This article contains spoilers.
We’re now on Episode 7 of House of the Dragon Season 3, and by now, we should have seen a battle play out after the show spent six episodes working towards it. But it looks like the showrunners are saving the First Battle of Tumbleton for next week to make the finale more exciting. But the season’s penultimate episode makes up for the stalling by finally tying up a few storylines.
The episode starts with dreams. Helaena (Phia Saban), who has inherited the Targaryens’ prophetic dreaming gene, dreams about leaving King’s Landing, only to wake up to Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) interrogating her about the possible outcomes of the war. In Harrenhal, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) dreams about having sex… with his mom, Alicent (Olivia Cooke). When he wakes up, he finds that his real mother has arrived with her “guide” (aka the assassin Rhaenyra sent to kill Aemond), Ser Adrian Redfort. Aemond kills him, saying he does not trust strangers.
Gwayne (Freddie Fox) rides into Tumbleton, telling Ormund (James Norton) that the Rivermen and Winter Wolves are now only a day’s march away from the town. Ormund is unfazed, saying “I have a piece on the board now that will bring the bitch to her knees.”
Later on, we see Corlys (Steve Toussaint) at the dining table with Ormund and Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), but he’s there under duress after being captured by the Hightower men in the last episode. Ormund reveals that he’s keeping Corlys hostage so that the Velaryons aren’t compelled to go to King’s Landing. But Gwayne and Daeron wonder how that matters to them since thousands of White Wolves and Rivermen are marching on them anyway.
Meanwhile, near the Riverlands, Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) spot Sheepstealer flying around and return to King’s Landing to alert Rhaenyra, who begins to doubt whether Daemon (Matt Smith) was being truthful about killing the dragon’s mystery rider in Episode 4. Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) sows even more doubt by pointing out that Daemon wasn’t around when Sheepstealer was seen, implying that he may be the rider.
But we know that’s not true. After searching for his daughter Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) in the Vale, he finds her and promises that they could look for Vhagar together. But before they could fly out, Rhaenyra and Addam arrive. A standoff happens between the dragons: Sheepstealer versus Daemon’s Caraxes, Rhaenyra’s Syrax, and Addam’s Seasmoke. In the end, Sheepstealer is severely wounded and runs off, unable to fly, while Rhaena is brought back to King’s Landing.
There, Daemon assures Rhaenyra that he only meant to protect his daughter, while Baela tells Rhaena that she will begin anew.
A Dragon Comes Back, But It’s Not Vhagar
Back in Harrenhal, Alicent moves on to Plan B after Aemond killed Adrian. She goes to the escort’s dead body and finds a dagger, then spots a bush of poisonous berries. Later in the episode, she offers Aemond a cup of “spiced wine,” which he drinks despite Alys’ (Gayle Rankin) warning that Alicent “has come to do you some evil.” He goes stumbling into the kitchen and faints, prompting Alys to search for her mother-in-law-to-be around the castle.
Meanwhile, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), Larys (Matthew Needham), and Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) have set out for Maidenport, from which they plan to sail to Essos. As they get closer to the town, the smallfolk start pouring out and warn them that an army allied to Rhaenyra approaches. Aegon decides to ride back to Rook’s Rest, from which more people are fleeing. The king resolves to stay to be captured, insisting that he will die “but not as a fugitive, unknown, covered in dust. Not with an arrow in my back or trapped like a fox in a hole. I’ll make my stand here and be buried as a king, with my dragon.”
Larys bids them goodbye, leaving only Tyland to fend for Aegon. As the Black troops approach at night, Aegon introduces himself, which earns him mocking laughs. The king looks miserable until a zombified Sunfrye rises behind him and breathes fire onto the soldiers.
In King’s Landing, Alyn (Abubakar Salim) receives a box containing Corlys’ finger and ring. Elsewhere in the Red Keep, Rhaenyra confronts Mysaria and accuses her of attempting to turn the queen away from her uncle-husband. But Mysaria manages to stay in her good graces by telling her that she will be queen and that she is worthy, before the two get hot and heavy. But does Mysaria actually love Rhaenyra, or is she just tapping into her past as Flea Bottom’s most sought-after madame?
In Tumbleton, Ormund’s piece on the board is revealed to be Ulf (Tom Bennett), who’s tired of being mocked and overlooked as a dragonrider and wants revenge on Rhaenyra for being banned from having a night out on the town. “They will burn,” Ulf promises.
House of the Dragon Season 3 is streaming on HBO Max.
Frequently Asked Questions
The showrunners delay the First Battle of Tumbleton to Episode 8, using this episode to resolve storylines and build anticipation for the finale.
Aemond kills Ser Adrian Redfort, the guide Alicent brought to Harrenhal, saying he distrusts strangers and unaware that Redfort was the assassin Rhaenyra sent to kill him.
Yes, in Episode 7, Season 3, Alicent laces wine with poisonous berries and offers it to Aemond, who collapses some time after drinking it.
No, Rhaena is Sheepstealer’s rider. As Rhaena’s father, Daemon only offers to protect her and help search for Vhagar in an attempt to get back in Rhaenyra’s good graces.
Ulf is an illegitimate Targaryen and the rider of Silverwing. Promised the glory of being a dragonrider, he resents being overlooked and banned from taverns by Rhaenyra. Because of this, he betrays Rhaenyra and becomes an ally to Ormund Hightower.
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