House of the Dragon Recap With Spoilers: Season 2, Episode 3

House of the Dragon‘s second episode aired on HBO last week and came to a close with the emotional deaths of both Erryk and Arryk Cargyll. The deadly duel between the twin brothers is representative of the entire conflict at the heart of House of the Dragon, as two factions of Targaryen family members fight for the Iron Throne. In Sunday’s new episode of the series, Rhaenyra and Aegon continue to position themselves for a blood war that is very clearly on their doorsteps. It should go without saying, but this article is filled with spoilers for House of the Dragon…

Age Old Rivalry

The new House of the Dragon begins far away from the Targaryen civil war, as two houses who have been bickering for generations add a new chapter to their rivalry. Two young men from House Blackwood and House Bracken start an argument over a land dispute, but it soon turns into an argument over their allegiances to either Rhaenyra or Aegon. The camera quickly cuts to the same stretch of land after a brutal battle. It’s covered in dead bodies on both sides. We’ll learn later that the Brackens, who side with Aegon and the greens, claimed a victory in the conflict, but they lost so many men that it’s difficult to consider it a win.

Back in Dragonstone, Rhaenyra is burying the twin Cargyll soldiers beside one another, despite the fact that one of them attempted to kill her. She knows he was only following orders. Rhaenys suggest to Rhaenyra that she try and reach out to Alicent, knowing neither one of them wants war. Rhaenyra isn’t convinced (but this won’t be the last time she’s asked in this episode). Rhaenyra also has a conversation with Mysaria, thanking her for coming back to warn her about the assassination attempt. In return, she wants a position in Rhaenyra’s court.

In King’s Landing, Ser Criston Cole has taken over as Hand of the King, with Otto officially out of the city. This has a couple different effects, as the Kingsguard is now made of untrained soldiers who had been longtime friends of Aegon. Cole’s first small council meeting doesn’t go well. He’s chastised by Alicent for trying to kill Rhaenyra and getting a good knight slain in the process. After hearing about the incident in the Riverlands, Cole decides to ride out with a small group of men and try to take Harrenhal for the greens. It’s a bad idea but Aegon is all for it, wanting to fly out on his own dragon and join the mission.

Harrenhal

Daemon and Caraxes arrive at Harrenhal, the largest castle in Westeros, to find it largely destroyed and abandoned. He finds a handful of remaining members of House Strong, led by Simon Strong, who welcome him and bend the knee to Rhaenyra. Daemon unveils his plans, explaining that he intends to raise a Riverlands army with Harrenhal acting as their garrison. Once he can do that, he’s marching on King’s Landing for the Iron Throne. The question remains, however, will he try and take that throne for Rhaenyra, or attempt to sit upon it himself?

Alicent’s brother, Gwayne Hightower, arrives in King’s Landing just in time to join Cole on his expedition to the Riverlands. Cole clearly doesn’t want him there but Alicent gets the final say. She doesn’t fully trust Cole and it seems like Gwayne is maybe there to keep tabs on him.

Things aren’t going great in Dragonstone either. Rhaenyra’s council, save for Rhaenys, are persuading her to send all the dragons out after her enemies. She knows, however, that Aegon’s forces will bring out the dragons if she does, and she wants to prevent as much bloodshed as possible. The council doesn’t agree with her tactics right now, seeming as bloodthirsty as Aegon’s allies.

Family Matters

In one of her toughest decisions, Rhaenyra sends her neice, Rhaena, to the Vale with her dragon hatchling, some eggs, and her younger sons. She asks Rhaena to be the mother to them that she can’t be, wanting to protect them during the war that is sure to get ugly. Rhaena doesn’t want to leave but it doesn’t seem like she’s got much choice in the matter. 

A short scene between Helaena and Alicent shows that the former is trying her best to cope with the loss of her son, and the latter is holding on to a lot of guilt because her affair with Cole kept him from his post. Helaena knows that and tells Alicent she forgives her for what happened. Elsewhere in the Red Keep, Aegon wears the Conqueror’s armor, ready to join the fight. Larys talks him out of it with a couple of clever lies, earning himself a job as Master of Whispers.

A man in King’s Landing — the same one who was checking out the rat catcher execution in Episode 2 — appears in a pub and claims to be the brother of Daemon and the late King Viserys. He doesn’t offer any other explanation but this does appear to be Ulf the White, a character who will be much more important later in the story. His conversation is interrupted by Aegon and his friends, who drink and find their way into a brothel. Aegon finds his brother, Aemond, with the older woman he often goes to see, resulting in ridicule from the King.

In Harrenhal, Daemon has a vision where he sees a young Rhaenyra rocking a dead Jaehaerys in a chair, sewing his head back onto his body. She represents the consequences of his actions and he’s flustered. When Daemon awakens from the vision, he’s standing in front of a weirwood with his sword drawn. The eerie Alys Rivers appears behind him to offer an ominous message:

“You’re going to die in this place.”

The episode ends with Rhaenyra sneaking into King’s Landing to meet with Alicent while she’s at the altar praying. The details about Viserys’ final words come to light and Rhaenyra tells Alicent that her father was talking about Aegon the Conqueror, not Aegon II. Alicent, unfortunately, thinks it’s too late to change anything.