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*Warning: This article contains spoilers.*
House of the Dragon season three came to an epic end with the finale on Sunday night.
The HBO show closed with a dramatic battle, a grand bloodbath and ‘the greatest scene in the history of House of the Dragon’, according to one user on X.
After a mixed reaction to season three of the Game of Thrones (GoT) spin-off, the final episode has drawn comparisons with the legendary series.
@ASOIAFQuotesGOT said it ‘successfully captures that Game of Thrones magic of old’, while Tarun Raju said, like the iconic show, it had ‘a lot of expectation-subversion for book-readers’.
Predictably, we lost important characters in the season close.
Another large clash ensued with the second Battle of Tumbleton after Daemon met with Riverlanders and Northmen to attack the market town.
During the big fight, casualties were aplenty as viewers bade farewell to James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower.
Another huge loss occurred with the death of Helaena Targaryen, played by Phia Saban.
She killed herself after falling into a deep depression over being kept apart from her remaining child, Jaehaera, in King’s Landing.
The moment that Rhaenyra and Alicent realise that she’s dead is the scene that Zaid on X claimed was ‘the greatest’ in the history of the show.
George Holdcroft disagreed – he claimed: ‘The scene right before this with Roderick Dustin and Ormund Hightower in battle was even better.’
Others felt that the final episode didn’t deliver as it should have.
Mdrgm on Reddit called it ‘a terrible finale for an already weak season’.
He remarked: ‘This was a disastrous season finale that did absolutely nothing to compensate for an already weak season. There was nothing unexpected, nothing shocking, and not even a genuine surprise.
What did Metro’s TV editor Sabrina Barr think ofthe final?
Sabrina Barr, Metro’s TV editor, watched the finale ahead of everybody else and gave it three stars. She said:
‘As I watched the House of the Dragon season three finale, being one of few journalists granted early access, it made me realise something about the show that I didn’t want to admit, but couldn’t deny: I don’t have anyone to root for anymore.
‘I need characters to champion, to see the good in them and feel they deserve the power they’re fighting for. The events of the season three finale cemented the fact that to me, none of them feel worthy to sit on the Iron Throne. It’s an exasperating and sad thought.’
‘As an episode in the middle of the season, this could have worked. As a season finale, especially after everything we’ve been given this season, it was terrible.’
In response, SpittinMenace said: ‘I didn’t like what they did with a few storylines and characters but it definitely had a stronger ending than season two.’
The second season of the GoT prequel was criticised for its pacing and character development, with some calling it ‘boring’.
House of the Dragon is expected to return in 2028 for its fourth and final season.
House of the Dragon season three is available to watch on HBO Max, Sky and NOW.