House of the Dragon Season 3 Finale Recap: Rhaenyra’s Crisis

The finale opens with Rhaenyra waking to the news that Aegon is alive, and that his return—with a still-quite-lethal Sunfyre, no less—after she declared him dead makes him some kind of messiah. Understandably, she panics, cursing the memory of Viserys (Paddy Considine) for putting her in such a terrible situation. “His prophecy has tested me again and again, and I have met its every challenge!” she complains to Daemon. He takes the opportunity to remind her of her Targaryen supremacy. So, how should she wield it? “The only quality the realm understands is strength,” Daemon says. It’s enough to get him dispatched to Tumbleton.

Baela (Bethany Antonia) urges Rhaenyra to have Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint) rescued from the Hightowers’ clutches while Black forces are in town. He is, after all, the Hand of the Queen, and he’s sacrificed mightily for her cause. Also: “It was your fault” the Sea Snake was captured in the first place, Baela says. When Rhaenyra seems less than enthusiastic about helping him, Baela really goes off on her. “If a person is useful to you, you wield them,” she accuses. “But if not, you abandon them.” This may be true. A few scenes later, Rhaenyra abruptly banishes her paramour Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno)—through a minion, no less. (Mysaria does get a nice severance package.) But doesn’t a responsible sovereign have to be ready to throw her friends and family under the bus in service of what she believes to be the greater good of the kingdom? I mean, wasn’t that the takeaway of six seasons of Matt Smith’s other show, The Crown? Of course, as with Elizabeth’s real-life refusal to let her sister marry a divorced man, the question of whether it’s actually prudent for the monarchy to deprioritize saving Corlys is a different matter.