Diksha Sundriyal
The third season of HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon’ ends with the brutal battle of Tumbleton, some shocking deaths, and a major transformation for Rhaenyra. The previous episode marked the return of Sunfyre, bringing a half-burnt Aegon back into the fight. The finale begins with Maeater Orwyle rushing to Rhaenyra’s quarters to inform her of this development. This sends her crying to Daemon, trying to stifle a panic attack as she wonders why all this is happening to her. The news of Aegon’s resurrection has reached his supporters, who have raised their banners again, once again sparking the war that she thought she’d won. Daemon calms her down, reminds her that this is her biggest test so far, and the opportunity to show her strength. His words work, and she sends him to Tumbleton to start cleaning the house with Ormund Hightower. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Rhaenyra Makes Several Executive Decisions
While her army prepares to take over Tumbleton, Rhaenyra is approached by Baela, who asks what the plan is to rescue her grandfather, Corlys. The Queen says the Hand will be freed after Tumbleton has been taken, which leads Baela to lash out and express her frustration, something she has been holding in for a long time now. She blames Rhaenyra for casting aside those who are of no use to her, and Rhaenyra reminds her that she and Rhaena have done enough damage with what happened with Jace as is. Meanwhile, the Velaryon fleet arrives in King’s Landing. Their first thought is to go to Tumbleton to rescue Corlys, but Alyn tells them they have to remain in King’s Landing and restore order. He also declares himself Corlys’ son and the future Lord of the Tides.
As the Rivermen and the Winter Wolves gather outside the walls of Tumbleton, Ormund prepares for the battle. He knights Daeron, reminding him of who this war is happening for. He is clearly hanging his victory on Ulf, who is at the tavern, getting drunk and saying all the things he had been holding in about Rhaenyra and Daemon. And he does not mince his words. A sudden turn of events takes place at King’s Landing, when Mysaria is fired out of the blue, leaving even Elinda shocked about it. She is given gold and a seat on the ship meant for Pentos, but she slips into the chaos of King’s Landing, refusing to accept her dismissal so easily. Meanwhile, Rhaenyra decides it’s time for her to be anointed Queen once and for all, and Alyn receives the task of guarding her and Joffrey.
On the way, she tells her son and successor about the Song of Ice and Fire, which she’d last told to Jace. Before they leave, Addam tries to talk to Alyn about how Aegon’s return seems to have turned the Queen towards a dark path. Alyn, however, doesn’t seem too concerned with it, which leads Addam to wonder if his brother has been blinded by power. Alyn doesn’t feel the weight of these words until he is in the Sept, where Rhaenyra orders the Septon to anoint her. Once again, the man refuses, this time pointing out that Aegon’s resurrection has proved what the gods want. Since they won’t do her bidding, Rhaenyra decides to have them all killed, and Alyn is made to make the first blow on the High Septon.
When he hesitates as the Septon talks about how it would mean going against the Seven Gods, Rhaenyra reminds him he is the blood of Old Valyria, and these are not his gods, so he shouldn’t worry about them. With the Septons killed, Rhaenyra addresses the crowd, reminding them that her father made her his rightful heir in a ceremony attended by all the lords of the Seven Kingdoms. She goes one step ahead and talks about the danger in the North and how dragons are the only thing that can save the world from that end. She ends the speech calling herself Rhaenyra the Chosen and the Prince Who Was Promised.
Aegon and Aemond Reunite in Harrenhal
After getting poisoned by his mother, Aemond wakes up, thanks to Alys. When he wonders why she continues to help him, she tells him the story of how Aegon the Conqueror came to Harrenhal on Balerion and burned the castle down. All of Harren the Black’s sons were killed in the war, but one survived. He was badly burned but alive, and his mother tried everything to make him better. When the doctors of the Seven Kingdoms couldn’t help him, she turned towards the old magic to save him. She made deals with things in the forests, but even their magic couldn’t undo what the dragonfire did. When her son died, she tried to kill her, only to discover that the price of the dark magic was her own life.
