[This story contains major spoilers from the season three finale of House of the Dragon.]
Whenever a Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin, and the world waits to see if the child will achieve greatness, or succumb to madness. Where has the coin landed when it comes to House of the Dragon hero Rhaenyra Targaryen? As of the season three finale, the results are in — and they are decidedly mixed, pending one’s viewpoint.
Certainly, there are major Daenerys vibes throughout the HOTD finale, including turning to violence against her own constituents in her quest for power. Beyond ordering the immediate execution of a faith leader turned political rival, Rhaenyra’s rampage was bloodless, and yet, bone-chilling. In a moment that deviates wildly from George R.R. Martin’s source material, the queen stands before the masses of King’s Landing and reveals the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy: the White Walkers coming, and only Rhaenyra can stop them, as the prophesied Prince Who Was Promised.
Martin’s book Fire and Blood, which HOTD takes its cues from, never mentions the Ice and Fire prophecy. Likewise, there’s no mention of Rhaenyra making such a public declaration. Given what she says, one would think the history books would reverberate with details about the Dragon Queen and her stark warning (or her stark madness, as some might have seen it). In a press conference about the shape of season three and specifically its finale, executive producer and showrunner Ryan Condal revealed his answer to that very question: “Targaryens say crazy shit all the time.”
He’s joking — mostly.
“It’s not in the book and it’s not in the history, but there is a bunch of talk about how Rhaenyra became very despotic, and became a tyrant at the end, and was very unpopular with the people,” says Condal. “So much of [the Targaryens’] existence is their self-aggrandizement. For the stonemasons standing there in the crowd just looking up at this [speech], it could just sound like somebody trying to make something of themselves.”
Condal continues, saying he and the show’s writing staff were seeking “a real seismic change, a sea change in Rhaenyra’s relationship to her people.” Pronouncing herself as the savior of her people, just moments after killing the people’s religious leaders, is meant to not only feel like a real change between the queen and her realm, but also between the queen and us, the audience.
“Power turns out to be incredibly fragile, and that, seats of power — their sort of apparent stability, can also turn out to be illusory,” says Emma D’Arcy, the actor charged with bringing Rhaenyra to life. “It’s a conversation which remains very pertinent. How do you manage the ego? How do you manage the human ego in the political sphere? That feels like a pressing question.”
What comes next, now that Rhaenyra has revealed her destiny to the world? The answers lurk in the Fire and Blood book, though it’s anyone’s guess to see if and how the show might change course from the source material. Whatever happens now, Condal promises that season four — which will be the final season of HOTD — will be bigger than anything that’s come before.
“It’s a great privilege to be able to tell a story, and to be able to control and write the ending, and to control when and where that happens,” he says. “This is not a given in making television, certainly. So, we’re very excited to get back in, and we have new characters, and new dragons and new locations all to come, that I think are gonna make it a very worthy final season.”
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House of the Dragon season three is now streaming on HBO Max; read THR‘s finale coverage.
