House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 7: Sunfyre Rises, Alys Deceives Aemond and Helaena's Dreams Explained

Season 3 episode 7 of House of the Dragon has a lot to talk about. "I think this is my favorite entry of the season so far," and it has some of the most memorable moments in the show's history, above all that Dracarys moment when Sunfyre finally returns.

If you haven't read the book, you might be surprised to learn that very little here actually comes from the text. The episode takes some big swings and goes off in massive new directions, and I will walk through them all.

The tapestry opening puts Criston Cole at the centre of the Butcher's Ball

We begin once more with the tapestries, which get an addition showing the Butcher's Ball. It starts with two soldiers lying dead back to back. I did initially wonder if they were just playing dead, but when we flip around, we can see they are wearing green.

More threads are added and we get Criston Cole in the middle with several arrows sticking out of him. This all sits in the centre of a seven pointed star, which symbolises the Faith of the Seven. It's also possible that Helaena is the one sewing this intro, much in the same way that Samwell wrote the Song of Ice and Fire.

Helaena's dreams point to escape, and possibly to death

We then jump to Helaena dreaming, something that recurs throughout the episode. Across all three seasons her spooky lines have foreshadowed certain events, and it is nice to finally see things from her point of view. At King's Landing she approaches a horse and carriage, a symbol of freedom that plays off the wooden horse she was looking at last week.

It is interesting to note that this is a pale horse, and there is a famous quote from the Book of Revelation: "I looked and behold, a pale horse and its rider's name was Death and Hades followed him." It might be a reach, but this could be foreshadowing a grim fate for her. She then steps out into the sun, which plays off what Alicent said in episode 6: "You'll walk out in the sun."

The idea of riding also feeds into a later vision of her riding her dragon, something that comes from the book, and again it is her trying to escape. Riding a horse to get away and riding a dragon while the crowd rushes towards her mirror each other and show the path she could be walking. One leads towards violence and death, when she really just wants to get away from the war. Daemon did ask her to ride into battle, and I wondered if this dragon shot was her dreaming of that outcome. Several elements of her dreams later are clearly from an alternate future.

Rhaenyra pulls rank on Helaena for answers about Tumbleton

Helaena is woken by Rhaenyra, whose words seep into the dream the way Daemon's did at Harrenhal. Rhaenyra says she is sorry to disturb her rest, but she is not really, is she? She woke her to ask about the future because her anxieties are clearly playing on her mind. She even tries to manipulate her, coming in as a caring sister before pulling rank: "You may refuse me as your sister, but I may compel you as your queen. Now, tell me what you know."

Helaena talks about wanting to fly as a girl, but now with Dreamfyre it is too much. I think it may even be possible that her dreaming visions, coupled with Dreamfyre, cause her to imagine countless terrible futures. A dragon can kill with ease at any second, and the power is just too much. Rhaenyra asks whether she believes the dragons alter us in some way, and I think that line can be read one of two ways.

The first read is that dragons are dangerous and the power that comes with them corrupts, which we have seen with Rhaenyra. She says they are a way to restore order, but what she really means is keeping things in place so she and her family can rule. The second read is the psychic bond between rider and dragon, which pays off with Sunfyre: earlier in the season Aegon could feel he was alive. Potentially the dragons change their riders beyond that, which could explain why Helaena cannot be with Dreamfyre. Either way, the idea of her not wanting to be changed is a great addition, a neat counterbalance to Rhaenyra's desperate wish for a dragon.

Helaena says she saw a grey mare. At first I misheard it as grey man and thought of the Night King, but a mare is a horse, which makes sense given what we just saw. Rhaenyra does not care about any of that and just wants the outcome of Tumbleton, which Helaena refuses to give. I also get the read that she knows Rhaenyra's fate but does not want to tell her because it is bad news. Her tapestry appears to show ships under attack with fire, which I do suspect is the Battle of the Gullet, and it is pretty crazy that she is stitching a depiction of Jace's death while Rhaenyra loses her temper in front of her. I wonder if Rhaenyra might one day look at these tapestries and discover something, much like Alicent did.

