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House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 Ending Explained & Full Breakdown | HOTD S3E3 Review

In this video, we break down House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 in detail. After Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne in the explosive first two episodes, this episode took a more intimate approach focusing on her internal struggle, the depleted treasury, unhappy common folk, and the difficult decisions she faces as the new Queen.

đŸ”Ĩ What We Cover:
00:00 - Intro & Spoiler Warning
00:45 - Rhaenyra's Mental Struggle & The Weight of the Crown
02:30 - The Rat Symbolism in the Red Keep
04:15 - The Banquet: Robin Hood Approach
06:00 - Lord Corlys Velaryon's Request & Alyn of Hull
08:45 - Rhaenyra vs Daemon: Rule with Fear or Kindness?
11:20 - The Faith, Dragons & Godly Figures
13:00 - Tumbleton Falls: Ormund Hightower's Betrayal
15:30 - Daeron Targaryen: To Kill or Not to Kill?
17:00 - Rhaenyra The Cruel: The Rise Begins
19:00 - Aemond at Harrenhal & Vhagar Missing
20:30 - Episode Review & Emma D'Arcy's Performance
23:00 - Final Thoughts & Season 3 Predictions

📖 RECOMMENDED BOOK:
If you want to know the full story of House of the Dragon and what happens next, check out the book "Fire and Blood" by George R.R. Martin.
👉 Link in Bio & Pinned Comment!

đŸˇī¸ Tags: #HouseOfTheDragon #HOTD #HOTDSeason3 #RhaenyraTargaryen #DaemonTargaryen #AlicentHightower #GameOfThrones #Tumbleton #AemondTargaryen #Vhagar #CorlysVelaryon #OrmundHightower #DaeronTargaryen #IronThrone #HBO #FireAndBlood #EndingExplained #EpisodeReview

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We bring you detailed breakdowns, ending explanations, and reviews of the biggest shows and movies. Subscribe for more HOTD content every week!

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ÂŠī¸ Copyright Disclaimer: Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

