Category: Blog

I want to discuss accessibility because it is the most important thing for making websites. Other A List Apart articles give you innovation and insight. This article will give you homework. These are just my personal views, but they’re pretty good.

I want to start off with a couple of statements, and you will agree:

1. Designers are good people. I have never heard a designer say, “I don’t care if somebody can’t read this text”, “Not my fault if somebody can’t use this device”, or “Who cares if this is confusing?”
2. Some designs exclude people. You have seen people unable to read the text on a website or app that somebody designed. You’ve seen people unable to use a physical device that somebody has designed. You’ve seen people utterly bamboozled while trying to use a service that somebody designed.

So what?

The first question is, “Is this life-or-death stuff?” The answer is, “Yes.” In my favorite essay, This Is All There Is, Aral Balkan makes the point that pretty much everything that we design can affect life events and death events. Aral gives the example of how even a straightforward bus timetable app can affect life and death events, if we design it badly:

• somebody might miss a life event, such as their daughter’s fifth birthday party; or
• somebody might miss a death event, such as the chance to say goodbye to a dying grandmother.

The next—and frustrating—question is, “Why do some designs still exclude people?” After all, we know that:

• not everybody can see perfectly;
• not everybody can hear perfectly;
• not everybody thinks the same way; and
• not everybody moves the same way.

I think the answer is that there’s too much to recall. Consider, if you will, the wide variety of topics that A List Apart articles cover. Designers are expected to remember all of that guidance, plus all of the accessibility guidance, plus so much more. It is too much.

Recognizing accessibility issues while designing

I’d like to point toward one possible solution, starting from Jakob Nielsen’s 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design. These are from the mid-1990s, and—although there’s a good chance that you, gentle reader, are a lot younger than that—please bear with me. 

Seeing as the problem is that there’s too much to recall, I want to look at heuristic № 6, “Recognition rather than Recall.” Jakob Nielsen said that for users, information required to use the design should be visible or easily retrievable when needed. I suggest we tweak that to make life easier for designers. Let’s say that the information required to produce the design should be visible or easily retrievable when needed. In other words, let’s make it easier to recognise accessibility issues while we’re designing.

How are we going to do that? I really like the book A Web for Everyone—Designing Accessible User Experiences by Sarah Horton and Whitney Quesenbery. I really like this book not only because it includes a quote from me—actually two quotes, but I don’t like to boast—but because it includes personas that are perfect for helping us to recognise accessibility issues. That’s the good news. The even better news is that these personas are available now for free on the companion website to the book What Every Engineer Should Know About Digital Accessibility, again by Sarah Horton, with David Sloan this time.

Meet your users

I’m going to introduce you to these personas now:

• Vishnu, an engineer and global citizen with low vision says, “I want to be on the same level as everyone else”, “If I can adjust my screen, I can read comfortably”, and, “Translating in my head is easier with simpler sentences.”
• Trevor, a high school student with autism, says, “I like consistent, familiar places on the web”, “When I can learn the pattern, I can find my way”, and, “Reading is hard for me”.
• Steven, a deaf graphic artist and American Sign Language speaker, says, “My only disability is that everyone doesn’t sign”, and, “Without captions, it’s meaningless to me”.
• Maria, a bilingual community health worker, says, “I love this. It’s all here … when I can find it”, “When a site is confusing, I just leave”—fair enough, Maria!—and, “When I hear and see it, health information makes more sense”.
• Lea, an editor living with fatigue and pain, says, “No one gets that this really is a disability”, “Don’t make me work so hard”—please do not bombard this lady with drop-down lists—and, “Links at the top of the page make navigation easier for me”.
• Jacob, a blind paralegal and a bit of a geek, says, “The right technology lets me do anything”, and “This makes it possible to do my job”.
• Emily, who has cerebral palsy and is living independently, says, “I want to do everything for myself”, “Simpler screens are easier screens”—hell yeah, Emily!—and, “Tell me what I need in advance”.
• Carol, a grandmother with macular degeneration which affects her sight, says, “My grandkids are dragging me into the world of technology”, “I don’t understand what the screen is saying”, and, “Why can’t the text be just a little bit larger?”

I want to throw one more persona at you now, because, well, A List Apart readers are overachievers. One of my favorite authors, Cennydd Bowles—who literally wrote the book on Future Ethics—says to create Personas Non Grata. In other words, every time we design something, we have to think about what a bad guy could do with that thing, and whom that might affect.