Rhaenyra is clearly addicted to knowing whether she will gain power, and she may even threaten the baby for answers. This is a lot like when Aemond grabbed Helaena's arm; both are aggressive with her. In season 1 Rhaenyra saw the white stag and in season 2 she saw Addam riding a dragon, both signs to her that she was meant to rule, and Aegon's dream is why she feels the throne is hers. I see her more as a steward of the prophecy, from a certain point of view, since Dany is a descendant of Rhaenyra and the line will continue, albeit chaotically.

Alys Rivers poses as Alicent to get Aemond's child

We then join Aemond practising with his sword and clearly struggling with his wounds. He is approached by what appears to be Alicent, who starts to kiss him. It continues from him kissing his mother before leaving for Harrenhal. The pair then sleep together, which is what Aemond wants, but it is revealed that this is actually Alys.

Earlier in the season the pair talked about Aegon and his mother and how Alicent likely loved Aemond the most. That clearly struck a chord, and Alys is now using it as a way to get his child. Aemond has had mother issues throughout the series and used to visit the brothel with a woman who was simply a stand in for Alicent. Even the name Alys plays off Alicent, which works really well with the subtext. These moments come from Aemond's vision, which is why she acts so out of character. We also saw how Alicent was only young when Otto pushed her towards a grieving Viserys, part of a theme across the show of parents pushing expectations onto their children: Aegon, Rhaena, Baela, Jace, Luke, and pretty much every character.

On the bed he realises it is Alys and panics. Alicent then arrives for real, and I think Aemond starts to question what is real and what is not. This might be similar to Helaena, who is losing her grip on reality and likely moves through day and night in worlds that seem real, which is why she always seems spaced out. I feel Alys might have done this on purpose, sensing Alicent coming and wanting Aemond unsure whether his mother was real. However, she did ask what Aemond saw afterwards, so it might have been an accidental daydream. Ultimately he makes the wrong choice and is poisoned by Alicent later in the episode.

Ormund Hightower plays chess while the rivermen close in on Tumbleton

The rivermen ride out towards Tumbleton carrying Criston's head, which looks nothing like him. A messenger arrives to warn the army at Tumbleton, despite having supposedly departed for Oldtown last week; I wondered if he rode out and returned out of duty, or stayed to look after Daeron. He passes conscripts building defences, and we see how little Ormund cares about their sacrifice as he mocks Cole: "So, your dim but ambitious Dornish friend died in the mud for nothing."

Ormund says he has a new piece on the board, which fits the chess game he has been playing. Chess takes time and small strategic moves rather than all out assaults, and that is how he views all of this, making small gambles to take down Rhaenyra and playing the long game. I do wonder how he will handle an all out assault from an army that vastly outnumbers his. Last week we theorised he might be planning to sacrifice Daeron to make the boy a martyr, but I think Ormund will die before that, probably in the next episode. My guess is that Daeron or Ormund loses his cool and Tessarion steps forth and eats him, which would play off the dragon rushing him in episode four and be an ironic death for a man who hates dragons so much.

At dinner Ormund wines and dines Corlys, who turns down drink to keep his head. Ormund offers "Pigeon pie before the executioner's block," and pigeon pie also plays into the idea of poisoning, since it is what Joffrey had at his wedding before he was poisoned. Ormund is basically doing his Bond villain routine, a lavish meal with his enemy before things turn nasty. In the book, Rhaenyra threw Corlys in the dungeons for trying to warn his sons that the queen was about to turn on them, and his men abandoned King's Landing, leaving it defenceless. That does not happen here, but the outcome is the same, as his men will not go to the Red Keep to defend it.

Daeron rightly says destroying King's Landing will not help when the rivermen are at their doors. Ormund thinks he is playing 4D chess, but the allure of the throne is blinding him to immediate threats, something the would be kings and queens of this franchise constantly fall victim to. Ormund rants about the Naathi, a pacifist people who do not kill at all, even animals, and is baffled by Corlys's loyalty to the Targaryens given how often they have wronged him. When Corlys asks to return to his cell, it costs the Hand a finger. I love how the scene ends with Ormund pulling out the knife: "Oh, Lord Corlys, before you go."

