Every ‘House of the Dragon’ Character Who Won’t Be Making the Journey Into Season 3
As ‘House of the Dragon‘ finally returns to HBO with its third season premiering June 21, the war between Team Black and Team Green is about to escalate into its bloodiest chapter yet. With new dragonriders on the board, major battles on the horizon, and fresh faces entering the fray, the Dance of the Dragons is far from over.
But not everyone made it out of season two alive, and the new season is moving forward without several characters who helped shape the show into the sprawling, emotionally devastating epic it has become. Season two brought about the end of several characters’ time on the show, and viewers also witnessed a quiet recasting of at least one original character. Here is a look at the faces that won’t be gracing Westeros when the new season kicks off.
The Loss of Rhaenys Targaryen and Her Dragon
Perhaps the most heartbreaking absence from the new season is Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, portrayed by Eve Best. The Queen Who Never Was had spent two seasons being one of the sharpest and most principled voices in a war full of reckless choices, which made her fate all the more gut-wrenching.
Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys perished early in season two during the Battle of Rook’s Rest, riding into battle for Queen Rhaenyra against Criston Cole and his army. The pair were no match for Aemond and the enormous dragon Vhagar, who killed them with a surprise attack.
Showrunner Ryan Condal described the outcome as a Pyrrhic victory for both sides, saying the show lost one of Rhaenyra’s most trusted counselors and that the battle stands as a great example of how horrible dragon war truly is. The death registered as a seismic moment for viewers, removing one of the few genuinely level-headed figures from a war increasingly defined by chaos and grief.
Eve Best herself spoke about the choice in a behind-the-scenes feature, explaining that Rhaenys decides to step in because, as she had argued all season, if the action had to be taken, it was better she take it than anyone else. It was a fitting, if devastating, end for a character who had always chosen sacrifice over self-preservation.
The Cargyll Twins and the Cost of Divided Loyalties
Fans also won’t be seeing twin Kingsguard knights Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk Cargyll back for the new season. The brothers perished in the second episode of season two in a heartbreaking sequence that began when the pair pledged allegiance to opposing Targaryen factions, with Arryk backing Aegon and Erryk siding with Rhaenyra.
Criston Cole sent Arryk to kill Rhaenyra while impersonating his twin, but before he could carry out the plan, Erryk intervened.
The brothers fought until Erryk killed Arryk, and then immediately took his own life in grief. It was one of the most quietly devastating moments of the season, a tragedy born entirely from a war that forced brothers to become enemies.
The only outcome of the confrontation was Rhaenyra’s newfound trust in Mysaria, who had spotted the impersonation and returned to Dragonstone to raise the alarm. Even in death, the Cargyll twins reshaped the alliances around them.
Prince Jaehaerys and the Brutality of Blood and Cheese
Season two also featured the death of young Jaehaerys Targaryen, killed by the assassins known as Blood and Cheese at the order of Daemon following the death of Lucerys Velaryon at the hand of Aemond. It was one of the show’s most disturbing sequences, arriving early in the season and setting the tone for everything that followed.
Daemon bribed two men, a ratcatcher and a City Watch guard, to get revenge by infiltrating King’s Landing. The pair snuck into the Red Keep and entered the quarters of Queen Helaena before killing her young son.
The murder of a child as an act of political retribution sent shockwaves through both factions and accelerated the collapse of any remaining hope for a peaceful resolution.
The loss of Jaehaerys effectively broke Helaena, and it poisoned the moral standing of Team Black even among its own supporters. The character’s absence in season three is felt not just as a plot point but as a permanent reminder of how quickly the Dance of the Dragons devoured the innocent alongside the powerful.
Paddy Considine’s Ghost Gets a Formal Farewell
King Viserys perished in the first season of ‘House of the Dragon,’ but the writers found a clever way to bring Paddy Considine back for two episodes in season two through Daemon’s haunted visions at Harrenhal. All signs now point towards Viserys being finally left in the past, with no reported appearances from Considine planned for season three.
Considine himself confirmed he won’t be appearing in the new season, though he revealed that showrunner Ryan Condal sent him a photograph when filming began, showing a new statue of Viserys Targaryen that had been erected in the Iron Throne room. It was a fitting detail for a character whose shadow has always loomed larger than his actual presence.
Considine also expressed that he hadn’t been watching the series closely, explaining that when he gets time to watch things it is usually at bedtime and he tends to fall asleep, though he also noted that his wife and daughter are still massive fans of the show. Despite his absence from the screen, the statue confirms that Viserys’s legacy remains woven into the fabric of the story, even as season three charges toward its most explosive battles yet.
With the Battle of the Gullet set to open the new chapter and fresh alliances already being tested before the first episode has even aired, the departures of Rhaenys, the Cargyll twins, young Jaehaerys, and the ghost of Viserys leave behind a show that is leaner, more brutal, and increasingly without its moral anchors. Whether you were Team Black, Team Green, or just Team Rhaenys all along, the question worth asking now is which characters walking into season three will still be standing when it ends, so share your predictions in the comments.