To actually use these personas while designing, I like what Eric Meyer and Sara Wachter-Boettcher in Design for Real Life call the Designated Dissenter: for each project that you work on, one of your teams should be responsible for asking, “Will this work for Vishnu?”, “How’s Trevor going to get on with this?”, and so on. 

Then, once you’ve used the personas to recognise the accessibility issues, you can look up the guidelines for whichever platforms you’re designing for: 

• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2
• Accessibility designing — Material Design 3
• Accessibility — Windows apps
• Accessibility | Apple Developer Documentation
• Check your interface for accessibility (Ubuntu)

Your mission, should you choose to accept it

I told you in the introduction of this article that I would give you homework. You thought I was joking. So, here’s your homework: I want you to grab the personas from the Know About Accessibility website, and use them throughout every design project to help you recognise accessibility issues while you work—and reclaim design for everyone.

NOTE: This article is based on “Recognise,” my five-minute presentation from Interaction Design Association (IxDA) Dublin’s Defuse (Design for Use) event in 2025.

Today’s web is not always an amiable place. Sites greet you with a popover that demands assent to their cookie policy, and leave you with Taboola ads promising “One Weird Trick!” to cure your ailments. Social media sites are tuned for engagement, and few things are more engaging than a fight. Today it seems that people want to quarrel; I have seen flame wars among birders.  

These tensions are often at odds with a site’s goals. If we are providing support and advice to customers, we don’t want those customers to wrangle with each other. If we offer news about the latest research, we want readers to feel at ease; if we promote upcoming marches, we want our core supporters to feel comfortable and we want curious newcomers to feel welcome. 

In a study for a conference on the History of the Web, I looked to the origins of Computer Science in Vienna (1928-1934)  for a case study of the importance of amiability in a research community and the disastrous consequences of its loss. That story has interesting implications for web environments that promote amiable interaction among disparate, difficult (and sometimes disagreeable) people.

The Vienna Circle

Though people had been thinking about calculating engines and thinking machines from antiquity, Computing really got going in Depression-era Vienna.  The people who worked out the theory had no interest in building machines; they wanted to puzzle out the limits of reason in the absence of divine authority. If we could not rely on God or Aristotle to tell us how to think, could we instead build arguments that were self-contained and demonstrably correct? Can we be sure that mathematics is consistent? Are there things that are true but that cannot be expressed in language? 

The core ideas were worked out in the weekly meetings (Thursdays at 6) of a group remembered as the Vienna Circle. They got together in the office of Professor Moritz Schlick at the University of Vienna to discuss problems in philosophy, math, and language. The intersection of physics and philosophy had long been a specialty of this Vienna department, and this work had placed them among the world leaders.  Schlick’s colleague Hans Hahn was a central participant, and by 1928 Hahn brought along his graduate students Karl Menger and Kurt Gödel. Other frequent participants included philosopher Rudolf Carnap, psychologist Karl Popper, economist Ludwig von Mises (brought by his brother Frederick, a physicist),  graphic designer Otto Neurath (inventor of infographics), and architect Josef Frank (brought by his physicist brother, Phillip).  Out-of-town visitors often joined, including the young Johnny von Neumann, Alfred Tarski, and the irascible Ludwig Wittgenstein. 

When Schlick’s office grew too dim, participants adjourned to a nearby café for additional discussion with an even larger circle of participants.  This convivial circle was far from unique.  An intersecting circle–Neurath, von Mises, Oskar Morgenstern–established the Austrian School of free-market economics. There were theatrical circles (Peter Lorre, Hedy Lamarr, Max Reinhardt), and literary circles. The café was where things happened.

The interdisciplinarity of the group posed real challenges of temperament and understanding. Personalities were often a challenge. Gödel was convinced people were trying to poison him. Architect Josef Frank depended on contracts for public housing, which Mises opposed as wasteful. Wittgenstein’s temper had lost him his job as a secondary school teacher, and for some of these years he maintained a detailed list of whom he was willing to meet. Neurath was eager to detect muddled thinking and would interrupt a speaker with a shouted “Metaphysics!” The continuing amity of these meetings was facilitated by the personality of their leader, Moritz Schlick, who would be remembered as notably adept in keeping disagreements from becoming quarrels.

