House of the Dragon, in many ways, has an opportunity to actually end with its fans pleased. With only four seasons planned and the source material already locked in place, the series does not face the same future Game of Thrones did, where eventually they ran out of source material and had to go their own way, dividing fans on the things that happened along the way and ultimately leading to a final season that left people quite cold. There was even a petition with over a million signatures asking HBO to remake that final season. I don’t think that’s going to happen with House of the Dragon because it seems like they are mostly sticking to what was written. So there’s a level of predictability here. It’s just watching this story unfold on such a grand scale that makes it such a wonderful experience. I’ve never found the time to read George R.R. Martin’s novels, so everything here is always a new experience to me. I love the conversations I have with friends who did read the books and always think it’s funny when they knew something I did not know.

Season three of House of the Dragon is just fantastic from beginning to end. I was not a critic who was provided anything from HBO Max in advance in terms of a screener, so I had to watch this along with all of you normies. Some critics were provided at least part of the season in advance, but I’m kind of fine with watching it this way because it meant I got to experience it with the excellent audio description from Point 360, written by Connor DeWolfe and narrated by Roy Samuelson. This audio description team even managed to credit the engineers and editor who worked on the series, which is incredibly rare in an age where it seems like credits for audio description are dwindling. I like that Point 360 pushed for those credits and that Warner Bros. and HBO Max were accepting of them. I can’t even imagine what this series would be like without audio description. I probably would have given up a long time ago. It’s so action-based, with so many fantasy elements, so much violence, and so many scenes of people posturing, looking at each other, and communicating through subtext that without audio description to shape this world, it would be utterly pointless for me.

This is one of the best audio description tracks of the year, hands down. Even the opening title sequence is full of so many great little moments for the description to capture. The title sequence actually evolves over the course of the season, adding memorable moments from the episodes as we go. Things that would have been spoilers if they existed in the title sequence ahead of time become part of the lore of the series once they’ve happened. Roy Samuelson does a lovely job with the narration, and Connor DeWolfe has written such a wonderfully lush landscape that sometimes it’s like he’s describing a painting. There are all these different dragons, people from different areas of the realm, a giant ensemble, fantasy elements, brutal violence and a hundred different things happening at once. Connor tries to find every one of those things and squeeze in as much as he can. That’s why I think this is among the best audio description work of the year. The level of difficulty here is exceptionally high, and the track consistently rises to meet it.

Since this is a review of the entire season, I have to tread carefully in discussing what happens. At the end of last season, Aegon was escaping, leaving Aemond to face Rhaenyra, who had suddenly gained three new dragonriders in Hugh, Ulf and Addam. Add Rhaenyra, Daemon, Jace and Baela to the equation, and that’s quite a fleet of dragons at her behest. Season three becomes about Rhaenyra’s opportunity to take King’s Landing after a misstep from Aemond leaves the city vulnerable. Rhaenyra eventually finds her way to King’s Landing this season, which is a mild spoiler depending on how much you know about the story, and gets an opportunity to reign, at least in part. But the fourth and final season will ultimately answer who truly gets to sit upon the Iron Throne at the end of House of the Dragon. Will it be Rhaenyra? Will it be Aegon? Will it be Aemond? Time will tell. I will not.

There are so many memorable moments this season. House of the Dragon doesn’t quite have the same finger on the pulse of pop culture that Game of Thrones did at its peak. Otherwise, everyone would be running around talking about “A Feast for Traitors,” which, in my opinion, is this series’ Red Wedding. Game of Thrones had that shocking Red Wedding episode that still stands as one of the most surprising endings to any episode ever and remains iconic, probably one of the greatest episodes of television of all time. Here, there’s a shocking moment that’s hard and just as brutal, almost calling back to the Red Wedding sequence, even though the characters involved in the Red Wedding were obviously far more integral to the overall story of Game of Thrones than the victims of “A Feast for Traitors.” That’s hardly the only memorable sequence. I loved Rhaenyra’s banquet, where she invites the upper crust of the realm to dine on that which they most certainly would not wish to dine on. House of the Dragon can still find wonderfully twisted ways to remind us exactly what kind of world we’re living in.

There’s some wonderful character development this season. Aemond starts off creepy, including a deeply uncomfortable moment with his mother, Alicent, before hitting somewhat of a brick wall and feeling like he’s lost everything. And yet the show eventually brings him back around to his deeply unsettling Oedipal complex. Alicent tries to remain stoic throughout the season, but unfortunately for Olivia Cooke, this isn’t really her season to stand out. She mostly facilitates greater sequences happening around her. This is, however, very much Emma D’Arcy’s season to stand out as Queen Rhaenyra. They are wonderful, and hopefully this performance will still be remembered a year from now when Emmy voting happens because D’Arcy is stunning. There are so many little moments and beats where they have to balance stoicism with despair, confidence with uncertainty, and a queen’s authority with a woman realizing that possessing a crown and successfully ruling are two entirely different things.

