House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8 is out now on HBO Max — and it’s an incendiary conclusion to the high-fantasy show’s penultimate chapter.
As the dust settles on the Game of Thrones spin-off’s latest season, I suspect you’ve got many burning questions about its finale and how events that transpired will impact House of the Dragon season 4. Worry not, because I’m going to answer — or, at the very least, do my best to answer — your biggest queries about season 3’s last entry.
It goes without saying, but full spoilers immediately follow for House of the Dragon season 3’s final episode. Turn back now if you haven’t watched it yet.
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Who dies during the Battle of Tumbleton?
Countless men, women and children. Indeed, whether caught in the Targaryen and Hightower armies’ crossfire, or burned alive by Ulf the White and his dragon Silverwing, season 3’s final battle is anything but trivial.
There are a couple of hugely important character deaths in this season’s finale, too — the most significant of which is Ormund Hightower.
In a duel with Roderick Dustin, aka leader of the Winter Wolves, during the conflict’s final throes, Ormund is stabbed up the, well, anus by his adversary, before he’s one of many whose lives are ended by Ulf and Silverwing.
Why does Ulf kill him? Because, after Ulf gets drunk and passes out before the battle, he’s eventually found by Ormund and his men, and Ormund beats him for his actions. After suffering a similar beatdown at Daemon’s hands earlier this season, Ulf’s clearly had enough of being humiliated by other lords.
Roderick suffers a similarly fiery demise, set ablaze alongside Ormund on one of Tumbleton’s parapets by Silverwing. Moments before, Ormund had stabbed him in the gut and then taken his right forearm. Unlike Ormund, though, Roderick has been chasing death throughout season 3, so he meets his end with a cackle and a cheer, which is further heightened by the impending death of his enemy.
What happens to Daemon, Gwayne, and Daeron in House of the Dragon’s season 3 finale?
They all survive — well, we know at least two of them do, anyway.
Where Daemon is concerned, he makes it out alive after almost losing a one-on-one bout with Ormund’s right-hand man, Jon Roxton. Before Roxton can deliver a telling blow, however, falling debris caused by one of Silverwing’s fiery trench runs separates the pair, allowing them to escape to fight another day. Daemon soon reunites with Corlys Velaryon, who’s escaped captivity in the chaos, and the duo flees with the remaining Targaryen forces as Tumbleton burns.
As for Gwayne and Daeron, they manage to evade one of Silverwing’s devastating attacks. However, before this season’s finale ends, we’re only reunited with a dirt-and-blood-covered Gwayne, who appears to be the only survivor of the pair.
Does this mean Daeron is dead? I won’t spoil his fate as it’s outlined in Fire and Blood, aka the Thrones book House of the Dragon is inspired by. But if we use the old film/TV show trope “no body, no death”, we can assume that Daeron the Daring and his dragon Tessarion will be seen again next season.
Does Helaena kill herself in the House of the Dragon season 3 finale?
Yep. You don’t fall from a window that high — especially one with giant spikes at the bottom — and live to tell the tale.
Frankly, Helaena’s death doesn’t come as a surprise. For one, in Fire and Blood, she commits suicide by similarly throwing herself from a window. And, while her death occurs much earlier in House of the Dragon than in the literature, she’s not only become a political prisoner of her half-sister Rhaenyra, but has also had her Godswood privileges severely restricted due to Alicent’s botched escape plan in this season’s fifth episode. It’s no shock, then, that we see her become more depressed across season 3’s final three chapters.
Of course, when Rhaenyra finds out, she’s not overly bothered. Helaena was pregnant and, if she’d birthed a son, he could’ve challenged Rhaenyra’s right to laud it over the Seven Kingdoms (NB: this was a possibility before Rhaenyra learns that half-brother Aegon II is still alive). With Helaena and her unborn child gone, Rhaenyra needs only to focus on eradicating Aegon II, and her rule will be absolute.