In the Café

The Viennese café of this era was long remembered as a particularly good place to argue with your friends, to read, and to write. Built to serve an imperial capital, the cafés found themselves with too much space and too few customers now that the Empire was gone. There was no need to turn tables: a café could only survive by coaxing customers to linger. Perhaps they would order another coffee, or one of their friends might drop by. One could play chess, or billiards, or read newspapers from abroad. Coffee was invariably served with a glass of purified spring water, still a novelty in an era in which most water was still unsafe to drink. That water glass would be refilled indefinitely. 

In the basement of one café, the poet Jura Soyfer staged “The End Of The World,” a musical comedy in which Professor Peep has discovered a comet heading for earth.

Prof. Peep: The comet is going to destroy everybody!

Hitler:  Destroying everybody is my business.

Of course, coffee can be prepared in many ways, and the Viennese café developed a broad vocabulary to represent precisely how one preferred to drink it: melange, Einspänner, Brauner, Schwarzer, Kapuziner. This extensive customization, with correspondingly esoteric conventions of service, established the café as a comfortable and personal third space, a neutral ground in which anyone who could afford a coffee would be welcome. Viennese of this era were fastidious in their use of personal titles, of which an abundance were in common use. Café waiters greeted regular customers with titles too, but were careful to address their patrons with titles a notch or two greater than they deserved. A graduate student would be Doktor, an unpaid postdoc Professor.  This assurance mattered all the more because so many members of the Circle (and so many other Viennese) came from elsewhere: Carnap from Wuppertal, Gödel from Brno, von Neumann from Budapest. No one was going to make fun of your clothes, mannerisms, or accent. Your friends wouldn’t be bothered by the pram in the hall. Everyone shared a Germanic Austrian literary and philosophical culture, not least those whose ancestors had been Eastern European Jews who knew that culture well, having read all about it in books.

The amiability of the café circle was enhanced by its openness. Because the circle sometimes extended to architects and actors, people could feel less constrained to admit shortfalls in their understanding. It was soon discovered that marble tabletops made a useful surface for pencil sketches, serving all as an improvised and accessible blackboard.

Comedies like “The End Of The World” and fictional newspaper sketches or feuilletons of writers like Joseph Roth and Stefan Zweig served as a second defense against disagreeable or churlish behavior. The knowledge that, if one got carried away, a parody of one’s remarks might shortly appear in Neue Freie Presse surely helped Professor Schlick keep matters in hand.

The End Of Red Vienna

Though Austria’s government drifted to the right after the War, Vienna’s city council had been Socialist, dedicated to public housing based on user-centered design, and embracing  ambitious programs of public outreach and adult education. In 1934 the Socialists lost a local election, and this era soon came to its end as the new administration focused on the imagined threat of the International Jewish Conspiracy. Most members of the Circle fled within months: von Neumann to Princeton, Neurath to Holland and Oxford, Popper to New Zealand, Carnap to Chicago. Prof. Schlick was murdered on the steps of the University by a student outraged by his former association with Jews.  Jura Soyfer, who wrote “The End Of The World,” died in Buchenwald.

In 1939, von Neumann finally convinced Gödel to accept a job in Princeton. Gödel was required to pay large fines to emigrate. The officer in charge of these fees would look back on this as the best posting of his career; his name was Eichmann.

Design for Amiability

An impressive literature recounts those discussions and the environment that facilitated the development of computing. How can we design for amiability?  This is not just a matter of choosing rounded typefaces and a cheerful pastel palette. I believe we may identify eight distinct issues that exert design forces in usefully amiable directions.

Seriousness: The Vienna Circle was wrestling with a notoriously difficult book—Wittgenstein’s Tractus Logico-Philosophicus—and a catalog of outstanding open questions in mathematics. They were concerned with consequential problems, not merely scoring points for debating. Constant reminders that the questions you are considering matter—not only that they are consequential or that those opposing you are scoundrels—help promote amity.

Empiricism: The characteristic approach of the Vienna Circle demanded that knowledge be grounded either in direct observation or in rigorous reasoning. Disagreement, when it arose, could be settled by observation or by proof. If neither seemed ready to hand, the matter could not be settled. On these terms, one can seldom if ever demolish an opposing argument, and trolling is pointless.

Abstraction: Disputes grow worse when losing the argument entails lost face or lost jobs. The Vienna Circle’s focus on theory—the limits of mathematics, the capability of language—promoted amity. Without seriousness, abstraction could have been merely academic, but the limits of reason and the consistency of mathematics were clearly serious.

