Criston Cole gathers an army, Daemon finally flies to Harrenhal, and Rhaenyra embarks on a diplomatic mission to Alicent – remembering and discussing what we saw in Episode 3 of the new season of 'House of the Dragon'.
The first bloodshed in the Civil War, further attempts to stop this war, and the appearance of old acquaintances – all this awaited viewers in the new episode. So let's get straight to the point and discuss what we were shown.
Previous recaps:
Warning: spoilers for Season 2 Episode 3 of 'House of the Dragon' below
Battle at the Burning Mill
The third episode begins with a squabble between unfamiliar characters. A group of young people from neighboring families – the Brackens and the Blackwoods – start arguing about where one family's land ends and the other's begins.
Additionally, one side supports Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), the other supports Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), and when their loyalty to the throne is mutually questioned, we see hundreds dead on the field with a burning mill in the background. The Battle at the Burning Mill is the first real clash in the Dance of the Dragons. And an important catalyst for the actions of both warring sides.
Daemon Captures Harrenhal... Alone
Having mentioned it about 50 times over the first two episodes, Daemon (Matt Smith) finally executes his plan to capture Harrenhal as a foothold for war.
Flying in on a dragon, he finds the cursed castle in complete desolation. The castellan of Harrenhal, Simon Strong (yes, a relative of Larys from King's Landing), takes about 30 seconds to surrender it to Daemon, but this place is far from what the Targaryen expected to see.
Criston Cole Gathers an Army
Daemon wasn't the only one who wanted to move from words to action and gather an army, as the war had truly begun. The Battle at the Burning Mill was the final catalyst that convinced Aegon of the need for more active measures. Against his mother's urgent pleas, the king orders the newly appointed Hand, Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), to set out with a small but fast detachment and enlist the loyal Houses they encounter along the way.
Criston agrees, but when Aegon offers to accompany them with his dragon, the Hand and his brother Aemond reject the idea in a feigned complimentary manner. The king agrees to stay (even though Larys simultaneously hints that he could lose the throne by leaving the castle), and Criston sets off, but not before Alicent (Olivia Cooke) persuades him to take her brother Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) along.
Soon, the party, including Criston himself, crosses paths with Baela (Bethany Antonia) and her dragon. Caught off guard (another sign that Criston has no idea what he's doing), they flee into the nearest forest and barely avoid being burned. The 'Blacks' now know that Criston is beyond their borders with a small army, but he thinks this can be used to his advantage. Does anyone actually believe he'll accomplish anything worthwhile?
Unexpected Cameo
At Harrenhal, Daemon doesn't find what he expected. On the very first night, he has nightmarish yet incredibly realistic dreams. In them, he stumbles through a room and sees a person sitting by the fire. Daemon approaches and realizes with horror that it's young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) sewing little Jaehaerys's head back onto his body.
It was great to see Alcock, who was one of the highlights of the first season. Returning to the castle, it's worth noting that ghosts of the past are what many say Harrenhal is cursed with, so what's happening to Daemon after what he's done is quite logical.
Shocked by what he saw, Daemon drops his weapon and suddenly finds himself outside near a tree; next to him stands Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), whom we saw when Daemon arrived at the castle. She says, 'You will die in this place.' And walks away. Now Daemon has to live with that.
Rhaenyra Goes to King's Landing
The Battle at the Burning Mill pushed Rhaenyra to take action. Unlike her half-brother Aegon, she hopes there is a diplomatic way to stop the war before it goes too far – through Alicent. After sending the dragon egg keepers away from sin Dragonstone, she heads to the capital.
Acting outside the rules and using Mysaria's knowledge, the queen sneaks into King's Landing. This foray, in terms of tension, resembles what we saw in the previous episode when the knight Arryk similarly traveled through Dragonstone. Except the ending here is not bloody.
Rhaenyra meets with Alicent and pleads with her for a chance to end the bloodshed and see if there is a peaceful path. During this conversation, the queen learns that Alicent actually misinterpreted Viserys's last words about Aegon, which referred to Aegon the Conqueror, not their son. Rhaenyra explains that Alicent heard the king deliriously speaking of the prophecy of the Song of Ice and Fire.
For a moment, Alicent looks stunned by this news. However, she is too deeply involved, and many processes are already underway and unlikely to be reversed: Otto (Rhys Ifans) has been dismissed as Hand, Criston is in the field with an army, and Aemond is Aemond. So she almost orders Rhaenyra to leave the city before she is discovered. And the truce was so close!
Teaser for Episode 4:
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