‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Ending Explained: I Finally Understand Why George R.R. Martin Hates This Show

George R.R. Martin set fans of his fantasy epic alight when he took to his blog on September 4, 2024, to post about changes he disagreed with for HBO’s adaptation of his Targaryen history book, Fire & Blood — namely the adaptation’s handling of Helaena Targaryen and her son, Maelor. The post, titled Beware the Butterflies, was deleted shortly afterward, but not before fans had saved and dissected every word of it to analyze why the cracks between GRRM and House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal had begun to show.

Based on the final episode of House of the Dragon season 3, the reason for GRRM’s fury over Condal’s adaptation changes is abundantly clear.

House of the Dragon season 3 ending explained

After spending most of season 3 trying to prove herself a woman of the people, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) has officially had enough. With Ormund Hightower (James Norton) besmirching her reputation from his captured seat at Tumbleton (and the discovery that Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre are still alive) Rhaenyra finally goes on the offensive — and everyone is in the line of fire. This includes her half-sister Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban), who has been left alone after Rhaenyra forced her childhood friend-turned-frenemy, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), to go to Harrenhal to kill her own son, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell).

Despite promising to look after Helaena, Rhaenyra becomes relentless and downright cruel after realizing she’s quickly losing her grip on King’s Landing and her people, while still mourning the loss of her son Jace. This comes to a head in the latest episode, when Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) confronts Rhaenyra, accusing her of using her allies (particularly her dragonriders) like chess pieces on a board, not truly caring whether they live or die as long as they are useful to her.

Baela isn’t the only one who has words for Rhaenyra. Helaena, revealed earlier in the season to be with child, has stopped eating. When Rhaenyra tries to get her to eat again, Helaena rips into the Black Queen, saying that everything she wants — to be Queen, to rule, etc. — is ugly and worthless. She twists the knife further by saying that their father, Viserys, would not like what Rhaenyra is doing. Rhaenyra doesn’t take this too kindly, and when she sees that Helaena won’t eat, she forces food on her half-sister.

It’s not the first harsh act Rhaenyra has inflicted on Helaena this season (she has also been demanding that Helaena share her visions to see if she’s successful in The Dance of Dragons), but it’s certainly the most cruel and aptly conveys just how far Rhaenyra is willing to fall to win the war.

What worsens the situation is that this occurs soon after a scene in which Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) — who has been sent by Rhaenyra to Pentos but slips away amid the chaos of King’s Landing — warns Helaena not to trust Rhaenyra anymore, saying that she and her child will always be hostages to Rhaenyra. After the force-feeding scene, the last time we see Helaena is just before she jumps out the window, impaling herself on the battlement spikes below. Rhaenyra finds Helaena’s body after a servant informs her, and she closes the window. This is the last scene of season 3.

GRRM fans won’t be too surprised by the finale’s final scene. His ‘Beware the Butterflies’ post warned that Helaena’s death would be the season’s final segment, and it now perfectly explains why GRRM titled it that in the first place. Shortly after Helaena’s death, House of the Dragon cuts to a scene of Alicent making her way back to King’s Landing. She steps toward a bush, only for what feels like legions of blue butterflies to appear and fly in front of her. Helaena has had an affinity for bugs — particularly caterpillars — since season 1, so butterflies representing her death feel especially poignant, even if it also reveals that GRRM really did leave one hell of a spoiler in his original post. Hindsight truly is everything.

How do House of the Dragon’s changes set up season 4?

Image: HBO/Ollie Upton

In Fire & Blood, the cause of Helaena’s death is pure speculation, with historians and eyewitnesses suggesting it could be either that her son Maelor was torn apart by a mob at Bitterbridge or that Rhaenyra threw Helaena out the window herself to eliminate any other potential claims to the throne. However, GRRM’s blog post inadvertently confirmed that the real reason Helaena killed herself was Maelor’s death — which makes GRRM’s disappointment with Condal’s changes, such as Maelor not even existing in the show, even more understandable.

Helaena’s death in House of the Dragon, however, seems to stem from a combination of her dreams and her worsening treatment at Rhaenyra’s hands. While the latter is fueled by Rhaenyra’s growing resentment as her attempts to do good blow back in her face, we doubt that will be a sufficient reason for Alicent Hightower not to take serious issue with the Black Queen when she returns to King’s Landing in season 4. We know from Fire & Blood that the Dowager Queen outlasts all her children before succumbing to Winter Fever in 133 AC, but we don’t know how she ends up in confinement. Considering Helaena died on Rhaenyra’s watch, we assume Alicent won’t be locked up without a fight.

Next are Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew). Both appeared at the Battle of Tumbleton, with Ulf fulfilling his promise to turn on the Black Council — but he also ended up turning on the Greens, burning innocents and enemies. Hugh, however, was far more focused on finding his wife, Kat, amid the chaos of the fighting. In Fire & Blood, Ulf and Hugh are called the Two Betrayers, so Hugh not turning Vermithor against the Black Council alongside Ulf is a major change. If Ulf has betrayed her and Hugh is nowhere to be found, it’s possible she’ll consider him traitorous in his absence.

Image: HBO/Theo Whiteman

Then there are Aemond and Aegon. Aegon appears at Harrenhal to berate a subdued Aemond for his attempts to murder him, but says he may forgive him once they find Vhagar and retake King’s Landing. Based on how House of the Dragon is portraying the two brothers, it looks as though season 4 will focus on them searching for Vhagar before Aegon heads to Dragonstone, which has been left mostly empty after Rhaenyra’s departure.

Last but not least is Rhaenyra herself. Before she literally closes the window on Helaena’s death, she encounters the tapestry that Helaena has been stitching — revealing that Helaena didn’t just know about her own death, but the exact thing Rhaenyra was asking for: her future as queen. Viewers see a bloodied Rhaenyra sitting on the Iron Throne, hair askew, and flames licking at her feet behind her. Sunfyre, deformed and vengeful, rages in the background. No spoilers, but that’s not too far from what happens to Rhaenyra by the end of Fire & Blood.

Given all the changes in House of the Dragon, it remains to be seen whether Rhaenyra’s story will follow what GRRM set out in Fire & Blood. As someone who isn’t too married to the original material — particularly because it’s a “historical text” with multiple authors, so the truth isn’t always so clear-cut — Condal’s divorce from much of what was in Fire & Blood in the season finale seems to have left more questions. Let’s hope he has answers by the time House of the Dragon season 4 debuts.