This video is a review and commentary on House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3. All footage and images used are property of HBO and are used under fair use for commentary and educational purposes.
Transcript
00:00House of the Dragon is back this week with the third episode of season 3.
00:04And after the first two episodes were on the explosive scale as Rhaenyra took the Iron Throne.
00:09This one reigned it in a little bit as we got a deeper insight into Rhaenyra's mind as the
00:14weight of sitting on the Iron Throne was immediately felt. The treasury was depleted,
00:19the people were unhappy and restless, and despite one of her biggest threats swearing loyalty to
00:24the queen. It was all in vain and a decoy for the actual plan that the Hightowers were carrying out
00:29in taking Tumbleton to take effect. So with that, let's break down the episode, discuss the important
00:35details, and I'll share what I thought of it. Here is House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 3,
00:42Ending Explained. Just to let you know, this video will contain spoilers. Guys, if you also want to
00:48know the full story of House of the Dragon, then read this book. Link is in the bio and pinned
00:54comment,
00:54check it out quickly. Rhaenyra's struggle, what this episode brought to light was the
00:59struggle that Rhaenyra was going through within her mind. And it also highlighted the many,
01:04many decisions that she needed to make in such a short amount of time. This was done through the
01:09single point of view that we had for the entire 55-minute runtime. Rhaenyra was quite literally
01:15faced with many decisions such as how far into Faith to lean. Whether to rule with fear or kindness,
01:21the treasury being non-existent, the people struggling, and the decision on what to do with who she
01:27believed was Daeron Targaryen. There was a muffled, high-pitched drone that would often appear.
01:32And it would drown out all of the other voices that were present in the room with her. And it
01:37simply showed that she felt like she was way out of her depth and didn't know what to do.
01:42The main issues that she was faced with was how to deal with the common folk that had suffered and
01:46been forced to eat rats. Whilst the blockade that she'd put up meant that they were low on supplies and
01:52living in conditions that were causing them to suffer. To rectify this, we saw her host a banquet
01:57where the merchants and minor nobles had what they'd held on to during the struggle whilst others
02:02suffered being taken from their homes. Rhaenyra was almost going for a Robin Hood approach of take
02:07from the rich and give to the poor in order to get the majority on side. It was said that
02:12a hungry
02:13population is one that can cause unrest. However, stealing from the rich, those that have influence
02:19and are important, could be something that comes back to get her, too. Another decision that she
02:24had to make was following a request that Lord Corlys Velaryon put towards her. He wanted his sons to be
02:30legitimized and be given the name Velaryon for all that they'd done. They'd shown that they'd been loyal
02:35to Queen Rhaenyra, and he felt that they deserved to be rewarded and also acknowledged by the crown.
02:41This would mean that Alan would become Corlai's heir, the heir to Driftmark. There was a
02:46hesitance in Rhaenyra in making this possible. And when she knighted Alan, she didn't knight him
02:51Alan Velaryon. She knighted him Alan of Hull. This cemented her side against Lord Corlys when
02:57it came to his request. She did this because she was thinking of her son Joffrey, who she called back
03:03from the Vale because she wanted him to be heir to the Driftmark throne. It was previously her son
03:08Lucerys and we heard the big ordeal about it when Vemond lost his job because of it and what he
03:12called her sons. But that's exactly what Corlys screamed at Rhaenyra just like his brother did
03:18back in season 1. Not only did she want Joffrey to ascend the position, but she also didn't want
03:24the rumors from the past about Jace and Luke not being of the rightful blood to be what could get
03:29sparked up again by skipping her own blood and giving it to Alan. It's a time where she feels she
03:35needs to make sure that there's no doubt from the people that she deserves to be sat on the Iron
03:39Throne.
03:39And by doing that, she feels she'd be undermining herself. This is something that I feel is most
03:45definitely going to come back to get her. It's another person of power, authority and loyalty
03:51that she's not on the side of, and she's quite literally just ostracizing herself. The rats in
03:57the episode that were roaming around the Red Keep were something that I felt had a couple of different
04:01symbolic meanings as to why they were included. The first is that they were there to quite literally
04:06bring to light the mess that Rhaenyra was in and the difficult decisions that she was needing to make.
04:11But it also shone a light on the fact that there were rats among her. Without naming names,
04:17there are many names to come that end up betraying her because of the way that she rules.
04:21And it simply brought to light that there are going to be more than just the rodents coming out
04:25of the Red Keep. Rhaenyra was conflicted on how to rule. She wanted to rule like her father,
04:31Viserys, somebody who managed to ride the wave of King Jaehaerys I's rule and the stability that was
04:37formed by him. However, as Daemon said, he didn't strive for greatness. Daemon believed that they
04:43should take more than just King's Landing, and the strength that they had due to having six dragons
04:48when Aegon in the past only had three showed the sheer power that they wielded and that they were
04:52these godly type figures. This was an interesting conversation because earlier on in the episode when
04:58she was speaking with the Septim figure, he said how she shouldn't make an enemy of the faith as it
05:03binds the people together. He also said that dragons destroy and do not create and that there are magic
05:09formed in darkness. Viserys also said that dragons were a power that no man should trifle with,
05:15hence why he denounced his dragon. So, it was almost implied that by having dragons, it didn't make you
05:21godly. It quite literally meant the opposite. With Daemon being on one side and the advice that she was given