Formality: The punctilious demeanor of waiters and the elaborated rituals of coffee service helped to establish orderly attitudes amongst the argumentative participants. This stands in contrast to the contemptuous sneer that now dominates social media.  

Schlamperei: Members of the Vienna Circle maintained a global correspondence, and they knew their work was at the frontier of research. Still, this was Vienna, at the margins of Europe: old-fashioned, frumpy, and dingy. Many participants came from even more obscure backwaters. Most or all harbored the suspicion that they were really schleppers, and a tinge of the ridiculous helped to moderate tempers. The director of “The End Of The World” had to pass the hat for money to purchase a moon for the set, and thought it was funny enough to write up for publication.

Openness: All sorts of people were involved in discussion, anyone might join in. Each week would bring different participants. Fluid borders reduce tension, and provide opportunities to broaden the range of discussion and the terms of engagement. Low entrance friction was characteristic of the café: anyone could come, and if you came twice you were virtually a regular. Permeable boundaries and café culture made it easier for moderating influences to draw in raconteurs and storytellers to defuse awkward moments, and Vienna’s cafés had no shortage of humorists. Openness counteracts the suspicion that promoters of amiability are exerting censorship.

Parody: The environs of the Circle—the university office and the café—were unmistakably public. There were writers about, some of them renowned humorists. The prospect that one’s bad taste or bad behavior might be ridiculed in print kept discussion within bounds. The sanction of public humiliation, however, was itself made mild by the veneer of fiction; even if you got a little carried away and a character based on you made a splash in some newspaper fiction, it wasn’t the end of the world.

Engagement: The subject matter was important to the participants, but it was esoteric: it did not matter very much to their mothers or their siblings. A small stumble or a minor humiliation could be shrugged off in ways that major media confrontations cannot.

I believe it is notable that this environment was designed to promote amiability through several different voices.  The café waiter flattered each newcomer and served everyone, and also kept out local pickpockets and drunks who would be mere disruptions. Schlick and other regulars kept discussion moving and on track. The fiction writers and raconteurs—perhaps the most peripheral of the participants—kept people in a good mood and reminded them that bad behavior could make anyone ridiculous.  Crucially, each of these voices were human: you could reason with them. Algorithmic or AI moderators, however clever, are seldom perceived as reasonable. The café circles had no central authority or Moderator against whom everyone’s resentments might be focused. Even after the disaster of 1934, what people remembered were those cheerful arguments.

“Language is not merely a set of unrelated sounds, clauses, rules, and meanings; it is a totally coherent system bound to context and behavior.” — Kenneth L. Pike

The web has accents. So should our design systems.

Design Systems as Living Languages

Design systems aren’t component libraries—they’re living languages. Tokens are phonemes, components are words, patterns are phrases, layouts are sentences. The conversations we build with users become the stories our products tell.

But here’s what we’ve forgotten: the more fluently a language is spoken, the more accents it can support without losing meaning. English in Scotland differs from English in Sydney, yet both are unmistakably English. The language adapts to context while preserving core meaning. This couldn’t be more obvious to me, a Brazilian Portuguese speaker, who learned English with an American accent, and lives in Sydney.

Our design systems must work the same way. Rigid adherence to visual rules creates brittle systems that break under contextual pressure. Fluent systems bend without breaking.

Consistency becomes a prison

The promise of design systems was simple: consistent components would accelerate development and unify experiences. But as systems matured and products grew more complex, that promise has become a prison. Teams file “exception” requests by the hundreds. Products launch with workarounds instead of system components. Designers spend more time defending consistency than solving user problems.

Our design systems must learn to speak dialects.

A design dialect is a systematic adaptation of a design system that maintains core principles while developing new patterns for specific contexts. Unlike one-off customizations or brand themes, dialects preserve the system’s essential grammar while expanding its vocabulary to serve different users, environments, or constraints.

When Perfect Consistency Fails

At Booking.com, I learned this lesson the hard way. We A/B-tested everything—color, copy, button shapes, even logo colors. As a professional with a graphic design education and experience building brand style guides, I found this shocking. While everyone fell in love with Airbnb’s pristine design system, Booking grew into a giant without ever considering visual consistency.  

The chaos taught me something profound: consistency isn’t ROI; solved problems are.

At Shopify. Polaris () was our crown jewel—a mature design language perfect for merchants on laptops. As a product team, we were expected to adopt Polaris as-is. Then my fulfillment team hit an “Oh, Ship!” moment, as we faced the challenge of building an app for warehouse pickers using our interface on shared, battered Android scanners in dim aisles, wearing thick gloves, scanning dozens of items per minute, many with limited levels of English understanding.

