The third season of House of the Dragon comes to a fiery end

🔥📺 The curtain falls on the third season of House of the Dragon. Following an incredible season premiere earlier in June — which saw us glued to our screens for every second of its runtime — the third season of House of the Dragon soon saw its episodes slow, stall, and frustrate its loyalists. The season’s saving grace would have been its finale, and earlier today, it — by some miracle — delivered. These are our spoilerfree thoughts…

The final act: Picking up right where episode seven left off, the finale follows Queen Rhaenerya Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) as she learns of her half-brother’s — King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) — return, and his dragon’s resurrection. The smallfolk-proclaimed “Queen of Bastards” becomes furious, erratic, and vengeful, setting forth a series of events that threaten to turn even the most loyal of the Black faction against her… including her own kin. The episode ties several loose ends but leaves several holes in their stead — ones we’ll have to wait another two years to address when the fourth and final season drops in 2028.

What we liked about the finale: Following a stiff mid-season run, which saw ratings drop compared to the season’s first two episodes, the finale finally picked up the pace. In its 75-minute runtime, a number of revelations — some more significant than others — several overdue conversations, and a brutal battle sequence brought the series back on track. Much like the premiere, we were invested in every second. D’Arcy, Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen), Abubakar Salim (Alyn of Hull), and Gayle Rankin (Alys Rivers) gave some of their best performances in the show to date.

But… was it too late?

Eight more episodes left in the series, lots of ground left to cover. With the final season comprising only eight episodes, there remain plenty of storylines, subplots, and major battles to depict, which we — Fire & Blood enthusiasts — cannot envision being done justice if the pacing curse continues. And several key characters involved in storylines that overtook the majority of the season were absent from the finale. Ryan Condal, the show’s creator, seems to have cornered himself. Author and creator George R. R. Martin (GRRM) tried to warn us.

Beware the butterflies: In 2024, GRRM took to his blog for a lengthy rant — quickly taken down — criticizing Condal, and only now do we understand the author’s frustration. It seems GRRM was making a reference we would only come to understand two years later. We’ll keep it at that to avoid spoilers.

The verdict: The finale gets the job done for the most part. For casual viewers, it’s an exciting, nail-biting watch to the end — one that makes up for a somewhat below-average season. For A Song of Ice and Fire Universe stalwarts, it might leave a sour taste, but we won’t be too quick to judge. Despite our concerns about the upcoming final season, we still hold out hope that the best is yet to come. It almost has to be — otherwise, we risk another Game of Thrones-style send-off.

WHERE TO WATCH- The finale is now streaming on OSN+. Watch the episode teaser on YouTube (watch, runtime: 1:09).