Two years later, House of the Dragon Season 3’s finale vindicates one character — but it’s too late for them to say, “I told you so.” SPOILERS ahead for House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 8. The third season of the Game of Thrones spinoff culminates in the First Battle of Tumbleton, which proves a devastating affair for the Blacks and the Greens. Both sides suffer devastating losses, and both look worse off after. “The Treasons at Tumbleton” features several major deaths, and that’s not accounting for all the commonfolk killed amid the assault on the market town.
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House of the Dragon Season 4 will need to grapple with the fallout of the conflict, and it’s likely to shift the tides of the Dance of the Dragons once more. It introduces a new problem that isn’t Black vs. Green or Rhaenyra vs. Aegon, too: the fact that there are people without proper allegiances in possession of dragons. It’s something that could have been avoided, if only Rhaenyra would’ve listened to one character’s reservations.
Ulf the White’s Betrayal Proves Rhaenyra’s Dragonseed Gamble Was a Bad Idea
Ulf the White’s betrayal is set up throughout House of the Dragon Season 3, and it becomes a crisis during the finale. Although Ulf is initially too drunk and sleepy to meet his side of his bargain with Lord Ormund Hightower, he eventually makes it to the battlefield. There, he turns on Rhaenyra’s forces, burning the people he’s meant to support. It’s a gutting moment that fully drives home just how dangerous the dragonseeds can be. Ulf also turns on the Greens, which makes sense given Ormund’s treatment of him. Burning Tumbleton and the Hightower forces will likely blow back on Rhaenyra, though, and it sets Ulf up as a wild card heading into Season 4.
Ulf has no reason to be loyal to either side of the Dance. He and Hugh haven’t gained much from joining Rhaenyra, and the Greens don’t respect them, despite their willingness to use them. This makes it all the more likely that Hugh will turn on Rhaenyra as well, and it raises the chances of them making their own power plays rather than supporting someone else’s. Although that’s not a done deal, the fact that it’s a strong possibility proves Rhaenyra’s dragonseed gamble probably wasn’t worth it. And someone does try to warn her, but the truth of his words is proven too late.
The House of the Dragon Season 3 Finale Just Vindicated Prince Jacaerys Two Years Later
When Rhaenyra decides to let the dragonseeds claim dragons in House of the Dragon Season 2, Prince Jacaerys has strong feelings about it. His resistance stems from his own precarious place as her heir, as Rhaenyra’s first three children are all (rightfully) believed to be illegitimate. But even if his own motivations are self-interested, Jace is correct about the dragonseeds. His reluctance to have commoners claim dragons proves justified, as Ulf’s actions in the Season 3 finale prove him right. Jace can see that the new dragon riders don’t have any particular loyalty to his family, and Team Black would be better off if they’d acknowledged that alongside him.
Unfortunately, Rhaenyra will have to grapple with the consequences of not heeding Jace. When House of the Dragon Season 4 arrives, she’ll have to answer for Ulf’s assault on her forces and Tumbleton. She’ll also need to track down and capture the traitor, which will likely prove challenging given his bond with Silverwing. If Hugh does join him — which seems likely after Kat’s death — it’ll be especially hard.
Jace’s Season 2 Warning Was a Major Change From Fire & Blood
Although House of the Dragon Season 3 proves Jace right in the wake of his death during the Battle of the Gullet, it’s worth noting that his book counterpart wasn’t actually skeptical of the dragonseeds. In fact, Fire & Blood suggests that the decision to recruit them came from him instead of his mother. That’s one of many changes House of the Dragon makes to the text. In the source material, Jace seems to embrace the illegitimate Targaryens based on his own parentage rather than being threatened by them. Of course, that lays part of the blame for Ulf’s betrayal at his feet in the source material. In the show, Jace’s intuition is at least correct. Unfortunately, it’s too late to do anything about it.
