House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3 Review: Is Rhaenyra Truly Triumphant?

If House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 2, “Queen’s Landing,” placed Emma D’Arcy at the center of the action, House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3, “Rhaenyra Triumphant,” places even more importance on their performance.

D’Arcy is in practically every scene of the episode, commanding the energy and respect that any royal would. Even though Rhaenyra is full of doubts and paranoia, D’Arcy’s performance is that of a proper queen.

So even when the people may question Rhaenyra’s role, viewers cannot question D’Arcy’s talent.

One constant we see in Rhaenyra’s behavior is the need to chase her father’s approval and expectations. When she mentions the castle is full of ghosts, we can agree with that statement. We see it in her actions and choices as she can’t escape her father’s spirit.

This pushes her to make rushed decisions that seem to only satisfy Daemon. However, she does make one well-judged decision when she serves the rich people of King’s Landing the rats that have been running around. Not only do they represent the rich, but they are also a symbol for everything the townspeople have suffered.

Rhaenyra is the people’s queen, proving she will always stand up for her town. Even though she thinks as her father would, she stands on her own choices as the queen she wants to be seen as.

Nevertheless, the paranoia and insecurities won’t go away with one win. After the priest decides not to name her queen and she discovers that Alicent’s cousin has deceived them, she knows the battle has only truly just begun.

One thing that stands out on House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 3, “Rhaenyra Triumphant,” is when Alicent mentions that Rhaenyra is holding her responsible for things men have done. This echoes the reason why it was so easy for another to claim Rhaenyra’s throne.

Rhaenyra was so easily dismissed as an heir because she is a woman. Many still believe she shouldn’t rule because of her gender, and this is probably why she refuses to wear any jewelry when it’s time to face her people.

The less feminine she looks, the more she believes she will be accepted. The sword would be an addition to this, but she’s advised against it because it would send a different kind of message — one that would only push her town away.

The show does an incredible job at highlighting this by having Rhaenyra mention that she’s gotten her period. The pain of the cramps, her servant providing a drink to help, and the mention of her bleeding point to all the reasons why many believe only men should rule.

Nevertheless, Rhaenyra works through this and proves that she is very much capable of ruling as her father would have wanted.

Just like every other character, Rhaenyra is full of complexity, dilemmas, and moral failures. This episode particularly highlights her double standards.

She is angry when people call her sons bastards, but shows embarrassment to Lord Corlys when he asks to have his “bastard” children accepted as legitimate. Even though Corlys has given Rhaenyra’s cause everything, she cannot return the favor by doing something that seems to be simple.

Rhaenyra’s ruling is off to a rocky start, so she doesn’t want to make things worse. Corlys’s request isn’t the only thing that threatens to expose her as a failure. Can she really consider herself triumphant simply by sitting on the throne?

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House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO MAX.

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