I even liked where they took Aegon this season, a character who was once deeply unlikable and seems to have to go through hell and back in order to be redeemed at all in the eyes of the audience. I think one thing the writers of House of the Dragon are probably afraid of is who will sit on the throne at the end and whether the audience will like it, because that was definitely one of the biggest debates surrounding the ending of Game of Thrones. Not many people were excited about the choice that series ultimately made. House of the Dragon has the advantage of adapting an existing ending, but it still has to make us emotionally accept the journey there. Aegon and Aemond both have moments this season that humanize them, while Rhaenyra increasingly struggles to keep everything under control once she takes King’s Landing. The Faith refuses to endorse her, the city has no money, people need to be paid and there’s not enough food. If anything, it’s a testament to how poor the leadership under Aegon and Aemond had become that King’s Landing is in such dire straits when Rhaenyra inherits it. But she doesn’t have the resources to rebuild and replenish King’s Landing while simultaneously continuing a war against the Hightowers. Heavy hangs the crown, and now it’s on her head.

I enjoyed Jace a lot in season two and have always feared for his character, knowing that, as will likely be true for most of these characters, his eventual exit could be heartbreaking. I worry about Baela too, who gets some nice beats this season but spends much of it as more of a minor character. Then there’s Daemon’s daughter Rhaena, who has an interesting storyline involving the wild dragon Sheepstealer. Somehow she manages to tame the untamable and become a dragonrider herself, which brings its own calamity. Corlys is brought in as Rhaenyra’s Hand and asks that his sons, Addam and Alyn, be recognized with his name despite being bastards. Rhaenyra denies Corlys, saying the time isn’t right, when Corlys is fully aware of Rhaenyra’s own rather complicated situation. Do as I say, not as I do, I guess, is her proclamation. That distinction also seems to sit differently with the brothers. Addam, the dragonrider, seems far more in tune with the Queen’s plans, while Alyn is increasingly critical of Rhaenyra’s choices.

Rhaenyra also has one of the fastest social climbers in Westeros at her side in Mysaria, who just a season ago was in a far different position and now finds herself on Rhaenyra’s council, much to Daemon’s ire. When Rhaenyra needs support most, Mysaria is the one who stands by her, gaining considerable goodwill in the process. She picked the right side at the right moment, earning herself a place on the council and power within King’s Landing. How long can she keep it? That’s the real question. As someone lowborn, her power comes through proximity rather than lineage, which makes her position inherently fragile. We also track Helaena largely as a byproduct of Alicent’s storyline as the two remain in King’s Landing under Rhaenyra’s watch, while one of the most prominent new threats to emerge is Ormund Hightower, a pompous asshole who has Alicent’s youngest son, Daeron, under his wing. With Aegon and Aemond displaced from King’s Landing, Daeron becomes another potential piece on this increasingly bloody chessboard.

Our new dragonriders also get to see their storylines increase. Ulf remains a bit of an oaf, so his name is appropriate, and what he contributes by the end of the season I’m sure will be something we’re dealing with immediately in the season four opener. Hugh, meanwhile, seems like the more reasonable one, but his struggle to get his family back together and finally find the life he had hoped for proves to be a relative impossibility as his wife becomes caught in the struggle for power between these families. That’s part of what House of the Dragon does so well. There are kings, queens, dragons and armies moving around Westeros, but underneath all of that are people whose lives are being destroyed because a handful of powerful families can’t stop fighting over who gets to sit in a chair.

This is such an epic battle on an epic scale that it’s amazing to think we’re watching it on television. Years ago, this is the kind of stuff we only got on the big screen because nobody had the money to fund something like this for TV. Or if somebody did fund it, it looked cheap, felt cheap, and the actors weren’t up to the quality of what you’d expect from a major theatrical production. Here, everything is so well written, so well cast and so well executed. House of the Dragon feels like prestige television because it is. Everything about it, from the score to the acting to the directing, just pops. There’s never a dull moment. There’s never a character who doesn’t work or a scene that feels out of place. Every interaction, every line, everything feels meticulously crafted. The writers of House of the Dragon really have come into their own in this third season, building upon everything they’ve worked so hard to develop. Here, in the penultimate season, they’ve hit their stride. There are some major deaths and characters who will not return for season four, but I was actually surprised by how many truly major characters are still standing heading into the final season. Which means season four is probably going to be a bloodbath.

Thanks to HBO and the way they cut their promotional materials, I also have a new favorite quote: Queen Rhaenyra shouting, “Bring the usurper to me,” which played during promos for the show quite a few times on HBO Max for me. I thought this was an exceptional season. I loved every episode, every moment, every beat. I was sad to see certain characters go, and I know I’ll be even sadder in season four because I don’t think most of this cast is going to survive. That’s the sign of great writing, being this invested in people who aren’t real, never were real, and are being played by actors, yet somehow you develop a deep emotional connection to them anyway. HBO used to say, “It’s not television. It’s HBO.” Well, I think this is even more than that. Not only is it not television, it’s not even HBO. It’s just a damn good story in any medium, told with bombastic charm by people who clearly love what they do. House of the Dragon season three is an absolute must-watch.

Fresh: 9.3/10