Afterwards, Daeron and his companion discuss how badly their bosses are behaving, and even surrender, but after the last fake out I don't think that strategy will work again. The line "He gave himself to the dust" echoes Genesis 3:19, about returning to dust in death; Cole knew this was a one way trip. The companion suggests Daeron fly away to Essos, which could be leading to something from the book. Daeron does not want to be a king who abandons his people and clearly does not want to rule, which in a way makes him the best leader. His lack of fear of insignificance sharply contrasts with Aegon, who wants to go out in a blaze of glory like Cole and think about his legacy, while Daeron wants to do right by his subjects.

Rhaenyra ignores her council while the realm unravels

At the council we hear that one member's home has been covered in filth. He rightly says he has been set up as a scapegoat and that his plans to raise taxes have always been shut down, a big change in tune from earlier in the season. Rhaenyra ignores his petitions because she is caught up in the prophecy and missing the immediate threats, just like Ormund.

She tells Sabitha Frey to go home with the twins and make a move on Harrenhal. Earlier in the season the show adapted a bit of the book that happens much later: when the assassins arrived at Harrenhal for Aemond, they were met by Alys, which is what happens to Frey's men when she sends a hunting party after this point. I think they might show up for the finale, and we could see a weakened Aemond having to make a stand. That could possibly bring back Vhagar to save him.

The hunting party returns with Addam and Baela. They have not found Vhagar, but they have seen Sheepstealer, and the penny instantly drops for Mysaria and Rhaenyra. I have to say Mysaria's accent is all over the place in this scene. She could have phased out the accent the way Halle Berry did in X Men or Scarlet Witch did in the MCU, and I think a British accent could even work as a character beat since she is trying to fit in with the nobles.

Mysaria sees that Daemon has his wife in the palm of his hand and tries to win her over, using the main weapon at her disposal, seduction. It builds off their rivalry on Dragonstone and that conversation about who is using whom, and it is a change from the book, where Daemon continued his relationship with Mysaria when they took King's Landing. I love how the character has grown; she came from the bottom, and the scar around her neck, once hidden behind chokers, is now in the open as a sign of survival. Sonoya Mizuno gets a lot of criticism for the accent, and I have made fun of it too, but I thought she did a stellar job as someone clearly outsmarting most of the characters. Even here she makes Rhaenyra distrust Daemon, and though I don't think it is malicious, she does not want him in power because of what he is really like.

Daemon learns the truth about Rhaena in the Vale

Caraxes and Daemon arrive in the Vale, where Lady Jeyne sits with a lady, which plays off the book. There, Mushroom claims Jeyne Arryn had a voracious appetite for men, while Septon Eustace repeats the rumour that she preferred the companionship of women and then says it was not true, which always left me wondering which it was. It looks like it is true in the show. Daemon loses it as the truth about Rhaena gets out: "The villagers gossip of a wild girl in the mountains living amongst nettles and sheep." That bit about nettles definitely feels like a nod to Rhaena being the show's version of Nettles, who lived in the mountains after the conflict and was called a fire witch by villagers.

Jeyne threatens to tell Rhaenyra, but Daemon asks for an extra day to blunt her wrath, a bold strategy. In the book, it was Daemon and Nettles who went looking for Vhagar, so the show is retrofitting that so it is still true from a certain point of view. In the book this is where the pair built a connection; some accounts say they had a relationship, others that he treated her like a daughter, and the show builds off that.

Baela and Addam, a love triangle and a question of legitimacy

Baela and Addam are also searching for Vhagar. I mentioned earlier in the season that I thought they could have a thing, which would change the book, where it was Baela and Alyn. It looks like old leaks may have been onto something, because they appear to be making a love triangle. When Baela brings up Alyn, Addam looks absolutely gutted.

Vhagar's attacks draw on the book, where Aemond became the terror of the Trident, burning Old Willow, White Willow and Harghall, and at Merrydown Dell thirty men and three hundred sheep died by dragon flame. Aemond is not responsible in the show, but in an earlier breakdown we discussed how we think he might be warging, controlling an animal through a psychic link as we saw often in the main show. That could also connect to Helaena and to what is going on with Sunfyre. I also think this might be the first time we have seen dragon droppings in the show.

