‘House of the Dragon’ Showrunner Ryan Condal Confirms He Is Done With “Dragons, Targaryens, and Thrones” [Exclusive]
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the House of the Dragon Season 3 finale and some light spoilers from Fire & Blood.
Last week, House of the Dragon closed out its third season with a bang as Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) forces arrived at Tumbleton to oust Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and take back control of the town. The finale featured a major battle that saw Daemon (Matt Smith) fighting alongside Roderick Dustin (Tommy Flanagan) and his Winter Wolves as well as the Tully troops led by Oscar Tully (Archie Banes). Back in King’s Landing, Rhaenyra, having found out Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) is actually still alive (along with his dragon Sunfyre), rushes to the Grand Sept to force the High Septon to legitimize her reign. Unfortunately, when the old man denies her, Alyn (Abubakar Salim) is ordered to kill him before the queen gives an impassioned speech to the concerned people of the city about her right to rule.
With so much happening, Season 3 is setting the stage for the final chapter of House of the Dragon and the end of the Targaryen civil war. Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) is finally confronted by Aegon at Harrenhal, Ormund is killed by both Roderick and Ulf (Tom Bennett) on dragonback, and the season ends on the most tragic turn as Helaena (Phia Saban) kills herself after finishing her prophetic tapestry. We spoke with showrunner and co-creator Ryan Condal to break down some of those major moments in the finale and get a hint of where the story will go next based on clues from George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood and the story so far.
Ryan Condal Explains Where Vhagar Has Been All Season
“We felt that we could only go so far with the ‘Aemond the Destroyer’ storyline…”
COLLIDER: One of the things that really surprised me in the Season 3 finale was the revelation about Alys’ past as the Lady of Harrenhal. Will we be seeing more about her connection to Harrenhal and specifically the Green Men who we just saw a glimpse of early in the season?
RYAN CONDAL: There is definitely more Alys and witchiness to come. We love what Gayle [Rankin] has done with the role.
I’ve had this theory all season that Alys has done something to keep Vhagar away so that she can keep Aemond at Harrenhal. Can you confirm if my theory has legs? I know we saw Caraxes doing just fine at Harrenhal when Daemon was there, so I find it odd that we haven’t seen any sign of her since the early season.
CONDAL: Though the hows and whys of this story are yet to be revealed, we felt that we could only go so far with the “Aemond the Destroyer” storyline. Vhagar is great fun, but she is so all-powerful that we often have to ask ourselves, “Why couldn’t Vhagar just kill everyone/thing?” The idea that everyone is hunting Vhagar as a way of finding Aemond, one (wounded) man, without realizing they were separated was great fun. I doubt Alys has much power over the world of dragon magic, but I would guess that Vhagar has been around for a long time and hasn’t survived without being a canny old lady. Now that Rhaenyra and Daemon are weakened and Aegon has returned with Sunfyre, let’s see what happens next.
We know Harrenhal is a strategic location, but we also know that Aegon takes up camp in Dragonstone from Fire & Blood by this point. Will we see Aegon remain with Aemond in the Riverlands, or will we see him change locations to Dragonstone to be closer to King’s Landing?
CONDAL: We don’t know when Aegon took up at Dragonstone, only that he did… eventually. Part of the fun of him disappearing from the book narrative (with Larys) is that he could have gotten up to quite a bit of mischief while Rhaenyra and Daemon were busy and all the eyes of history were looking elsewhere.
Ormund Is Passing the Villain Crown Back to Aegon
“His story perfectly sat within our Season 3 plan.“
Ormund was a brilliant villain this season; I think we all really took a liking to James Norton’s performance and how smarmy he could be. Ormund’s death is one of the wildest scenes in the season; what made you guys go in that direction tonally? Was there ever a point where you thought about extending Ormund’s time on the show simply because he’s such a great villain?
CONDAL: James Norton is great, and I wish he could be in everything I make from here to the end of time. But the plan was always for a one-season arc. His story perfectly sat within our Season 3 plan, and his work (though he paid for it with his life) has irrevocably damaged Rhaenyra and Daemon’s cause while simultaneously strengthening the Greens. Better that Ormund leave us all wanting more and pass the torch to his nephews, Aegon and Aemond.
We got such a good scene with Ulf betraying both the Greens and the Blacks; I thought that was a very clever twist on how to utilize that storyline in a realistic way. However, in Fire & Blood, Ulf is not the only betrayer, so I was wondering if you can hint at how we might see Hugh turn on the Blacks now that his wife is dead after Tumbleton?
