House of the Dragon is just beginning to give the feel of GoT with Episode 3

We have waited long enough for action in ‘House of the Dragon‘, and the first show of war in episode 3 is the kind of madness that is in sync with what we saw in the original series, ‘Game of Thrones’, thanks to Prince Daemon Targaryen.

There is not as much fire yet in House of the Dragon, though. The action is still a flash. Although there are some towers of smoke, it is still laden with painful loads of endless room conversations – when we were already thinking of the series as a seminar of some sort.

We thought Daemon would be relegated to the background, but the end of episode 2 showed us that he deserves more screen time – and he was mad enough to go alone into a war zone to confront the Crabfeeder in this episode.

Vaemond: “Show me the knight who will march into that hell pit and I will show you a mad man.”
Laenon: “Daemon.”

Daemon may be powered by spite and the almighty chip on his shoulders, but we are seeing results.

Meanwhile, King Viserys may not cease to be that inept king he has shown to be from the beginning. We can argue for his longing for peace, but we cannot argue for his time as a terrible father and an absent king.

Ermm…did you miss our review of episode 2? Click here to read it.

King Viserys now has an heir from his daughter‘s friend, Alicent, and has further widened the gap between him and his daughter, who was named heir to the Iron Throne a couple of years before.

Alicient is pregnant again (suggested to be a boy), and her relationship with Rhaenyra may have died a natural death.

For most of the episode, Viserys is contemplating Rhaenyra’s marriage as he now has a male heir, and a familiar name from the original ‘Game Of Thrones’ comes into the picture — a Lannister.

Maybe, now, the Lannisters would bring the spicy, classic conversations we have all craved since ‘House of the Dragon’ began. For now, the Lannisters visited to pay their respects, but it is not so graciously accepted, and Rhaenyra is furious that she has been objectified as just another piece in marriage arrangements.

For obvious reasons, this isn’t the last we’ll see of the Lannisters. Besides, we all want to see the power, magnetic screen presence, and sadism that characterised Cersei, Jamie, Tyrion, and Tywin. What we see now, though, is one dull, unappealing Jason Lannister who cannot even talk Rhaenyra into a spark of interest.

The Lannister twins – Tyland and Jason – don’t have the presence of Cersei and Jaime yet, but they also haven’t thrown any kids out the windows, so call it a draw.

However, it is time to start making notes on the Lords of Westeros because the movers and shakers have arrived in great numbers now, and they’re beginning to look like dangerous hooks in the water.

‘House of the Dragon’ episode 3 is still much talking and morose wallowing in self-pity on King Viserys‘ part, especially when you see him acknowledging that he may have made a mistake practically ‘murdering’ his wife and how he has lost a strong-willed Rhaenyra – all in his obsession for an heir.

We won’t be surprised if you talked about King Viserys and how much you dislike him.

Still on Rhaenyra‘s marriage, Lord Lyonel Strong has caught the king’s ear and seems closest to suggesting a match for Rhaenyra that the king can accept, but now his sons, Sir Harwin “Breakbones” Strong and Larys “the Clubfoot” Strong are stepping forward too.

These men – most of the men in fact – all feel like the upcoming victims and villains of whatever schemes the show is cooking up, so they’re worth noting for reference purposes. 

What may interest you in this episode comes at the end, when Daemon understands that his brother thinks he is incapable of handling a war, which led him to bludgeon a messenger.

What comes after is a suicidal mission to hunt the Crabfeeder rather than wait for the king’s army support. After he has fought and brought down several of Drahar‘s forces, backup arrives in the form of the Velaryon forces and dragonfire to finish the illegal war.

Here, you will experience a display of Valyrian steel superiority over pirate weaponry and armour, and if you love action…this is the part.

But, this battle brings back memories of the Night King debacle in Season 8 where death only came upon those on one side.

‘House of the Dragon’ is slowly stepping up to meet expectations, with the Daemon storyline at least. Meanwhile, the rest of the scenes still fade in and out of dreariness, and some very dull unnecessary dialogues.

One particular problem is that, so far, every woman’s fate in ‘House of the Dragon’ seems to revolve around her genitalia, even for Rhaenyra who rides dragons.

We’re still far off from the ‘Game of Thrones’ level of storytelling, characters, and dialogue, but we are already looking at fire coming out of the dragon and the scheming becoming more intense.

Episode 3 is a slow burn that introduces new characters and indulges in gossip before unleashing that fiery finale.

And yes, the visuals and the background music were stunning in this episode.