Following a relatively subdued episode of House of the Dragon, HBO has released a teaser for next week's fifth installment, which also includes footage from the remaining three episodes.
Though not a lot happened in "Tumbleton" on the surface, several key moments set up some of the most important events in the ongoing Dance of the Dragons.
George R.R. Martin's complaint that leaving Prince Maelor, King Aegon II and Queen Helaena’s youngest son, out of Season 2 would cause a "butterfly effect" appears to have been addressed, as we learn that Helaena is now pregnant.
“Helaena being pregnant is a major complication for her given the fact that she's literally in Rhaenyra's shadow and her captive. And if that child is a boy, it's going to be very problematic for both Rhaenyra, and for her, and for Alicent,” showrunner Ryan Condal tells IGN. “So it felt like a way to keep alive certain threads in the book in a way that sort of suited the plot, I think, and the story that we're telling here in our version, our adaptation of The Dance of the Dragons.”
A ruthless new player also made a daring move, as Ormund Hightower reveals his plan to place his young ward, Daeron Targaryen - the real Daeron Targaryen - on the Iron Throne. In an attempt to instill a more vicious streak in the boy, Ormund manipulates him into executing a man whose only crime was defending his sister from being assaulted by a soldier.
“I think Daeron is a very sympathetic character and that's what makes him really interesting because we've met everybody else from Alicent's offspring and with the exception of Helaena, the boys are very complicated individuals that were forged in the crucible that is being raised at King's Landing with a very ill and probably checked out father in Viserys and a very young mother who was ill-equipped, unequipped to raise, not only to just raise children, but to raise children who are going to maybe one day compete for the throne,” says Condal.
“So that's why Daeron is an interesting study because there's a bit of nature and nurture in all of the storytelling that we have here.”
"The prequel series finds the Targaryen dynasty at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires—real and imagined—crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins almost 193 years before the events of Game of Thrones, when King Viserys Targaryen breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm."
House of the Dragon season 3 sees Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans reprise their respective roles. Additional returning cast includes Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, and Matthew Needham.
Season 3 directors include Loni Peristere (episodes 1,6), Clare Kilner (episodes 2,3,4), Nina Lopez-Corrado (episodes 5,7), and Andrij Parekh (episode 8).