(Image credit: Ollie Upton/HBO)
Tom's Guide Verdict: "House of the Dragon" season 3, episode 4Rating: 4/5 StarsVerdict: "House of the Dragon" season 3 has been a vast improvement over season 2. Even an episode like this one, which features no battles or dragon-induced deaths, heats simmering tensions until they are ready to reach a boiling point. It sets up a fiery second half of the season in a satisfying way, rather than feeling like it's stalling for time.Premiere date/time: Out nowChannel: HBO and streaming on HBO Max"And now we begin." That's the final line of tonight's episode of "House of the Dragon," and it's a fitting one. This episode of season 3 feels like the show is resetting the board ahead of a climactic second half of the season.But while there are no battles or dragon-induced deaths in this episode, it doesn't lack for drama. In season 2, episodes that lacked violence also felt like they lacked forward momentum. That is not the case in tonight's episode, which has tensions ready to reach a boiling point as we enter the final four episodes of season 3.A major part of this is that, despite winning the Targaryen civil war, Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) now finds herself fully embroiled in a conflict with House Hightower. Ormond Hightower (James Norton), it is revealed, has been ruling Oldtown like a kingdom under the nose of the Targaryen empire. Now, he's putting forth Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth) as a Hightower king, hoping to cleanse the realm of dragons once and for all.However, those aren't the only players still on the board. Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) lives, albeit in a hellish existence. Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) is gone, according to Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), but as we haven't seen a body, we can expect he'll be back. And while Alicent (Olivia Cooke) and Helaena (Phia Saban) are trapped in the Red Keep, they're potentially harboring the biggest threat to the Iron Throne.
