Gaming ‘House Of The Dragon’ Season 3, Episode 3 Recap And Review: The Madness Of Queen Rhaenyra By Erik Kain ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about TV shows, movies, video games, entertainment & culture. Follow Author Jul 05, 2026, 10:00pm EDT Jul 05, 2026, 10:49pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . House of the Dragon Credit: HBO The best part about House of the Dragon ’s third episode of Season 3 is the way music is used to underscore how fragile and tenuous Rhaenyra’s grip on sanity is now that she’s queen bee. The Dragon Queen. Or “Rhaenyra Triumphant” as the episode is titled, though I believe somewhat ironically.
In King’s Landing, nothing goes the way she wants, and between the stress of power, Alicent’s sons on the loose and unaccounted for, a rat infestation and her lingering grief over Jace’s death, the budding ruler is slowly cracking at the seams. Worse still, she discovers just before her first public appearance that she’s on her period.
Ramin Djawadi’s score heightens every scene. Eery violins screech a warning when Rhaenyra thinks she sees Jace walking toward her in the halls of the Red Keep. Lilting piano follows her through the darkness of the castle’s chambers. Menacing cellos gnash and gnaw at our nerves. Strange bells ring in the night. This is quite possibly the moodiest episode of the series, or the entire Game of Thrones Extended Universe.
Much of this episode focused on Rhaenyra’s uncomfortable interactions with various lords and ladies in King’s Landing, from a hostile High Septon to Lord Corlys Velaryon to her new dragonriders. It is painfully obvious that she needs to learn to delegate – and maybe invest in cats.
House of the Dragon Credit: HBO MORE FOR YOU It’s a shame the Lannister twins are dead. After all, a Lannister always pays his debts. Rhaenyra’s first shock as queen is learning of her empty coffers. All the gold is gone, and there’s barely enough to pay her soldiers, let alone throw a lavish coronation. Orwyle has no idea where it’s gone and neither do Alicent or Helaena, who Rhaenyra accuses of treachery before Alicent reminds her that no, actually, she did everything she promised, sending Aemond out of the city, preventing the archers and trebuchet operators from firing on her dragons and so forth.
There are other problems. The rats have wreaked havoc across the Red Keep. Candles are in short supply and if tallow isn’t found soon, they’ll all be spending their nights in darkness (though I imagine torches and lamps still exist). The common folk petition Rhaenyra. Food and basic supplies are running out. She suggests hunting in the Kingswood, something Corlys balks at.
Speaking of Corlys, he has his own petition. He’d very much like it if the queen he supported, the queen his wife died fighting for, the queen whose cause led directly to Corlys’s castle being razed and his prize ship sunk, would grant him one single wish. He’s finally recognized Alyn and Addam as his sons and wants to name Alyn his heir. Rhaenyra has the power to legitimize them both, but she hesitates and demurs.
House of the Dragon Credit: HBO Later, when she knights Ulf the White and Hugh the Hammer, she styles Addam “Addam of Hull” rather than Addam Velaryon. When Corlys finds out, he’s baffled and confronts his queen. She tells him that due to sensitives around her own family, she ca…