‘House of the Dragon‘ Season 3 concludes with Rhaenyra Targaryen still in control, but the series’ final moments make it abundantly clear that her throne is shaky at best.
After the Battle of Tumbleton, thousands of people are killed, and then Rhaenyra is given even more terrible news: Helaena Targaryen is dead. Helaena’s death might be more devastating to Rhaenyra than any loss on the battlefield.
Helaena Refuses To Become Rhaenyra’s Weapon
One of the most poignant scenes in the finale is when Helaena commits suicide. She has been caught between strong men in a war she did not want, and at the end of the season feels she is in a hopeless situation. Mysaria tells Helaena that Rhaenyra will never let her go, especially since Aegon and Sunfyre are alive.
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Her unborn child may be leveraged against the Greens as well. Helaena then chooses the only way out. It’s a heart-wrenching choice as Helaena has been one of the show’s most kind-hearted characters. It’s so sad to see someone who isn’t a part of the Dance be a victim of it.
Her demise also presents Rhaenyra with a huge political issue. Helaena was popular in King’s Landing. So, rumors about Rhaenyra could be even more rampant. If Rhaenyra did not have anything to do with Helaena’s death, perception is a very important factor in a civil war. Unfortunately, for Rhaenyra, the timing is quite wrong.
Tumbleton Makes Rhaenyra Look Like A Tyrant In ‘House Of The Dragon’
Rhaenyra wants Tumbleton to be taken, but the battle quickly gets out of her hands, with civilians getting killed. Daemon doesn’t destroy the town; he attacks the gates, but in the end, Ulf White and Silverwing unleash deadly dragonfire. Soldiers and civilians are caught in the destruction, turning a strategic victory into a horrifying massacre.
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Ormund Hightower is killed, so the blacks have achieved one of their goals. However, politically, the win is virtually worthless. Things get worse when the High Septon is executed. Rhaenyra desires religious legitimacy, but when he refuses her, she commands his death.
She then heads back to the Red Keep and finds Helaena’s body. That’s a deliberate sequence. Rhaenyra starts the finale asking to be recognized as queen, and finishes the episode surrounded by death.
She could still be sitting on the Iron Throne, but the final moments of Season 3 indicate that her biggest danger may not just be Aegon or Aemond. It’s the idea that Rhaenyra has become part of the horror that plagues Westeros that grows.
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