The big question now is: what will Alicent do when she finds out that her only daughter committed suicide after Rhaenyra promised to keep her safe? Truthfully, we don’t know. Alicent still has a key role to play in the HBO Max fantasy show, but House of the Dragon has played loose and fast with its source material over the past two seasons. I wouldn’t be shocked if she tries to cosy up with Aegon II and Aemond in their plan to take back the throne — although, after Alicent tried to kill Aemond at Rhaenyra’s behest, I suspect her second-born won’t take too kindly to seeing her again. Speaking of Alicent’s remaining children…
What happens to Aemond and Aegon II in House of the Dragon’s season 3 finale?
The estranged brothers are reunited at Harrenhal and, as I mentioned, concoct a plan — albeit one formulated by Aegon II that Aemond is roped into helping with — to wrest back the Iron Throne.
After Alys saves Aemond’s life following his poisoning at Alicent’s hands, a sleeping Aemond wakes to the sound of a dragon. Believing it to be the returning Vhagar, he gets up and follows the noise, only to find that his brother and his dragon Sunfyre have seemingly returned from the dead.
After an incredibly tense back-and-forth that also soon involved Alys, Aegon informs his younger sibling that he plans to overthrow Rhaenyra and reclaim the throne. Only once they’ve found Vhagar — who’s integral to the plan — and successfully carried it out will Aegon consider forgiving Aemond for almost killing him and Sunfyre in season 2. An uneasy alliance, this most certainly is.
Does Rhaenyra get officially coronated in House of the Dragon season 3 episode 8?
No. For the second time this season, Rhaenyra’s request to be officially ordained by the High Septon is declined.
This time, though, Rhaenyra doesn’t take no for an answer. After instructing Alyn of Hull to kill the High Septon in a show of force — a deed Alyn carries out but appears to instantly regret — Rhaenyra leaves the High Sept to address the assembled crowd outside its front doors. There, she tells them about Aegon’s Dream, aka The Song of Fire and Ice, aka the prophecy that foretells the coming of the Long Night and the White Walkers, which only a Targaryen and a collective of dragons have the power to oppose. Oh, and that Viserys chose her, not Aegon II, as his true heir, so the commonfolk should follow her over him.
Those who’ve read Fire and Blood, and/or know their Westerosi history, will be well aware of where things go from here for Rhaenyra. I won’t spoil what lies in store for her, but I do want to briefly touch on a new theory I have about her former Mistress of Whispers, Mysaria…
Is Mysaria being positioned as The Shepherd in House of the Dragon?
Amid everything else that happens in House of the Dragon‘s season 3 finale, it would be easy to forget that Mysaria is surprisingly relieved of her duties by Rhaenyra. Clearly, the latter no longer trusts the former after what happened this season.
That firing could prove to be Rhaenyra’s downfall, though. Without getting into the finer details of Fire and Blood, her reign is destabilized by a mysterious figure known simply as The Shepherd, who eventually incites an uprising against Rhaenyra.
In Fire and Blood, The Shepherd is depicted as a one-handed, religious fanatic who preaches that dragons are demons and Rhaenyra is a false queen. And, while I expect House of the Dragon‘s version of The Shepherd to play a similarly vital role in season 4 (more on this shortly), I think this character will be retroactively fitted to be Mysaria in disguise.
Think about it. Mysaria was not only known as the White Worm but also the leader of a spy/informant network before being hired as Rhaenyra’s Mistress of Whispers. If anyone can incite a riot against Rhaenyra, especially as someone who’s been betrayed by, and has an ax to grind with, the current monarch, it’s Mysaria. I wouldn’t be amazed, then, if Mysaria becomes The Shepherd in all but name next season.
When will House of the Dragon season 4 be released?
House of the Dragon season 4 doesn’t have a confirmed launch date yet. However, as long as principal photography begins in early 2027, it’s widely expected to premiere at some point in 2028. That much was made clear when House of the Dragon was renewed for a fourth and final season last November.
Oh, didn’t you know? House of the Dragon will end with season 4. HBO boss Casey Bloys (per Deadline) and showrunner Ryan Condal (again, via Deadline) have confirmed that’ll be the case, so don’t expect a fifth season to materialize once the series’ fourth installment is over.
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