The Biggest Question House of the Dragon Season 3 Will Answer

House of the Dragon is about to kick off its penultimate season, ramping up the Dance of the Dragons in Season 3. The Targaryen civil war between Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and her half-brother Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) has never been bloodier, with the infamous Battle of the Gullet soon approaching and Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) spiraling into what many might consider Targaryen madness.

Aegon II was quick to begin the war, and Rhaenyra was just as quick to defend her claim to the Iron Throne, but do either of them know what it truly means to live in a war? That's the biggest question Season 3 poses, according to Gayle Rankin, who portrays the Harrenhal witch Alys Rivers.

In a roundtable interview with Rankin and Mitchell attended by CBR's Katie Doll, Rankin expanded on what Season 3 will expose about the world of Westeros and its inhabitants — and how it relates to the modern world viewers live in.

"It's so funny. I thought you were talking about our present world, and I was like, 'Oh God, don't be in war.' But I guess the question that's posed, and it's yet to be seen whether it's answered: how to be in war. How do you survive? How can you be okay? Can you help other people? Can you change things? Those feel like the questions that are being posed. I feel like those are really difficult questions to answer because they're complicated. But I think that's what Season 3 is exploring, certainly, and what [every character is] exploring is their relationship to that."

Even if they don't play a direct hand in the conflict, everyone in Westeros is feeling the fiery burn of the Dance of the Dragons. Alys' intentions are the murkiest of all, having played Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) like a fiddle in Season 2 as she showed him visions of his deepest desires, greatest regrets, and a possible miracle in the future of the Targaryen line. But Season 3 may finally uncover Alys' true motivations and aims as she's drawn into both sides of the war thanks to Daemon and Aemond.

"I think [Alys] needs freedom. I think she needs to be honestly taken care of, and I don't think that's something she wants to admit to herself. But if you're a people-pleaser, a fixer, and you have that kind of strong feminine instinct to mother things, there comes a point where you break. You end up really needing something. I think a lot of people can relate to that, and I think she really faces that need this season."

As for Aemond, who attempted to murder his own brother at the Battle of Rook's Rest in Season 2, Episode 4, Mitchell teased Aemond's "vulnerable side" and the bigger questions Rankin described.

"He's in a position that we've never really seen him in before in the show — just so damaged and weak," Mitchell said. "I think that's what's so interesting about [Aemond]: stripping away that facade and looking past the armor, looking at who is still in there, if there's anything left in there or any sort of humanity, or if that damaged, neglected, bullied boy is still in there as well."

Gayle Rankin & Ewan Mitchell Tease Alys and Aemond's Dynamic in Season 3

Ewan Mitchell as Aemond Targaryen on House of the Dragon Image via HBO

There is one question fans are begging for House of the Dragon Season 3 to answer: What will go down between Aemond and Alys? The prince regent and witch queen have an intoxicating relationship in George R. R. Martin's Fire & Blood after Aemond claims the cursed castle under Green banners. The witch later claims to have been pregnant with Aemond's child, who she later alleges is the true heir to the Iron Throne.

CBR asked Mitchell and Rankin what the most enticing thing about exploring their dynamic in Season 3 was. Naturally, the pair kept their lips sealed on even the tiniest of spoilers, but Rankin promised that it would be different from the dynamic Alys shared with Daemon in Season 2.

"I think the most enticing thing about the relationship on paper, knowing it was going to happen and occur, was how it was going to differ from her relationship with Daemon. It had to, because they're different people. So I was like, 'Oh, wow, what's this going to be?' It can't be the same. I think there's a lot of juicy, exciting, surprising stuff that comes about, and she learns a lot about herself."

Mitchell went on to describe Harrenhal as the "White Lotus" of Westeros, a place where characters "check in" to learn more about themselves and leave with a new perspective on life... if they ever leave at all. Aemond is no exception.

"You saw it with Daemon—he has all of his toxins drawn out of him. He has to face his past head-on and, hopefully, in some way, shape, or form, grow from it, accepting some of the things that he's done. If Aemond is going to check into Harrenhal and spend any amount of time there, I'd love Aemond to go through a similar process as well, with his therapist being Alys Rivers."

House of the Dragon Season 3 premieres June 21, 2026 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, with new episodes airing every Sunday.