Criticised for being light on action and cut short by 2023's Hollywood strikes, House of the Dragon Season 2 was considered a disappointment by many fans. Fortunately, it sounds like the show's upcoming third season is (mostly) firing on all cylinders.
While reviews aren't overwhelmingly positive—many of the show's lingering issues seemingly remain—outright negative ones are few and far between, explaining House of the Dragon's near-perfect 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Only a handful of verdicts have been counted as we write this, so you can expect the score to potentially change. Critics were only sent the first 4 episodes, so these reviews are for those, not Season 3 in its entirety. Still, there's no denying that this is a strong star for the Game of Thrones prequel.
As you'll see below, the reviews promise an action-packed start to the season and a return to the same quality of storytelling we got in Season 1. In terms of where House of the Dragon trips up, the main complaints seem to be that, overall, this third batch of episodes is more of the same.
The Hollywood Reporter writes, "This all boils down to me really liking the third episode, liking portions of the fourth and fearing that no matter how much I like the change of direction that occurs in much of those two episodes, House of the Dragon has too much on its plate and too little time to do everything."
Variety writes, "Whether they provide surprise and distraction or anchoring ballast, it’s the people who make 'House of the Dragon' worth enduring the predetermined devastation. The dragons are just the CGI flying lizards on top."
Empire was a fan, pointing out, "More action-packed but still as thoughtful as ever, the first half of Season 3 suggests it could very well be House Of The Dragon’s best offering yet."
"Burning bright from the opening episode's Battle of the Gullet, House of the Dragon season 3 repositions the Targaryen civil war's key players, operating as a thrilling fresh start for the fiery Game of Thrones prequel," GamesRadar+ concurs, explaining, "On the basis of the first four episodes, this could be the best season of a Westeros-set show in over a decade."
IndieWire's B- review states, "The HBO epic relaunches with the long-awaited Battle of the Gullet, but the massive naval melee largely underlines how the primary combatants are already growing weary of war that's just beginning."
Adds AwardsWatch, "What stands out about House of the Dragon is its character work, and its third season only proves well what fans already knew: it stands tall next to its predecessor, with the possibility of finishing stronger and being better."
"The show is full of explosive energy, but it also feels frustratingly unrestrained," Slant points out, before Mashable enthuses, "House of the Dragon Season 3 flies high. Instead of spinning its wheels, it roars into the Targaryens' bloody future with action and creeping dread to spare, and that assurance and forward momentum turns out to be exactly what the show needs."
Over to Looper, which declares, "The series is better than ever, and the new season will have you hanging on every single moment." The Times, however, wasn't impressed, concluding. "All too often it feels so old hat, so reheated and, well, so, so boring."
Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, the series, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.
Returning cast members for season 3 include Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Matthew Needham, Tom Bennett, Kieran Bew, Kurt Egyiawan, Freddie Fox, Clinton Liberty, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim.
New additions include Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin, Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly, and James Norton as Ormund Hightower.
House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres on HBO on June 21.