HBO has revealed a dramatic change of course for the Game of Thrones franchise following a two-year lull. The network has gone all-in on George R.R. Martin's fantasy world since the ending of the flagship series in 2019, and now has two prequel series releasing in alternate years: House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. However, both shows are quite different from the original Game of Thrones series, and a frequent criticism has been a lack of big-scale action in the past two seasons.
The release of a new trailer for House of the Dragon Season 3, which will debut on HBO Max on June 21, has confirmed that all-out warfare is coming for Westeros, which heralds a return to the large-scale action that Game of Thrones is known for.
The trailer hints at the brewing civil war between the Greens, led by Aegon Targaryen and his mother, Alicent, and the Blacks, led by Rhaenyra Targaryen, finally coming to a head in Season 3, with both sides shown amassing armies and riding their dragons into battle.
This comes after House of the Dragon Season 2 and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Season 1 dialed down the action, opting to keep things more political or grounded. While there's nothing wrong with this approach, the lack of a major battle or climactic action set piece at the end of House of the Dragon Season 2 and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was disappointing for many fans, who had become accustomed to massive brawls in the finale episodes of a Game of Thrones season.
The original series is responsible for some of the all-time television battles, including the Battle of the Bastards, the Fall of King's Landing, and Hardhome. However, neither subsequent Game of Thrones show has managed to hold a candle to these events, particularly in terms of scale.
House of the Dragon star Matt Smith hinted early on in filming for Season 3 that the HBO show was going "bigger and better" for Season 3 with a more "epic" scale. This has since been confirmed in the Season 3 trailer, which should address criticisms leveled at Season 2 for being anticlimactic.
Season 2 of House of the Dragon did have its share of action, including the battle at Rook's Rest, which saw a dramatic dragon fight between Rhaenys and Aemond. However, this battle took place midway through Season 2 and left the back half of the season building tension to a war that never happened. Now that issue will be rectified in Season 3 of House of the Dragon.
On A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' part, the series was always intended to be a more grounded, focused take on the world of Game of Thrones. The semi-comedic series followed the humble adventures of the Hedge Knight, Ser Dunk, and his squire, Egg, who turns out to be the runaway Targaryen prince. The shorter episode order and length of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms left it with little room to delve into massive action like Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, although the show did deliver an exciting tournament fight with the Trial of the Seven in Episode 5.
Still, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' release earlier this year continued a trend among Game of Thrones shows, keeping the action on a smaller scale and removing the epic warfare sequences that were often reserved for the season finale. But with House of the Dragon Season 3, HBO is reversing course and bringing back the massive action set pieces that audiences have been missing for the past two years.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Brings Back Epic Game of Thrones Action
House of the Dragon has been leading up to the confrontation between the Greens and the Blacks for two seasons now, and Season 3 will finally be the culmination of all that tension in the Targaryen family - and HBO plans to do it in grand Game of Thrones style.
In what seems like an effort to make up for lost time, House of the Dragon Season 3 will contain multiple major battle sequences, starting with the Battle of the Gullet and continuing to cover the long-awaited battle for King's Landing, which will determine whether Rhaenyra or Aegon becomes Westeros' ruler.
This will seemingly all take place in Season 3, despite there being plans for a fourth season of House of the Dragon, as readers of Fire & Blood will know that there is a lot more to the story after the Fall of King's Landing.
Now the question remains whether any of House of the Dragon's upcoming battles can rival those of the flagship series. One advantage the prequel series has is the presence of dragons, who can engage in dragon-on-dragon warfare, where the original series and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms cannot. Dragons remain one of the standout elements of House of the Dragon, and seeing the Targaryens engage in warfare at the peak of the dragon renaissance in Westeros will be hard to beat.
