Before anything else, the trailer for House of the Dragon season three is incredible. But what we see there is increasingly distant from the version we know from Fire and Blood. Two things don’t prevent us from recognizing the quality of what’s on screen, even if expectations of fidelity were high.

That said, we can already identify key scenes from the third season that avoid major spoilers, even for those familiar with the story.

While George R.R. Martin’s book is not sympathetic to Rhaenyra Targaryen, it is less inclined to humanize or soften the Hightowers’ attempt to ignore the line of succession established by Viserys I, something the first season contextualized in greater detail.

In case you don’t remember, in Westeros succession follows Salic law: women are excluded, and the Crown always passes to the firstborn male. That is why Viserys came to the throne, which, in theory, should have gone to Rhaenys Velaryon and her children. Since he had no male heir in his first marriage, persuaded by Otto Hightower, his Hand, he broke tradition and named his daughter Rhaenyra as heir.

The move was “accepted” by the realm, but here’s the catch: it was meant to be temporary. Viserys remarries, this time to Otto’s daughter and Rhaenyra’s best friend, Alicent, and has four children with her, three of them sons. Yet even under pressure, he does not change the line of succession, creating tension within his family and across the kingdom.

To make matters worse, Rhaenyra has children clearly fathered by someone other than her first husband. When she becomes widowed, she marries her uncle Daemon, one of the most arrogant, ambitious, and feared men in the entire saga. Otto supported placing Rhaenyra as heir precisely to prevent Daemon from ever reaching the throne, while he expected his plan through Alicent to bear fruit. When the princess married Daemon, she became, in Otto’s view, someone to be opposed at all costs, including through coup and war. This defined the second season, where actions on both sides escalated in violence and began to affect innocents.

There is also a more complex element woven into the story: a prophecy involving the White Walkers, whose secrecy created misunderstandings that only deepened the conflict.

Because we are in the world of Game of Thrones, there is no unity even within each faction. Daemon wanted his wife’s crown, Aemond wanted his brother’s, Aegon, hesitant, wanted recognition, and Rhaenyra tried to preserve diplomacy to claim what was hers by right. As a result, no one trusts anyone, making it easy for manipulators like Mysaria and Larys Strong to intervene and shift the balance.

With that in mind, let’s look at what the trailer shows.

The war that was taking shape in the final episode of season two is already underway. We see Daemon assuring Rhaenyra that “now you have a power no man has ever had,” as she flies over Dragonstone on her dragon. “You will have an uncontested kingdom, and our children will reign forever.”

It is cruel that we then see Rhaenyra with Jacaerys because, SPOILER, he dies tragically in the very first episode, in which Viserys II is also presumed dead.

It has become a tradition in House of the Dragon to highlight grand statements that reveal very little, and here we once again have Corlys Velaryon telling Daemon that “what remains now is for you to decide what you want from this war.”

What does that even mean? The goal has always been to eliminate the Green usurpers and place Rhaenyra on the Iron Throne. But Corlys has never fully embraced the cause, so his hesitation feels consistent.

We see Alicent being led along a path at night. She may be trying to uphold an agreement with Rhaenyra to surrender King’s Landing in exchange for freedom for herself and Helaena, or perhaps she is betraying her former friend.

We see Rhaenyra leaving bloody footprints on her way to the throne, while Alicent states the obvious: “You will do things your heart would once have recoiled from before you ascend the throne.” She stands in a room where a skull burns in the fireplace, which we believe to be Otto Hightower’s head.

We then see Ormund, Otto’s nephew, leading an army and declaring that the Green cause is a way to contain the “wild race of the Targaryens” and act with “a sacred purpose to restore the rightful king to the throne.”

Cut to Aegon, now on his feet, his face destroyed, surrounded by men, while Aemond sits comfortably on the Iron Throne. Here we have two significant departures from the book: Aegon never walked again and lived in constant pain from the burns he suffered in season two. In the series, he is not only disfigured but strong enough to stand and rally soldiers to his cause: kill his brother or die trying. In the book, they were loyal to each other. I like this change.

We see Aemond in the throne room ordering someone to draw their sword, Ser Criston Cole in battle, and Rhaenyra facing a massive bonfire bearing the Green banner.

Ser Criston is desolate. “Look to the sky, ruin and destruction surround us,” he tells a furious yet frightened Gwayne Hightower. “We will become beasts before the end.”

And Vhagar arrives at Harrenhal.

We see the Starks fighting in large-scale battle sequences.

Rhaenyra walks steadily toward the Iron Throne as Helaena says, “This place is no longer safe,” surrounded by soldiers beside Alicent.

Aemond, his sword stained with blood, advances toward someone. More battles, and Vhagar burning Harrenhal.

We see Daemon devastated, more combat, and Rhaenyra in despair, mourning the loss of her children.

In a montage of blood, tears, and screams, we see all the main characters of the season, ending with Rhaenyra looking at her crown and declaring that “there will be no doubt who the gods have chosen to rule.”

Incredible.

We know that many crucial elements that will bring major twists to the story are being kept out of the trailer, but it left me genuinely hopeful for a great season. Not long now. June is right around the corner.