Being the book-spoiler review of House of the Dragon part 3. If you don't want future episodes spoiled, do not read this because I'm going to straight-up spoil some very major plot points. The that-episode-only recap is here.
Right, I don't have as much to say this time. Mostly because the A-plot of this (the hunt) was completely invented for the show, and the B-plot (Daemon killing the Crabfeeder) got maybe a paragraph in the source material.
I'm peeved that they didn't introduce Ser Harwin Strong here - seemed to have him at one of the tables, but didn't actually get any sort of formal introduction to Rhaenyra or the audience. But it's understandable in that if they put any focus on Ser Harwin in the episode that starts emphasizing how Rhaenyra must wed, it might be a bit too obvious where the plot is going. (Ser Harwin, for those of you who don't know but came here anyway, ends up being the actual father of Rhaenyra's kids during her marriage to Laenor.)
Speaking of where the plot is going, holy shit. Daemon, coming to his adversary, kneeling in supplication, raising his badge of office above his head... This is not the last time he does this. (It's just that he's sincere the next time he does it, which is gonna throw everybody who hasn't read the books for a loop, and I am looking forward to that.)
Why does the Crabfeeder have greyscale? Daemon hauls his corpse around at the end, but Daemon doesn't have greyscale. He's not going to get greyscale. It's 115; he lives for another 15 years. So that, like basically everything else pertaining to the Crabfeeder, was dumb.
Actually, speaking of Daemon's still-distant death: Daemon, his ability/loyalty called into question by his monarch, embarks on a suicide mission where he doesn't care if he dies... huh.
God, I love what they're doing with this character.
Here are my predictions for the rest of the season, not a whole lot of changes.
"King of the Narrow Sea" (September 11th, 2022) (117 AC) (still 114-115 AC (show), 108 AC (book)) - Daemon and Corlys party in the Stepstones. Either this one or the next one should be the end of the "Daemon is the big bad" head-fake. If they fuck up that scene now, having set it up so brilliantly in Episode 3, I'm rioting.
"We Light the Way" (September 18th, 2022) - not the foggiest idea. Please let it not be some Lord of Light tie-in with Thrones. It's the words of House Hightower, you nit. This is probably where Otto overreaches and gets himself ousted as Hand. Oh, possibly this is where we set up The Big Incest, and we find out exactly what did happen between Rhaenyra and Ser Criston. (Actually judging by the Episode 4 trailer, the Rhaenyra/Criston thing might be in "King of the Narrow Sea" instead.)
"The Princess and the Queen" (September 25th, 2022) (after 117 AC (book; the show could push this as late as 122, I think)) - after the timeskip now, reintroducing us to Adult Rhaenyra and Adult Alicent. By this point Rhaenyra has had her first three kids. (These kids have to be old enough to convincingly ride dragons etc. in 130.)
"Driftmark" (October 2nd, 2022)/"The Lord of the Tides" (October 9th, 2022) (120 AC (book; the show could push this out to 125ish)) - obviously these both focus on Corlys and his family. And his family tragedies. How late can they push this, realistically? Rhaenyra's first son by her second husband is present for key events in 130 and 131 (he doesn't have to do much except stand around and look cute/scared, but still), and has to be born around now. Which means you need an actor who's old enough to be in certain intense scenes to play him, which means he needs to be a certain age by 131; I just don't know what that age is.
"The Green Court" (October 16th, 2022)/"The Black Queen" (October 23rd, 2022) (129 AC) - Viserys dies. It'd be cool if these two episodes largely cover the same event(s), with "Green Court" staying in King's Landing and "Black Queen" staying on Dragonstone.
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