05:27being on the other, it showed that she needed to pick one and that she wouldn't just be able to
05:31float in the middle. During the ending of the episode where we saw the dragon keeper appearing
05:36at the gate and saying that Tumbleton was taken by Ormond Hightower and that it quite literally burned
05:41the market town to smithereens. It highlighted that he'd taken a completely different approach
05:46and was using the dragons as a weapon and bringing to light that they could act as these godly figures.
05:51Whereas earlier on in the episode when Rhaenyra was giving out the food to the common folk,
05:56she was saying, God be with you. Which showed that she'd tried the different side. However,
06:02with Tumbleton being taken, she might be forced to look to do the other.
06:06Esser Ormond taking and essentially being amongst the people showed that it was a deliberate move
06:11to nestle amongst those that he knew Rhaenyra wouldn't be willing to burn to a crisp as they were
06:15innocent. So, her next move is going to be something that will mark how she is as a ruler.
06:21When Alicent was speaking with Rhaenyra, she told her that she may not rule and remain herself,
06:26and that there were choices that she'd need to make where she'd have to turn her face away while
06:30people suffer and die. Could this well be one of them? The loss of Rhaenyra's sons is the cost that
06:36the Iron Throne has come to her at. And with her saying how she felt no grief, nothing,
06:42but instead that she felt rage and that it was the main thing that she could grasp onto,
06:46Rhaenyra the Cruel is very much about to arise. Having the decision of whether or not she could
06:52kill Daeron Targaryen was something that was almost like the beating heart and the grounding of her
06:56throughout the episode. Demon would occasionally throw it in at the end of conversations and also
07:01keep reinforcing to her that it needed to be done. But as we saw, she couldn't bring herself to do
07:07it.
07:08Let's remember Rhaenyra isn't a natural killer. Esser Hightower was her first ever kill in the
07:13previous episode, so it doesn't come naturally to her. Saying such is, he's younger than I thought,
07:19and by also making the decision to send him to the wall to be a member of the Night's Watch
07:23showed
07:24that she didn't quite have that ruthless edge like Demon did. Despite the Red Keep's air being thick
07:29and full of ghosts, as Rhaenyra put it, the taking down of anything that represented the Greens
07:34was a plan that was underway. During the ending, everything was taken down and was being burned to
07:40ashes. So the final shot that we got was of Rhaenyra's eyes looking into the flames and with
07:45Ormond betraying her and going against her. She was now going to have to act with violence following
07:50the diplomatic approach not working. The Battle of Tumbleton is something that does occur later on
07:56down the line and it's an important one that's laced with betrayal for Rhaenyra. The rats that we
08:01were shown all throughout this episode with the seeds being planted for betrayal and Tumbleton being
08:06mentioned was the very reason as to why it got such a strong focus. There was a brief moment of
08:11Aemond at Harrenhal being mentioned, but we didn't find out the state of him. All we heard was that
08:16Vhagar hadn't been seen in a little while and Rhaenyra essentially said that whoever could give her
08:21Aemond, they'd be given Harrenhal. So, this really is Alicent's chance to get what she wants whilst also
08:27staying loyal to Daemon and Rhaenyra. However, with a show that's got betrayal everywhere,
08:33I somehow don't see that happening. My review of the episode. Now, this wasn't as good as the
08:39first two episodes of the season, but it was still really strong. It was just so different.
08:44It took a more intimate approach and allowed us to take a personal look inside the mind of Rhaenyra
08:49as she dealt with the many issues that she was now facing. We've seen the show essentially
08:54focusing on her journey to get to the Iron Throne, but we didn't think we'd see the struggle that
08:59she'd be faced with, and it was an interesting insight. The overwhelming nature of it, the single
09:04point of view focus, and the rage that she had inside of her that she was trying to channel was
09:09the perfect way for the episode to be framed. The music that was in the background of this episode
09:14was just so unsettling. It made it feel so much more immersive. It made me feel uncomfortable and it
09:20allowed me to feel the struggle of Rhaenyra so much more. I was just on edge for the most part
09:25of it.
09:26I thought it was a bold move going for such an intimate episode after having two that quite
09:30literally knocked it out the park with the visuals and battles, but the balance is something that's
09:35definitely key and this worked with Rhaenyra getting the sole focus. We needed a strong performance of
09:41the character and Emma Darcy absolutely delivered. It was convincing and like I said, you could feel
09:46everything that she was. The rage, the grief, and the conflict that was in her mind. The way that
09:53Ormond just basically rolled over for demon in the opening scene made me think that there was going
09:57to be more than met the eye with the situation. And with Darin simply never speaking whenever he was
10:03getting spoken to. It also highlighted that the deception and decoy plan was going to be getting
10:08underway. When Curly's Velaryon screamed at Rhaenyra just like his brother did, whilst also bringing to
10:15light her insecurities, that was a standout moment for me in the episode. I felt so bad for Curly's.
10:21He's genuinely been one of the only people that stood by her like her father would have done.
10:26And she's just basically spat in his face after putting his life on the line several times.
10:32This episode laid the foundations down well for the eventual two battles that we'll get in the
10:37Battle of Tumbleton. And it showed that Lord Ormond Hightower, leader of the largest army in Westeros,
10:43isn't going to stop until he's made sure that there's a Hightower connection to the Iron Throne.
10:48It's been a great season so far, far better than what we had in season two,
10:52and I hope it continues on. So, there you have it.
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