Addam asks Baela to put in a good word so he and his brother can be made legitimate, but she declines, saying she is not in good standing with Rhaenyra, and I think things will get a lot worse. She is involved with Alyn while Jace's body is still warm and siding with the sister who caused his death. She tells Addam he has no need for a title when he has a dragon, but she is privileged to have both. Addam has changed his tune since episode one, when he was happy being a knight, and now that he has the opportunity, he wants it and does kind of deserve it. Then they see Caraxes flying over the hill.

Alicent's lonely road and the nightshade in the courtyard

At Harrenhal, Alicent and Aemond have a walk and talk. She mentions how dangerous the roads are, building on what was said last week, which makes her decision to travel alone even riskier and could lead to her being assaulted. In the book, Alicent faced backlash for calling Jace and Luke's deaths the spilling of illegitimate blood, and she and Helaena were forced into the brothels of the Street of Silk. I wonder if men might catch her on the road and she ends up with a similar fate, though I also thought she might bump into Aegon and be reunited with him and Tyland.

She keeps praising her guard, and as they walk, Aemond grabs her hair to check she is real. She says "You're all I have left," and I think the lengths of manipulation she goes to against her own family make her actually the nastiest character in the show. I never thought about that until now, and I like her, but she keeps trying to kill her children. Her guard is killed outside and left in the courtyard, and she takes his dagger, which I think she will probably need on the road.

The awkward supper follows. Aemond calls Alys a maester of sorts, playing into her bewitching ways; in the book it was said she used love potions to control Aemond and Criston. Aemond has decided to stay and sire his line, and I love the glances between Alicent and Alys. Alicent says Rhaenyra has six dragons, though the tables turn over the episode, and Ulf means they are one down. Aemond has eggs now and sees his line as the true dragon riders: "Rhaenyra's dragons are ridden by commoners." He wants a new line of kings free of questions of legitimacy. He offers Alys a place and suggests "I'm sure your mother will wish to move on."

Aemond goes to chop wood, as Daemon did at Harrenhal. Alicent warns him about Alys, which falls on deaf ears, and Alys says "Targaryen boys all want the same thing, don't you?" That plays on Daemon's vision of his mother. Alys is again a tool used by Targaryen men; denied the title of lady of Harrenhal, she concocted this plan, though even Aemond looks down on her. Alicent then spots the poisonous plants in the courtyard. Helaena once explained to Jaehaera that eating nightshade would be death. I thought Alicent might use it on herself, but she uses it on her son.

Aegon refuses to run while Larys slips away

Aegon, who is heading for the Free Cities, learns the Mootons are closing in, hunting Tyland too after Alyn heard of his location from Corlys. In the book, the Mootons retook Rook's Rest and tried to kill Sunfyre, who was alive and wandering, and the sound of their arrival woke him and he burned many of their men. The book also describes the beast being mostly unable to fly. The same soldier Aegon once served alongside now asks about the Lannisters and the Queen's gold, and he recognises Tyland straight away, so avoiding the army is not an option.

Larys suggests Tyland give himself up so he and Aegon can escape. Tyland says the Queen will flay him alive; in the book he was at King's Landing when it fell and was tortured for information on the Crown's gold. The scene frames Larys and Tyland on Aegon's shoulders like a devil and an angel. Larys represents cowardly manipulation to survive, which probably won't get Aegon back on the throne and leaves him living in paranoia. Tyland represents loyalty to something higher, even at the cost of his own life. I was once a Tyland hater, but he has really won me round.

Aegon tells them to save themselves, but Tyland stays. Aegon accepts this could be his death but is tired of running. He was brought up not to kneel, and killing that soldier with ease made him realise he does not have to live that way. He would rather die in a way people remember, buried as a king with his dragon. Larys asks whether Aegon will command him to stay, just to save face, knowing Aegon won't. He promises Aegon's last hours will be immortalised in song, when he was not even going to be around for them. In the book, Larys was in King's Landing manipulating the city against the queen, a plot point now given to Ormund.

Caraxes and Syrax fight Sheepstealer, and Rhaena is taken

Caraxes takes down Sheepstealer and lands on a plateau. We learn Rhaena has been searching for Vhagar in the hope of redemption; she can no longer live in the mountains and accepts she might die. Like Aegon, she feels hiding is no way to live. Daemon offers to help her and sees commonality: he too lacked a dragon and had a lonely childhood, and finally wants to stop being an absent father.