She was stripped of her title, her position, and everything else and cursed to live in Harrenhal forever. Aemond is shocked to realize that Alys is more than a hundred years old, but at the same time, it also makes him realize the extent of her loneliness. They don’t get to talk about it much, but Aemond hears the arrival of a dragon, only it isn’t Vhagar. Aegon has made his way to Harrenhal on Sunfyre, ready to fulfill the promise he made to himself of killing his brother. However, the confrontation doesn’t go as imagined. Aemond is shocked to discover Aegon is still alive, but instead of fighting him, he falls to his knees, asking for his forgiveness.
Aegon is confused by his reaction and by the fact that confronting him doesn’t feel nearly as good as he thought it would. In any case, there is still an ongoing war, so he tells Aemond to go with him to Tumbleton, where their brother Daeron has crowned himself king. Alys walks in and tells him Vhagar is gone, and when Aegon asks who she is, Aemond says she is his betrothed. Still, the plan remains the same. They must go to Tumbleton, get Ormund and Daeron in line, take King’s Landing, and put Rhaenyra’s head on a spike. After this, Aegon will finally consider whether he is going to forgive his brother for what he did.
The Battle of Tumbleton Begins
Preparing to face Rhaenyra’s army, Ormund puts the kids on the wall, knowing that his enemies will not dare attack the young ones or risk being called monsters. This does nothing to assuage Gwayne and Daeron’s fears, as they still don’t know what Ormund is up to. They do see that whatever he planned has not worked out as he hoped, and sure enough, he is concerned because Ulf has gone missing. Gwayne takes one last chance to broker peace. He takes Corlys with him to parlay with Daemon, offering a plan. What if they divide the Seven Kingdoms, with Rhaenyra ruling one half from King’s Landing and Daeron ruling the other from Oldtown? Corlys takes a step further, proposing they wed Rhaena and Daeron and join their houses.
This would get Hightower allies on their side, leaving Aegon (whom Daeron is surprised to know is still alive) and Aemond with no claim and no banners as supporters. Daemon rejects the proposal, taking Corlys hostage, and sends Daeron back to Tumbleton to die in the battle. As they discuss battle plans, Daemon is told about the kids on the wall. He decides to divide the army into three parts. Roddy the Ruin and his Winter Wolves will take the wall and open the gate from the inside. This will allow Daemon to walk in with his men through the center. Meanwhile, Oscar Tully and Alysanne will attack from the south wall. He also tells everyone not to harm the kids and innocents, as Rhaenyra’s moral standing must be upheld. As the Winter Wolves charge towards the wall, Ormund still cannot find Ulf.
He becomes agitated as the attack begins, and feels even worse when he discovers that Gwayne tried to make a bargain with Daemon and gave up Corlys. Meanwhile, Gwayne finds Daeron with Tessarion, stopping him from taking his dragon to war. They are forced to run out as they hear battle cries taking over the town. Arrows and boulders rain down on Roddy’s men, and they have to face oil burning their skins off as they try to get up the wall. Despite all this, they manage to make it through, and once the Winter Wolves are up there, the Greens have no prospect of escaping. They hack and slash their way through the wall and into the town. Meanwhile, Daemon, too, receives the news that Ulf is nowhere to be found, while Hugh, who was supposed to be guarding King’s Landing, has arrived with his dragon.
Are Ormund Hightower and Roderick Dead?
It takes a little more than expected for Roddy and his men to open the gate. So, the impatient Daemon calls Caraxes into play. He intends to burn down the door, but once again, a bunch of children is put in the way. He asks them to flee, and while many do, two remain standing. Realizing they are not going to get away, Daemon tells Caraxes to burn them and the door, which the dragon destroys. As Daemon and his men pour in through the gate, Roddy and his men turn their focus on Roxton and Ormund. Meanwhile, Ormund manages to find Ulf, who seems to have passed out in the toilet after drinking so much. An angry Ormund kicks him into sobriety and tells him to do the job he was told to. Ulf is sent to his dragon with two Hightower soldiers.
