HBO’s Most Experimental Game of Thrones Episode Officially Changes the Franchise Formula

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3.

There’s a risk that the larger Westeros universe under HBO could run into the same issues as overexposed superhero properties, which is why the network has been careful about how it handles its Game of Thrones spin-offs. House of the Dragon had a lot to prove in its third season, given the significant criticism of Season 2's pacing and the fact that this year’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms received better reviews. Although the first two episodes of Season 3 offered some of the best action in the franchise’s history, House of the Dragon can’t rely on spectacle episodes to support the entire show; not only would this disrupt the pacing, but continuous dragon-based action would eventually become stale. "Rhaenyra Triumphant," the third episode of the season, is not only the best episode of House of the Dragon thus far, but a template for what the overall Game of Thrones franchise should strive for in the future.

House of the Dragon is a different adaptation than Game of Thrones because it is based on a single novel by George R.R. Martin, Fire & Blood, which offers a chronology of the Targaryen family over thousands of years. While it thankfully has a definitive conclusion, unlike Game of Thrones, Fire & Blood lacks the perspective and characterization that make the A Song of Ice and Fire novels so successful. House of the Dragon's "Rhaenyra Triumphant" is a creative episode that not only examines the consequences of warfare but also provides emotional context for the season's preceding events. It’s the type of episode that also could've been dismissed as “filler” if it weren't such a fascinating character showcase.

‘House of the Dragon’ Desperately Needed a Shake-Up

Although House of the Dragon has a massive ensemble cast, with episodes that include multiple points of view, "Rhaenyra Triumphant" is set entirely in King’s Landing and told from the perspective of Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) after she successfully seizes the Iron Throne with her husband, Daemon (Matt Smith). Although the fight for control of the Seven Kingdoms has been the central conflict of the series, “Rhaenyra Triumphant” is the first episode to show what exactly constitutes leadership; Rhaenyra has to deal with her subjects, allies, knights, and bureaucrats as she has to make decisions for the first time. Leadership is so often treated as destiny in the Game of Thrones universe that it is refreshing to see what a burden it can be, as it makes the goals of the show more abstract. It’s a reminder that whoever has power in Westeros has an impact on the lives of citizens who are starving and out of work; despite the narrower focus, the episode feels more expansive.

"Rhaenyra Triumphant" is the type of episode that HBO's franchise needs more of because it helps to solidify the complexity of a single character. Rhaenyra has often felt like a reactive character who treats her responsibilities with pure strategic formality, and the episode uses clever creative choices to flesh out her feelings stylistically, with frequent references to the rats that have overtaken King's Landing after Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) or moments when Rhaenyra briefly hallucinates faces from her past.

Although the show has already made a point of showing why the characters are ethically dubious, "Rhaenyra Triumphant" shows the inner turmoil that Rhaenyra feels as her personal ethics and governmental duties clash. Her refusal to offer legitimacy to Lord Corlys' (Steve Toussaint) heirs sits in direct contrast to her making herself an enemy of the High Septon (Simon Chandler) with her refusal to follow protocol regarding her coronation. Thanks to tight pacing and D'Arcy's amazing performance, King’s Landing feels like a prison in "Rhaenyra Triumphant," offering a different perspective on a very familiar location for fans.

HBO's Game of Thrones Universe Needs Different Types of Stories

Game of Thrones debuted during an era when the spectacle it delivered in its battle episodes was unique for prestige television, but that is no longer the case given the expanding budgets for streaming shows. It’s often the case that the most acclaimed Game of Thrones episodes are character-centric, as the performances have never been bad, even when there are faults in the storytelling.

Game of Thrones had one of the most disastrous final seasons of all time, but the episode “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” was an emotional high point because it explored the quiet, intimate moments that the entire ensemble faced before the most-anticipated battle of the series. Earlier this year, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms earned acclaim for the episode “In the Name of the Mother,” which subversively offered insight about a major character. "Rhaenyra Triumphant" doesn’t just make the case for occasionally slowing down, but also proves that the overall franchise can benefit from being more experimental. There never would've been an episode like this in Game of Thrones, which makes it all the more exciting that House of the Dragon is doing something different.