem to be solid enough to carry the weight of the Iron Throne. In this sense, the character of Alicent stands out in the family drama, which becomes the protagonist of an ever wider development, suggesting that it can play a much more crucial role than the initial prospects.
At the same time, among curious apparitions of well-known families and ideal situations to enhance the interactions between characters, the dangers and threats of a war that is going on too far than expected emerge with ever greater arrogance. The combined moves of Daemon and Corlys Velaryon do not seem to have the desired effects, so the king’s help seems almost obligatory to heal old wounds in the name of victory. The psychological impact of this choice allows us to observe once again how the most multifaceted and unpredictable character of the cast manages to steal the show both during the planning and in the long action sequences that see him as the protagonist. If on the one hand, the excellent management of the pace stands out during the event that sees the royal family engaged, on the other the technical sector can show off all its strength in front of spectacular sequences with a great scenic impact.
While not showing phenomenal solutions to white weapon fighting, what is presented on screen still manages to reveal the enormous potential available to HBO. The brutal series of confrontations will undoubtedly succeed in satisfying most audiences with visually striking sequences. The direction of Greg Yaitanes is incredibly dynamic both in the most contemplative and in the most frenetic portions: playing with shots at focal centers, to be able to move easily from one perspective to another, the director led by Miguel Sapochnik manages to exalt himself indoors and outdoors, making even the chaos of a pitched battle extremely structured.
As already mentioned in our review of House of the Dragon Episode 2, the characters continue their path of evolution in an exemplary way, enhanced by excellent interpretations and by writing that is confirmed as incomparable in terms of richness of dialogues and communicative depth. If, after the long wait of the previous episode, the pace stands out towards decidedly more frenetic peaks, it is above all the technical sector that reigns supreme. The HBO production continues to amaze with great attention to detail, keeping the bar high especially after the debut of The Rings of Power. Net of a few subtle smudges, the third episode of House of the Dragon continues to demonstrate the great ambitions of HBO under the wise guidance of George RR Martin.
The very high budget of The House of the Dragon is noticeable, but only at specific moments and that takes its toll on the episodes for a double reason: all the meat is thrown on the grill in the massive battles and to show the war potential of the dragons in brutal sequences, but the rest of the footage on the other hand is lax, lacking in emotion and even verging on boredom. It seems that the only fixed character that manages to give narrative tension to the story is Daemon because only when he appears is there action not only in the sense of violence but also as the engine of the rest of the characters, whom he “forces” to take positions and get out of your comfort zone.
Not even the majestic interiors, the weirwood trees, or the hunting parties look spectacular, as in the original series, in which each element of the mythology was tremendously attractive, unique and special. Everything leans towards a much more stereotyped and simple medieval fantasy that we have seen a thousand times and does not do the story justice. If it had already become clear what the main conflict was: the lack of a male heir for Viserys, now it is clear that the problems for Rhaenyra come from the hand of the first son of Viserys and Alicent, Aegon, who precipitates new tensions in a king unsure of the appropriateness of his decision to name his daughter heir, but still involved in procuring some happiness.
The series dwells on these issues for so long that there are characters who do not even make an appearance even though they seemed to key in the first two episodes. In short, this third episode of The House of the Dragon is the weakest to date with an anticlimactic ending, addition, in which the main threat is swept away without us witnessing it. In such a way that, although it seemed that Craghas Drahar was going to be a kind of King of the Night whose threat was going to be dosed much better, it has lasted us a sigh. The brutal character played by Daniel Scott-Smith has managed to increase our heart rate with each appearance (and he deserved a more epic ending, it must be said).
House of the Dragon Episode 3 Review: The Last Words
House of the Dragon succeeds in the intent to constantly raise the bar, enhanced by great actor interpretations and a technical sector of the highest level. The pace becomes more and more pressing as the succession controversy takes shape, but it is above all with the battle over the finale that HBO shows its full potential. If we think we have only scratched the surface of this great tale, we can expect great things in the weeks to come. The problems of The House of the Dragon are revealed as the plot progresses: everything related to wars and dragons looks spectacular, but the development of the characters and their conflicts are much less exciting than expected.
