‘House Of The Dragon’ season 3 is already making one thing clear: the Dance of the Dragons is no longer about rightful kings and queens, it’s about who is bold enough to take power and ruthless enough to keep it.
The latest pictures from the HBO 2026 preview reel not only hint at the fights and the dragons, but also reveal a dramatic twist at the center of the conflict. Aemond Targaryen, who was lurking behind his brother, is now on the Iron Throne itself.
Why Aemond Sitting On The Iron Throne Signals Disaster
This scene is not only aesthetically powerful but also symbolically a bomb. Aemond sitting on the throne is a point of transition where legitimacy is overcome by ambition, vengeance, and brute force. Season 3 seems to be willing to investigate what occurs when authority is taken not due to obligation, but lust, and how quickly that accelerates the collapse of House Targaryen from within.
The fact that Armand Targaryen is on the Iron Throne is not the victor. It is the disturbing picture of a man who thinks that power is in the hands of whoever is strong enough to seize it. In Fire and Blood by George R.R. Martin, Aemond becomes the Prince Regent when his brother Aegon II is incapacitated. ‘House of the Dragon’ season 3 seems to be prepared to go all the way with this arc and beyond.
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The new still of Aemond sitting on the Iron Throne has a silent threat. The message is clear: Aemond is no longer faking that he serves his brother’s reign. He is embodying it. This transition has already been prepared in season 2 of the show, with Aemond gaining more and more control over council meetings and military decisions. Season 3 intensifies that relationship to the point of occupying the throne itself.
The most interesting thing about this moment is that it fits Aemond’s psychology very well. He is a character formed by resentment. He was ignored as a child, physically and emotionally scarred, and driven by the idea that fear is more effective than love. The throne is not about ruling for him, but about confirmation. It is evidence that he was the stronger Targaryen.
Alicent Hightower, in the new pictures, consoling Aemond, indicates a complex emotional subtext. Alicent might be aware of the threat that her son is turning out to be. However, she also knows that Armand is one of the Green’s sharpest weapons. Her support feels less like approval and more like resignation. She knows there’s no stopping him anymore.
Aemond Targaryen Taking The Iron Throne Is Very Dangerous For Rhaenyra
If Aemond’s rise represents the Greens tightening their grip, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s imagery tells a very different story. Among the most startling of the new stills is one in which Rhaenyra is wearing Viserys’s crown and gazing down, not in uncertainty, but in grim contemplation. It is not a woman who is enjoying fate. It is a ruler who knows about the bloodshed that it takes to get there.
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Season 3 seems to be prepared to juxtapose the desire of domination that Aemond feels with the increasing feeling of Rhaenyra’s burden. As Aemond takes over power within King’s Landing, Rhaenyra is ready to reclaim it using fire and war. The burden of the crown on her head is heavier than ever. And it’s not because she questions her claim, but because she knows its price.
Moreover, the third season appears to be intent on demonstrating how the vengeance cycle, an eye for an eye, which started with the Lucerys’ death, devours all. The fact that Aemond is on the Iron Throne is not a resolution; it is a provocation. Every moment he sits there brings Rhaenyra closer to open invasion, and every delay only sharpens the knives on both sides. And in true ‘Game of Thrones’ fashion, there will be no triumph without ruin.
