‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 3 Is ‘About Leaving Childhood Behind,’ Says Ryan Condal
TL;DR:
- House of the Dragon Episode 3 sees the characters grappling with adulthood.
- Showrunner Ryan Condal confirms episode 3 is “about leaving childhood behind.”
- The Game of Thrones prequel will present viewers with another time jump soon.
House of the Dragon Episode 3 took viewers forward in time, jumping two years after the events of episode 2 — and leaving Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) with a younger brother and new responsibilities to contend with. According to showrunner Ryan Condal, this week’s chapter highlighted the transition from childhood to adulthood. And it wasn’t just Rhaenyra grappling with that shift.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon Episode 3, “Second of His Name.”]
‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 3 shows several characters growing up
House of the Dragon Episode 3 picks up around three years after King Viserys (Paddy Considine) decides to marry Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey). And by the time “Second of His Name” opens, the two have already had a son. They also have a second child on the way.
Needless to say, Alicent does some growing up during the time between the second and third installments. Rhaenyra, on the other hand, appears to retreat into herself. So, when her father presents the notion of marriage and childbirth to her, she’s forced to face the harsh reality of being a woman of age in Westeros — especially one with a birthright.
Although he’s older than Rhaenyra and Alicent, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) also finds himself forced to grow during House of the Dragon Episode 3. Presented with the choice to accept help from his brother or find a way to defeat the Crabfeeder (Daniel Scott-Smith) on his own, Daemon takes matters at the Stepstones into his own hands. And it actually works out for him, allowing him to fully step out from beneath his brother’s shadow.
Needless to say, all of the characters began shedding their old skins during this week’s chapter. And according to showrunner Ryan Condal, that was precisely the point.
Episode 3 is all ‘about leaving childhood behind,’ says Ryan Condal
During HBO’s Inside the Episode for House of the Dragon Episode 3, showrunner Ryan Condal broke down the overarching theme of “Second of His Name.” He pointed to growing up as something several characters deal with. And according to him, the creators wanted to highlight how they’re maturing.
“We always talked about episode 3 being about leaving childhood behind for many of our characters — for Daemon, for Rhaenyra, for Alicent,” Condal explained.
Condal also addressed the time jump, revealing the thought process behind that decision:
“Because of the nature of this story — because it was a generational conflict that was about war — we needed that time to plant those seeds and let them grow. And the only way to do that is to let time pass. We meet Viserys; he’s got a son. Alicent is pregnant. The war in the Stepstones is not going well. We understand that two or three years’ worth of material has happened in those opening scenes.”
Knowing that Rhaenyra and Alicent will soon be recast, this week probably won’t feature House of the Dragon‘s only time jump either.
‘House of the Dragon’ will soon feature another time jump
That’s right, House of the Dragon Episode 3 won’t feature the final time jump of season 1. In fact, it’s common knowledge that both Rhaenyra and Alicent will be recast sometime during the next few episodes, with Emma D’Arcy (Rhaenyra) and Olivia Cooke (Alicent) taking the reins for these characters.
The reason the actors are changing is that D’Arcy and Cooke will play older versions of them. And that means we’re likely to be thrown forward again — probably by more than a couple of years this time.
We’ll have to wait and see when House of the Dragon jumps again, but it gives fans new performances to look forward to. Hopefully, D’Arcy and Cooke are just as compelling as Milly Alcock and Emily Carey.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO.
