The third episode of the already intriguing prequel, the House of the Dragon, continues the entertaining return to Westeros. The episode saw the line of the king further strengthened, intense politicking on behalf of a two-year-old infant, and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) proving to all of Westeros and the Triarchy he does not need Caraxes to be the most formidable of all the silver-haired Targaryen. This third episode brought a smile back on the face of King Viserys (Paddy Considine) but if the latest preview is anything to go by, that smile is about to disappear rather quickly.

The trailer for the new episode is titled “King of the Narrow Sea”. The Narrow Sea is a body of water that separates the continents of Westeros and Essos. The new trailer begins with a brief time jump, the king’s son Aemon is now three and his uncle is back from the Stepstones victorious, a crown of sorts on his head and a title to boot, King of the Narrow Sea. The trailer implies that Viserys’ dilemma on who will succeed him is not getting any easier, yes, his daughter Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) is his named heir; he, however, has a brother who has returned victorious from war without aid from the Crown and his own son, Aegon II to choose from. Both are choices that would appeal to more lords of Westeros than his choice of his daughter.

His desire to keep her as heir seems to be straining their relationship; having given her permission to court whomever she wished, the king is seen in the trailer dissolving that relationship and telling his daughter “You are my political headache!”. There also seems to be an attempted character assassination in the works aimed at the princess, possibly to weaken her claim to the throne. The Hand of the King, Lord Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) informs the king of the situation and despite the queen and Otto’s daughter, Alicent Hightower’s (Emily Carey) suggestions that Daemon is culpable, her father is a better bet.

Despite the king’s best wishes for House Targaryen to remain united for a further generation, the cracks in the House of the Dragon are beginning to become gaping holes. The trailer would conclude with a dragon flying perilously close to a Targaryen ship bearing Rhaenyra.

With the series picking up considerable steam on-screen, behind the scenes, the show has witnessed a bit of a shakeup. Co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik has departed the series and will only be working as an executive producer from season two. The departure makes room for Game of Thrones veteran, Alan Taylor to take over and work alongside Ryan J. Condal.

House of the Dragon is based on the works of George R. R. Martin just like its Game of Thrones predecessor. The series is set almost 200 tears in the past and features House Targaryen at the height of its strength and the civil war that would signal the decline of the house.

HBO and HBO Max will premiere episode 3 from House of the Dragon on September 11. Until then, you can watch the trailer below:

via Collider