CONDAL: Did Hugh not betray Rhaenyra by disobeying her orders, abandoning his post in King’s Landing, showing up to a war to which he was not invited, parking his dragon, and refusing aid when everything went to hell? Ulf’s betrayal was felt more acutely due to the direct outcome, but do not discount Hugh’s own treason. Outwardly, Hugh might seem like a much more honorable man than Ulf, but this man has only ever acted out of self-interest. He never had a stake in this war or Rhaenyra’s claim outside what suited his ambitions. And now one of the two things he cared about (his wife) is a casualty of this war.
Helaena’s Visions Are Still Open To Interpretation
“How does one make sense of this imagery in such a way as to actually be beneficial?”
You guys have really incorporated dreaming hugely in the show with Helaena. I thought one of the dreams that was the most compelling was finally seeing her ride Dreamfyre in the vision. I know what that scene is hinting toward from Fire & Blood, but is there a reason why you guys chose to frame the scene like that with Helaena riding her dragon to tease what will happen in the Dragonpit? As opposed to having her merely seeing it from a third-person point of view?
CONDAL: Targaryen Dreamers have loomed so large over this particular period in the Targaryen dynasty that we felt that we earned the opportunity to have a look inside what that actually means for the Dreamer. And though I don’t want to get into specific interpretations of what Helaena is seeing, I think the open-ended nature of it gets at what makes these dreams more a curse than a gift. None of it is black and white, and all of it is very open to interpretation. What is it like to live as someone who sees the future regularly but without any kind of defined clarity? It must be maddening. How does one make sense of this imagery in such a way as to actually be beneficial?
Rhaenyra Has Chosen To Fully Align Herself With Daemon’s Philosophy
“Can I rule without becoming a tyrant?”
One thing I’ve really enjoyed this season is seeing Daemon and Rhaenyra kind of coming into a symbiosis; it reminded me a lot of their relationship early on in Season 1. What was your goal when writing that relationship? They are very much on the same page now rather than working against each other. Even the scene where Rhaena’s identity as Sheepstealer’s rider is revealed was not as explosive between the two of them as I expected.
CONDAL: That was definitely the plan. They start the season with the wounds of Season 2 still fresh, but also with the relative clarity of their new position: Daemon has experienced a clear vision of Rhaenyra being “the one,” and Rhaenyra herself is now unquestionably the Queen of Dragons. The big question going into Season 3 for Rhaenyra was: can I rule effectively and still honor why Viserys chose me over Daemon? Essentially: Can I rule without becoming a tyrant?
Rhaenyra is pulled between Mysaria’s philosophy, Alicent’s warnings, and Daemon’s desire to double down on what it means to be a Targaryen: to rule with strength and fire and blood. Rhaenyra tried for as long as she could to keep these things in balance, but she realized (especially when her rival Aegon was “resurrected”) that if she was ever going to win and rule uncontested, she would have to align herself fully with Daemon.
How much of that symbiosis with Daemon is contributing to Rhaenyra becoming more extreme and turning her into the “Rhaenyra the Cruel” figure that she is known as in history, especially after she ordered Alyn to kill the High Septon?
CONDAL: Rhaenyra has tried to be a conciliator and a consensus-builder, making compromise after compromise ever since her claim was stolen from beneath her. She has realized a sad truth about humanity: it understands black and white, light and dark better than it does nuance.
Have we seen the last of Rhaena and Sheepstealer? It seems a pity to keep her locked up in King’s Landing.
CONDAL: Rhaena’s story isn’t over. Nor are the reverberations of her actions.
Is There More Westeros in Ryan Condal’s Future?
With Season 4 being the final season of the show, I am very curious: if you could take on another era of the Targaryen Dynasty, which one would you personally adapt, or which one would you be most excited to see adapted beyond Aegon’s Conquest and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms?
CONDAL: I have really said all I have to or need to say about dragons and Targaryens and thrones, but I think the most interesting story left on the table is the story of the end of the Targaryen dynasty. But the one told from the point of view of the Targaryens themselves.
Do you mean the end of the Targaryen dynasty after Aerys II (The Mad King)? Or one beyond that?
CONDAL: Yes, I meant the accepted formal end of the dynasty with the death of Aerys II (The Mad King).
- Release Date
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August 21, 2022
- Network
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HBO
- Showrunner
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George R.R. Martin
- Directors
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Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel
- Writers
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Gabe Fonseca
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Fabien Frankel
Ser Criston Cole