Meanwhile, Daemon cuts through the Hightower army looking for Ormund, but finds Ulf screaming for his wife. His attention then turns towards Ser Roxton, and a brutal combat ensues, and it looks like Daemon is going to lose this one. Around the same time, Ulf takes flight, and while the Blacks rejoice at first, they are immediately thrown into crisis mode when Ulf’s dragon rains down fire on them. Corlys is shocked to discover this and runs for his life. Having inflicted a lot of damage on the Queen’s forces, Ulf turns his attention towards Tumbleton. He isn’t very happy with the way Ormund treated him, so he burns down the town as well. This turns out to be a boon for Daemon, who is saved from Ser Roxton by a wall that crumbles due to dragonfire, putting a hurdle between them.
Meanwhile, Roddy, who had been looking for Roxton, finds Ormund on the wall instead. A fight ensues between them, where Ormund inflicts significant injuries on him. Even when he cuts Roddy’s hand, the Winter Wolf does not stop because he’d come to battle with the intention of dying. Ormund would likely have killed him if he hadn’t become distracted by the disgust of Roddy’s blood on his face. And then he watches Ulf burn Rhaenyra’s army, but his happiness doesn’t last long as the dragonrider turns on Tumbleton as well. Right at that time, Roddy stabs him, and if that hadn’t killed him, Silverwing rains fire, which takes both Ormund and Roddy. Later, Ormund’s burned body is found by Ser Roxton as the whole town reels from the chaos and fire.
Is Helaena Dead? What does the Tapestry Mean?
Daemon is also caught by surprise about what happened, but before he can keep going further, Corlys shows up, tells him about Ulf’s betrayal and how Tumbleton is lost, and takes him back to King’s Landing. Hugh, on the other hand, grieves is wife, whom he finds dead in her house. Meanwhile, another tragedy strikes in the Red Keep. Earlier that day, Elinda told Rhaenyra about how Helaena had stopped eating. Her physical health is bad, but her mental state is worse. On her way back from Kingswood, she sees the horse and is reminded of the dream she had at the end of the last episode. It turns out her visions are slowly coming true. On her way inside the castle, she encounters Mysaria, who is being taken out. The White Worm tells her Aegon is still alive, not to trust the Queen, who is holding her hostage and will never free her.
Later, Rhaenyra shows up at her room asking her to eat. But Helaena talks about how much she has changed for the worse and how their father would never have approved of this. Her words poke at an already insecure Rhaenyra, and when Helaena refuses to eat, she has her force-fed. Rhaenyra leaves for her anointment, but when she comes back, Elinda rushes to her with tragic news. It turns out Helaena has jumped out of her room window. This is what Alicent had warned her about, but Rhaenyra, who is at first shocked at what her sister has done, goes through a shift in emotions as she looks at the tapestry she had been working on. It turns out Helaena had predicted her own death. Or that, at least, she had started considering it in earnest.
Rhaenyra discovers she weaved her own fall to death from the Red Keep’s window. But that’s not it. Before her death, she painted a picture of Rhaenyra on the throne, but instead of making her look like a peaceful ruler, she had flames, dragons, and dying people all around her throne of swords. Knowing Helaena was a Dreamer, Rhaenyra figures this isn’t a good sign. It shakes her belief in being the chosen one, but now, she has come too far to doubt herself. So, she throws the tapestry on the ground and closes the window, as if closing herself off from the reality of what’s right in front of her. Meanwhile, Alicent, who is on her way to King’s Landing, is greeted by a kaleidoscope of blue butterflies, the ones Helaena had talked about earlier. She, too, knows in some way that her daughter is gone.
Read More: House of the Dragon: Who Does Baela End Up With: Addam or Alyn?
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