“House of the Dragon” Season 3 returns with the “Battle of the Gullet,” and episode 2 arrives Sunday, June 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and at 9 p.m. ET on HBO Max.
The Sea Battle arrives like a verdict.
When “House of the Dragon” Season 3 kicked off. it did so with the “Battle of the Gullet. ” a fight that barrels straight into a skyrocketing death toll as rival Targaryen factions clash. It’s the kind of opening that turns the week ahead into a countdown: who survives. who doesn’t. and what the carnage sets in motion.
Episode 2 continues that momentum. HBO will air the next installment on Sunday, June 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT, and subscribers can stream it on HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT. New episodes will then drop weekly through Aug. 9.
The episode’s stakes are already etched into the season’s larger arc, drawn from George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood” and set 200 years before the events of “Game of Thrones.” At the center of the early churn is a grim chain reaction tied to Alyn of Hull—one that is already reshaping what’s coming next.
The production choices behind the chaos aren’t subtle, either. “House of the Dragon” star Abigail Thorn, who plays Sharako Lohar, described the filming process behind the battle’s scale and intensity. She also tied the episode’s brutality to what war does to the people trapped inside it.
Thorn said Sharako becomes “a monster” as the episode progresses, describing it as “the consequences of war.” In the interview, she added that in the final moments, Alyn of Hull becomes infected—the “germ” passing to him—“and that sets up the entire Season 3.”
The battle itself features what the show’s tone is built on: fire-breathing dragons and ships. Showrunner Ryan Condal described the episode’s spectacle as “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made.”
The early season’s sharpest turns aren’t just tactical. Several figures who will go down in the history of Westeros—including Sharako Lohar—are killed off in shocking twists, setting a brutal pace that carries into episode 2.
That mix of sweep and slaughter is landing with viewers in different ways. The TV critic Kelly Lawler gave the new season ★★½ out of four. writing that Season 3 “still has too many forgettable and stilted characters and not nearly enough oomph behind its biggest conflicts. even with two seasons’ worth of backstory in its wake.” Yet Lawler also pointed to a change in rhythm. saying there are “glimmers of hope” after the first two episodes. which she described as “sadly” mostly setting the table. She wrote that “The pace quickens. ” “The characters start using their brains. ” and there is “even a smidgen of levity mixed in with all the heads on pikes and grieving mothers.”.
The sequence in the early season matters because it connects the spectacle of the “Battle of the Gullet” to a more personal, body-level turning point: Sharako’s fall and Alyn’s infection. One pushes the realm into chaos; the other quietly retools what the season will be about when the smoke clears.
Episode schedule and how to watch
“House of the Dragon” Season 3 airs on HBO at 9 p.m. ET/PT and is available to stream on HBO Max at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT on Sundays. The season is listed at eight episodes, with this schedule after the first episode:
Episode 2: June 28
Episode 3: July 5
Episode 4: July 12
Episode 5: July 19
Episode 6: July 26
Episode 7: August 2
Episode 8: August 9
Cast returning for Season 3
The new season brings back a core ensemble:
Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen
Emma D’Arcy as Rhaenyra Targaryen
Olivia Cooke as Queen Dowager Alicent Hightower
Tom Glynn-Carney as King Aegon II Targaryen
Phia Saban as Queen Helaena Targaryen
Ewan Mitchell as Prince Aemond Targaryen
Bethany Antonia as Lady Baela Targaryen
Phoebe Campbell as Rhaena Targaryen
Fabien Frankel as Ser Criston Cole
Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower
Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon
Abubakar Salim as Alyn of Hull
Matthew Needham as Lord Larys Strong
Abigail Thorn as Admiral Sharako Lohar.
If you’re trying to decide how to spend Sunday night, the choice is unusually clear. With episode 2 set for 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and HBO Max streaming at 9 p.m. ET, the question isn’t whether the season will escalate—it’s how quickly it will take the next person down.
House of the Dragon Season 3 episode 2 June 28 HBO HBO Max Battle of the Gullet Abigail Thorn Sharako Lohar Alyn of Hull Ryan Condal
Wait is this the one with the dragons eating people or am I mixing it up with something else.
The “gullet” thing sounds like an episode title made by someone with zero chill. If the death toll is already skyrocketing, I’m not emotionally ready for Sunday. Also Alyn getting a “germ”?? Like that’s how they’re explaining the whole season??
So they’re saying war makes Sharako a monster and then Alyn gets infected? I thought Alyn was already like, in the family somehow, but maybe that’s from another season. The article says it’s 200 years before Game of Thrones which is wild because I feel like the show keeps reusing the same plot beats lol.
Why do they drop it weekly through Aug 9 like we’re not gonna binge it anyway? Also HBO Max timing is confusing, it says 9 pm ET / 6 pm PT and I always forget if that means my local time or theirs. That whole battle sounds like it’s gonna set up everything, but I swear every episode “sets up the entire season” now. If Alyn really gets infected at the end I’m guessing it’s basically a dragon curse or something.