Then Addam and Rhaenyra arrive. I wonder if Rhaenyra suspected it could be Rhaena, which is why she did not bring Baela. Rhaenyra is stuck: kill Rhaena and she has executed her husband's daughter; spare her and she has not avenged Jace. In the book she demands Nettles' head, so I was surprised she only wanted to capture her, but show Rhaenyra is far less ruthless, hesitant even to kill Daeron and refusing to burn Tumbleton.

The dragons fight, and I thought Syrax might be killed, which does not happen in the book, but the tension stayed high. Syrax claws Sheepstealer's belly and we see steaming blood. Rhaenyra takes Rhaena, and I felt so sorry for Sheepstealer, who was just happy eating sheep. Daemon orders Caraxes to kill the dragon but is knocked from his mount and Sheepstealer escapes. Daemon could have pursued it, but deep down I think he loves his daughter, knows what it is to want a dragon, and does not want to take that away. I wonder if Sheepstealer will come back to save Rhaena.

Mysaria offers herself as the queen's ear

In the throne room, Mysaria gives a tour to her old acquaintance from the brothel, showing off how far she has come and how she can offer access to the queen. Rhaenyra now refuses to hear petitions, another step towards the public turning on her. People are afraid to walk King's Landing at night and the City Watch is disbanded. Mysaria offers to be the queen's proxy, a case of power corrupting, as touched on in Animal Farm.

The woman questions what power Mysaria really has, since the queen can still shoot her down and does not care that she is right about Daemon. She reminds Mysaria these people aren't her own and that the highborn will always see her as a harlot; even Viserys would not let Daemon be with her. That parallels how Aemond sees the dragonseeds and how Alyn and Addam remain outsiders despite their service. I think the scene also speaks to the hypocrisy of the rich person claiming to be of the people, and it might play into decisions she makes later. She reminds me of Shae from the main show; there was a theory they might be related, but Mysaria cannot have children, so it would have to be distantly.

Alicent poisons Aemond and Rhaenyra finds the shepherd's skull

Rhaenyra orders Rhaena imprisoned. Aemond practises again and pulls off the spin he struggled with earlier, though I don't know how long he will stay on his feet. Alicent arrives with suspicious drinks, and the scene rhymes with the opening fantasy, but it is another ruse. The makeup department deserves credit: the skin around Alicent's thumb is red raw, showing she is back to picking at her fingers. Aemond admits trying to kill Aegon, and Alicent does not berate him since she has tried too: "My dear. Such a foolish boy."

In Rhaenyra's room is the skull I noticed last week and assumed was a Macbeth reference, but it is the skull of the shepherd Daemon brought her. She believed her son was avenged and now feels betrayed. She questions how people see her, mirroring Alicent: Alicent thought she would kill Helaena's baby, and Daemon thought she would kill Rhaena. She turns from Daemon to Mysaria.

Baela visits Rhaena, who apologises for killing Jace and for Baela losing the chance to be queen. Baela forgives her; I think she knows they are all kids thrust into a war none of them asked for, fighting for a house destroyed from within. Alyn receives Corlys's finger and fears that if Corlys dies, he won't get Driftmark and neither brother will be legitimised. Aemond stumbles to Alys, who all but tells him she warned him, and Alicent flees knowing she may have killed her son.

Helaena dreams of giving birth to Maelor, immediately taken by the Kingsguard, then of riding Dreamfyre as crowds storm the Dragonpit, then of raising her children among chickens, which Alicent once said was what she wanted. The peace does not last and winter comes; even if she runs, evil eventually swarms the land, which might influence her decisions. Rhaenyra throws the skull on the fire, part of the fire imagery through the ending. She says her father's life was a dream and that if she were born a boy there would be no war. Mysaria plays on her vanity, like the Street of Silk training we saw with Littlefinger in Game of Thrones season 1. I do suspect her helping Alicent will be discovered, another betrayal in Rhaenyra's inner circle.

Sunfyre's return is the best moment of the season

In the woods the army arrives on Aegon. I respect that Tyland drew his sword and gave a little nod, ready to go out in a blaze of glory. I thought this scene was incredible. Seeing Sunfyre slowly stumble out of the trees was the "best moment of the season for me." Aegon takes a moment to find his bearings, and I thought it was fantastic that Tyland coaches him into it.

