Summary:
-
“House of the Dragon” Season 3 premiere impresses critics with strong storytelling and epic battle scenes.
-
Critics praise the episode for fixing momentum issues from Season 2 and hailing it as the best yet.
-
Fans are divided on the premiere, with some objecting to creative choices and deviations from the source material.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of “House of the Dragon.”
After a two-year wait, “House of the Dragon” returned June 21 on HBO and HBO Max with a premiere that critics are calling among the strongest hours the series has produced. The episode dramatized the Battle of the Gullet, one of the most consequential clashes of the Targaryen civil war and the biggest naval battle in Westerosi history, and used it to open the season with full force.
Rotten Tomatoes lists the season at a 95% Tomatometer score from critics based on 44 reviews, a high mark for the franchise. One critic wrote that the season is the best “House of the Dragon” has ever been, crediting it with fixing the momentum problems that dogged Season 2.
A recap at Winter Is Coming went further on the premiere itself, noting that when fans look back on the show, this episode will be in the conversation for one of the best it has ever executed.
Much of the emotional weight came from a major death.
The premiere shocked viewers with the death of Jace Velaryon, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s oldest son, during the Battle of the Gullet. One reviewer described Jace’s end, pulled from the sky and lit up with arrows, as one of the more striking images the show has presented.
ADVERTISEMENT
While the critics’ score sits at 95%, the audience Popcornmeter is more divided at 72%, with some fans objecting to creative choices and deviations from George R.R. Martin’s source material. Some book readers specifically criticized the changes made to the Battle of the Gullet.
