House Of The Dragon Is Finally Showing GOT Season 9 If Daenerys Never Died

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Emilia Clarke as Daenerys Targaryen in season 8 of Game of Thrones

Published May 29, 2026, 8:30 PM EDT

Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He's also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.

Just a few short months after our delightful adventure with Dunk and Egg, HBO is already gearing up to take us back to the bloody battlefields and cavernous castles of Westeros in the third season of House of the Dragon. Ahead of its highly anticipated premiere on June 21, House of the Dragon season 3 has dropped its final trailer, and it seems to finally be following up on the promise of all-out war.

The shocking midair murder in the season 1 finale, followed by Rhaenyra’s look of vengeful rage, seemed to suggest that in season 2, Team Green and Team Black would be at war. But the writers spent season 2 treading water, spinning the wheels, all the while promising that this war was right around the corner. The season 2 finale, once again, promised that a war was on the horizon. Now, in season 3, House of the Dragon seems to have finally kicked off this long-awaited skirmish — and it could be a chance to give Daenerys Targaryen the ending she deserved in Game of Thrones (in a roundabout sort of way).

Rhaenyra’s latest storyline, as teased in the new trailer, is essentially what would’ve happened to Daenerys if she’d survived to the end of Game of Thrones. In House of the Dragon season 3, Rhaenyra takes her rightful throne, but she’s seen as a tyrant by her people. Daenerys never got to that part in her arc, because Jon killed her right after taking the throne, so Rhaenyra’s storyline feels like a do-over.

The entire final season of Game of Thrones was a crushing let-down, but Daenerys’ character assassination stings the most. She was the show’s best character — complex, endearing, flawed but righteous — and everything that made her great went out the window when she went full-tilt mass murderer with no buildup. Now, House of the Dragon can finally make up for it by giving Rhaenyra the story that Daenerys deserved.

Could A Ninth Season Have Saved Game Of Thrones?

Daenerys Targaryen staring at the Iron Throne in Game of Thrones season 8 finale

There are many fundamental issues with the last couple of seasons of Game of Thrones, but the biggest underlying problem is that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss had run out of full novels to adapt. After they ran out of books, and the next ones were still no closer to publication, Benioff and Weiss had to rely on George R.R. Martin’s rough story outlines for material.

But, where Martin would’ve fleshed out those narrative bullet points into rich, complex, multifaceted story arcs, Benioff and Weiss just raced through the bullet points. They didn’t properly set up Daenerys’ sudden dark turn; they just had her do a complete 180, hop on the back of her dragon, and start massacring civilians. If Benioff and Weiss had given themselves a few more episodes to flesh things out in seasons 7 and 8, and maybe even a season 9 after that to give the ending enough room to breathe, could Game of Thrones have been salvaged, or was it too far gone?

I doubt a ninth season would’ve been enough to save the show — the problems can be traced all the way back to season 6 — but it would’ve been great to see where Daenerys’ story would’ve gone after she’d taken the throne, but the writers killed her off immediately for some cheap shock value. If Benioff and Weiss still had season 9 on the horizon when they were making season 8, they might’ve kept Daenerys alive and actually explored what would’ve happened if she sat on the Iron Throne and started running the show.

Rhaenyra’s storyline in House of the Dragon season 3 feels like a consolation prize for the astonishing character assassination of Daenerys. It makes the new season a lot more exciting after a frustratingly lackluster season 2. Plus, Daemon seems to actually be involved in the plot this time!