‘House of the Dragon’ Finale: A Generational L

The most aggravating aspect of House of the Dragon’s third season, which came to an end just last Sunday, wasn’t that it was bad, it was that it showed all-too brief flashes of creative brilliance that came and went quicker than you can say, “Dracarys.”

Harsher critics of the season might ask, “what was so great about it?,” and while there was more wrong with it than right, I would argue the entire season became worthwhile when Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney, who, once again, delivers my favorite performance) unceremoniously slapped his traitorous brother with a gleeful sing-songy, “I’m alive!” A few story beats echo Game of Thrones at its heyday, from the viciousness of the Tumbleton battle to that wide open bedroom window (heartbreaking), but seeing Aegon’s vengeful fury wilt when faced with Aemond’s (Ewan Mitchell) genuine regret is House of the Dragon at its best.

Now if only impulse showed itself more. This season is a definite improvement over the last, considerably sleepier, season, which ended well enough but rarely felt like more than chess pieces circling the board. Action is certainly not the issue this time around; the abruptness of the premiere felt like a slight overcorrection. As far as the storyline goes, there’s a lot to enjoy here, especially getting to know more of the extended Hightower and Targaryen family members. Despite the positives, the third season was genuinely tough to watch at times. It wasn’t because of the violence, and it wasn’t because of the pace. It only really hit me last Sunday:

It’s because everyone’s dumb.

Hey, I get it. It’s a show that sets out to tell the story of a mighty family and their downfall at their own hands, of course there was gonna be a bit of hubris involved. But it seemed like almost all of our leads, especially our royals, made the most illogical decisions at every turn. I could have pulled my hair out watching Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint), a.k.a. The Smartest Man in Westeros, present the perfect solution to all their problems only to get turned down flat all because Daemon (Matt Smith) is gonna Daemon. If it was just Daemon being hardheaded, that would be a mere friction point, but the season went to great pains to assure us that if Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) had been in his place, she would undoubtedly make the same choice.

Oh, Rhaenrya. I rooted for you. Hard. Like so many, I was enthusiastically Team Black and this is how you repay us. I can forgive wrongdoing but I draw the line at incompetence. Maintaining control of the throne should’ve been a layup, but Rhaenyra managed to successfully dodge every bit of wise counsel thrown in her direction. The more tenuous her hold became—and with it, all of her insecurities—the more her desperation grew, culminating in a tearful emotional breakdown (D’Arcy is so good in that scene) that quickly gives way to villainy.

As Baela (Bethany Antonia) rightfully told her, “If a person is useful to you, you wield them. But if not, you abandon them.” Setting aside Corlys was an enormous fumble. Refusing to heed Mysaria’s (Sonoya Mizuno) warnings and eventually dismissing her was an even bigger mistake. Murdering the High Septon in cold blood? That will surely come back to haunt her.

With two wayward dragon riders, her Army of Bastards has proven itself to be largely a failure as a now-distraught Hugh (Kieran Bew) has abandoned his post and Ulf (Tom Bennett) has betrayed, well, everyone. Ulf is a clown and lowlife pig but the mischievous venom in his, “They’ll burn,” was only a small glimpse of the darkness within him. Once Ormond (James Norton), marvelous villain that he was, slapped him, vengeance was assured—only after getting skewered in the worst place imaginable by Ser Roderick Dustin (the always welcome Tommy Flanagan) before getting fricasseed, handily winning the ‘season’s most satisfying death’ award (Criston Cole getting an arrow to the face being a close second, sorry Fabian Frankel!).

Tumbleton razed, two armies effectively destroyed, and one dead queen. Helaena’s (Phia Saban) haunting tapestry foretells what lies in store for Rhaenyra, but the self-declared “Prince That Was Promised” only has eyes for the throne her embroidered likeness sits on, paying no heed to the blood raining down on her. Again, naked ambition has reduced her to a fool, but now she’s an exceedingly dangerous one. Her villainous turn will be something to behold once season four, reportedly the show’s final season, gets underway. I only hope that the choices that unfold will be done in such a way that confirms Rhaenyra’s maliciousness rather than her foolishness.

All of season three of House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.

Kaleena Rivera is the TV Editor for Pajiba.