Warning: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon season 3, episode 2, “Queen’s Landing.”
The most recent episode of House of the Dragon season 3 has broken a major record for the Game of Thrones spinoff.
House of the Dragon season 3, episode 2, “Queen’s Landing,” revealed the aftermath of the Battle of the Gullet, including Rhaenyra’s emotional reaction after Jace died. Later, she made her way to King’s Landing with Daemon and took the Iron Throne. The episode ended with Alicent entering the Throne Room and seeing that her father had been executed.
The premiere may have featured an epic battle that the producers and cast had been teasing in a major way leading up to the show’s return on HBO, but it was the second episode of the season that earned the highest rating in House of the Dragon history on IMDb with a score of 9.4 out of 10.
This ties the record set by House of the Dragon season 2, episode 4, “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” which aired on July 7, 2024, and centered on the Battle at Rook’s Nest.
During the first season, House of the Dragon earned IMDb ratings that ranged from 8.0 to 9.3, with episodes 8 and 10 (the finale) being reviewed most favorably.
House of the Dragon season 2, meanwhile, saw an increase in negative reactions from critics and audiences alike, with IMDb ratings ranging from 6.3 to 9.4, which coincided with author George R.R. Martin’s public criticism over how showrunner Ryan Condal adapted the source material.
The recent House of the Dragon season 3 premiere holds a rating of 9.2, and the series as a whole is averaging 8.3 out of 10 (compared to 9.2 for Game of Thrones and 8.6 for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms).
House of the Dragon was the very first Game of Thrones spinoff to officially debut after Game of Thrones came to an end in 2019. Based on the book Fire & Blood by Martin, the series centers on the Targaryen family at the height of its power 200 years before Daenerys Targaryen became the Mother of Dragons.
After a two-year hiatus, House of the Dragon returned for its third and penultimate season just over a week ago in an episode watched by 21.5 million viewers in the first three days of its release, which is 8% lower than the second-season premiere. HBO has not released viewership numbers for “Queen’s Landing” yet.
The series stars Emma D’Arcy (who has received two Golden Globe nominations so far for her performance as Rhaenyra Targaryen), Matt Smith, Olivia Cook, James Norton as Ormund Hightower, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Matthew Needham, Tom Glynn-Carney, Ewan Mitchell, Harry Collett, Phia Saban, Bethany Antonia, Jefferson Hall, Abubakar Salim, Clinton Liberty, Phoebe Campbell and Gayle Rankin.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EDT on HBO and HBO Max.