They don't recognise Aegon at first, but he draws his sword and gives a rousing speech. The trees rustle, something shifts over his shoulder, and he thinks they are retreating because of him. Sunfyre emerges with a half burned face like his master, Aegon says "Dracarys," and Sunfyre unleashes on the army. I had goosebumps. The survivors will surely take word to the queen that Aegon lives. When he could have run, he rose, and so did Sunfyre, and he and Tyland are back on the board in a big way.

Ulf defects to Ormund for Driftmark

New alliances form. Ulf, embarrassed when Daemon struck him in front of the commoners, has been thinking about what he wants, and to be fair I would have done the same. He asks for Honeyholt, but Ormund plays to his ego as Mysaria does with the queen and offers him Lord of the Tides at Driftmark. In the book, Ulf was offered Bitter Bridge but wanted Highgarden; with what the show is doing with Corlys, this offer makes more sense. They drink, and Ulf promises they will burn for what they have done.

This episode paid off so many little things while laying the table for the finale. Normally the penultimate episode is the big one and the finale is the calm after the storm, but the trailers suggest a big finale showing the Battle of Tumbleton, and I think this has the potential to make this season one of the strongest in Game of Thrones history.

Book spoilers: the Dragonpit, Larys, Daeron and Nettles

The series is not one to one with the book, but what follows may spoil things. Helaena's Dragonpit vision does not play out that way in the book. The storming follows news of Helaena's death, after Larys spreads the rumour that Rhaenyra had her killed, fuelled by the story of her son's head being sent in a chamber pot, which drove her to take her own life. Flea Bottom falls into chaos, and a council figure led a charge into the slums only to die; I think the show's version may simply be attacked in the rioting, since his home has already been targeted. A preacher called the Shepherd led a mob into the Dragonpit, killing many dragons while thousands died. Joffrey flew Syrax to rescue his dragon, fell and died, and riderless Dreamfyre broke free, burned people, and died smashing into the ceiling. I feel these dreams might be potential futures for Helaena, and either way the storming of the Dragonpit is coming.

We don't hear what Alys and Aemond want to call their child, and the book does not say either, but they clearly will have one, probably a development in the finale. After Rhaenyra fled King's Landing, Perkin the Flea installed Tristan Truefire, supposedly a son of Viserys I. I have seen people on Reddit and Twitter suggest Aegon's young illegitimate son from season 1 is Tristan, and I wonder if Larys returns to King's Landing to help Ormund and put Tristan on the throne in season 4. Aegon does return to the throne, but the book calls it The Short Sad Reign of Aegon II. The Greens lost the Battle of the Kingsroad, and with the rivermen and Cregan Stark's forces descending, Aegon was poisoned by Larys and Corlys. Cregan ordered Larys to be executed or take the black; he chose execution, though I don't know if show Larys would give up his life so quickly.

In the book, Daeron was said to have died at the second Battle of Tumbleton, but his body was never found and several people pretended to be him. If the battle is lost, it is fair for him to disappear, and with his mother's hair colour and the Daeron doppelgangers we have seen, he could easily live a new life. Ulf and Hugh both switched sides in the book, suspected to be for prestige. Hugh has not turned yet, and we have suggested he will when Rhaenyra decides to burn Tumbleton, though that is speculation. The dragonseeds are suspected as traitors, Corlys was imprisoned for warning Addam, and I wonder if Baela will be the one to warn him and suffer the queen's wrath, especially if she helps Nettles or is found out with Alyn.

Nettles lived in the caves of the Vale, as Rhaena has, and because Daemon didn't chase Sheepstealer, I think we can guess how things play out. Daemon went to fight Aemond over the Gods Eye and died, but his body was never found, and some think he went to live with Nettles, which could happen if Rhaenyra orders her death. In the book Rhaena lived a long life and eventually had a dragon hatch called Morning. Finally, Mysaria warned Rhaenyra that her position had become untenable, the queen fled, and Mysaria stayed behind. I wonder if she will remain in the Red Keep to help the common folk, building on the seeds laid here.

Do you read Helaena's line about dragons altering their riders as a comment on power, or as a hint at the psychic bond between dragon and rider?