Season 3 Episode 3:
Released: 2026/07/05
Directed by: Clare Kilner
Written by: Sara Hess
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Use spoiler tags for book spoilers. Please keep the discussion focussed on the show.
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(hotdtwt memeshit that drew a sensible chuckleβ’)
Edit credit: @multaestic
A week late in posting (thanks to Reddit issues), but better late than never to commemorate the man we love to hate/hate to love! Rest in the Seven Hells, you Machiavellian Diva! ποΈππ β¨ππͺ¦
(I have so many Feelings about how phenomenal I found that final moment between Rhaenyra and Otto, which I shall endeavour to gabble about belatedly now in the discussion post.)
Season 3 Episode 2: Queen's Landing
Released: 2026/06/28
Directed by: Clare Kilner
Written by: Sara Hess
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Use spoiler tags for book spoilers. Please keep the discussion focussed on the show.
Your character is the new meme du jour. π
Season 3 Episode 1: Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood
Released: 2026/06/21
Directed by: Loni Peristere
Written by: Ryan Condal
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Use spoiler tags for book spoilers. Please keep the discussion focussed on the show.
Hello everyone, I'm u/hindcealf, a founding moderator of r/HOTDQueers. Welcome to the sub!
Who We Are
r/HOTDQueers is a fandom sub where we can be as queer as we like about the (queer and those we perceive as queer) HOTD and WOIAF characters we like. It's a place where canon reigns alongside the subtextual and other headcanons.
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Post anything that you find remotely queer, be it gifs, edits, fanart, fanfic, character and relationship meta, memes, etc. Feel free to share your own creations as well as those of others (with credit).
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We're all about being a chill and inclusive community. As per the Rules, there is no misogyny, racism, transphobia, or homophobia whatsoever allowed in this sub. We also permit no bashing of characters or ships, i.e. just scroll on by if something isn't to your taste. Let's curate a space where everyone feels comfortable posting and commenting.
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1) Join and choose your flair. If there's a flair you'd like to see that doesn't currently exist, make a suggestion to the mods in this post.
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4) Interested in helping out with the sub or have suggestions? Feel free to pm me or u/badfortheenvironment with your ideas.
Thanks for checking out our humble lil' sub! πββοΈ Together, let's make r/HOTDQueers queer as fuck.
π«°π«Άπ«°πβ¨π²π°π₯ β€οΈπ§‘πππππ©΅π©·π€π©Άπ€π©ββ€οΈβπβπ©ππ¨ββ€οΈβπβπ¨βΌοΈ
ty to queen thinkerglr for the clip! Whole video is a lot of fun tbh, it's just Harry, Phoebe, Bethany, and Gayle memeing:
Stolen from my twitter mutual meta-analyst extraordinaire, Macavity.
Diligent recapping by RhaenicentFiles. π©΅
Just a lil' lovefest for our sub to enjoy. βΊοΈ
Another short promo to hype us up further! π² π π₯
An exquisite video tribute by SWFT dedicated to Rhaenyra and Alicent, which also serves as a poetic recap of their arcs over the previous two seasons. Definitely worth revisiting before the upcoming S3 premiere.
https://www.definedmagazine.com/emma-d-arcy
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This season of House of the Dragon, it feels like Rhaenyra is finally willing to become dangerous. Was there a moment during filming where you realised, "Oh, she's crossed a line now?"
Those in power don't often come face-to-face with the consequences of their decisions. It's much easier for one's morality to be corrupted -- insidiously, by degrees -- when the atrocities committed in your name are at a distance. This is certainly the case for Rhaenyra but, in season 3, there are certain moments when she's confronted very directly by the horrors of her campaign. Crossing that kind of boundary -- when the consequences are immediate and visceral, when there is no protective distance -- forces a kind of personal reckoning which we see play out this season.
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How has Rhaenyra changed the most since season one? And do you think she still recognises herself at this point in the story?
In season one, Rhaenyra was plagued by doubt: she questioned her right to rule, what kind of ruler she should be, and whether her father was even right to name her heir in the first place. By season 3, a lot of that doubt has gone. It's been expelled by a new religiosity. She believes that hers is holy war, that she has a divine mandate to rule. I think this growing fanaticism does indicate a marked change in character. For the first two seasons, doubt kept her innate Targaryen madness in check -- by season 3, that moderating force has fallen away.
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What part of Rhaenyra do you understand instinctively now that maybe you didn't at the beginning?
Three seasons in, I think I understand her anger better. Also her sense of duty -- especially to her late father. After his death, it's not just that she grieves him, or feels she must preserve his memory; she feels she is the custodian of his spirit, uniquely positioned to embody his intent.
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Was there a scene this season that stayed with you after filming?
There are scenes in episode 2 that have really stayed with me. It's a huge episode that required a huge performance. For an actor, those are like match days: a big challenge with everything to play for. I haven't seen it yet but, if it sings anything like it did on the page, it could be a special hour of television.
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What's the most surreal part of being part of something this culturally huge?
Sometimes, strangers will start conversations as if we've already been talking; there can be something quite dreamlike about a display of familiarity on an unfamiliar face. It reminds me of The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro, in which the narrator is constantly pulled in different directions by strangers who behave as if they know him. In those moments, I have to rewind a couple of steps. I say "Nice to meet you", ask for their name and offer my own -- conversations tend to progress much more normally after that.
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BONUS:
Fans love the relationship between you and Olivia Cooke, both onscreen and off. What's your dynamic actually like when the cameras stop rolling?
Liv is my great friend. After months and months of filming -- it can take eight to complete a season -- I owe a good part of my sanity to her.
He may be the only one aboard the Daemon/Criston ship, but he's the Captain damnit!
Phoebe seems to also be alluding to Rhaena's own grappling with agency and power (dragon power) this season.
"I think she doesn't have a choice, that's all she's got. You know, this promise at the moment. And I think she's just banking on a shared history, like a shared girlhood together. But yeah it is very flimsy."
"So we pick up on Rhaenyra literally the morning after the night before. This strange meeting and this kind of extraordinary offer to clear the path for Rhaenyra to take the throne without bloodshed. And yeah, I mean, I think it is hard for Rhaenyra to trust Alicent, their history is a complicated one. That said, there's such momentum, I think, in Rhaenyra's campaign at this point. Really for the first time she is in a strong military strategic position, and the Greens' defeat seems all but certain. There's a fervour to her faith, and so Alicent effectively bending the knee also feels fated. There's almost a confirmation bias to that momentum."