Task completion with standard Polaris: 0%.

Every component that worked beautifully for merchants failed completely for pickers. White backgrounds created glare. 44px tap targets were invisible to gloved fingers. Sentence-case labels took too long to parse. Multi-step flows confused non-native speakers.

We faced a choice: abandon Polaris entirely, or teach it to speak warehouse.

The Birth of a Dialect

We chose evolution over revolution. Working within Polaris’s core principles—clarity, efficiency, consistency—we developed what we now call a design dialect:

Constraint	Fluent Move	Rationale
Glare & low light	Dark surfaces + light text	Reduce glare on low-DPI screens
Gloves & haste	90px tap targets (~2cm)	Accommodate thick gloves
Multilingual	Single-task screens, plain language	Reduce cognitive load

Result: Task completion jumped from 0% to 100%. Onboarding time dropped from three weeks to one shift.

This wasn’t customization or theming—this was a dialect: a systematic adaptation that maintained Polaris’s core grammar while developing new vocabulary for a specific context. Polaris hadn’t failed; it had learned to speak warehouse.

The Flexibility Framework

At Atlassian, working on the Jira platform—itself a system within the larger Atlassian system—I pushed for formalizing this insight. With dozens of products sharing a design language across different codebases, we needed systematic flexibility so we built directly into our ways of working. The old model—exception requests and special approvals—was failing at scale.

We developed the Flexibility Framework to help designers define how flexible they wanted their components to be:

Tier	Action	Ownership
Consistent	Adopt unchanged	Platform locks design + code
Opinionated	Adapt within bounds	Platform provides smart defaults, products customize
Flexible	Extend freely	Platform defines behavior, products own presentation

During a navigation redesign, we tiered every element. Logo and global search stayed Consistent. Breadcrumbs and contextual actions became Flexible. Product teams could immediately see where innovation was welcome and where consistency mattered.

The Decision Ladder

Flexibility needs boundaries. We created a simple ladder for evaluating when rules should bend:

Good: Ship with existing system components. Fast, consistent, proven.

Better: Stretch a component slightly. Document the change. Contribute improvements back to the system for all to use.

Best: Prototype the ideal experience first. If user testing validates the benefit, update the system to support it.

The key question: “Which option lets users succeed fastest?”

Rules are tools, not relics.

Unity Beats Uniformity

Gmail, Drive, and Maps are unmistakably Google—yet each speaks with its own accent. They achieve unity through shared principles, not cloned components. One extra week of debate over button color costs roughly $30K in engineer time.

Unity is a brand outcome; fluency is a user outcome. When the two clash, side with the user.

Governance Without Gates

How do you maintain coherence while enabling dialects? Treat your system like a living vocabulary:

Document every deviation – e.g., dialects/warehouse.md with before/after screenshots and rationale.

Promote shared patterns – when three teams adopt a dialect independently, review it for core inclusion.

Deprecate with context – retire old idioms via flags and migration notes, never a big-bang purge.

A living dictionary scales better than a frozen rulebook.

Start Small: Your First Dialect

Ready to introduce dialects? Start with one broken experience:

This week: Find one user flow where perfect consistency blocks task completion. Could be mobile users struggling with desktop-sized components, or accessibility needs your standard patterns don’t address.

Document the context: What makes standard patterns fail here? Environmental constraints? User capabilities? Task urgency?

Design one systematic change: Focus on behavior over aesthetics. If gloves are the problem, bigger targets aren’t “”breaking the system””—they’re serving the user. Earn the variations and make them intentional.

Test and measure: Does the change improve task completion? Time to productivity? User satisfaction?

Show the savings: If that dialect frees even half a sprint, fluency has paid for itself.

Beyond the Component Library

We’re not managing design systems anymore—we’re cultivating design languages. Languages that grow with their speakers. Languages that develop accents without losing meaning. Languages that serve human needs over aesthetic ideals.

The warehouse workers who went from 0% to 100% task completion didn’t care that our buttons broke the style guide. They cared that the buttons finally worked.

Your users feel the same way. Give your system permission to speak their language.

Plot holes tend to be the reason movies are ruined for a lot of viewers, reducing a masterpiece to dust in their eyes. However, certain films are so good, so groundbreaking in their premise, that we allow them to make some ‘mistakes’ in the name of filmmaking. After all, to err is human.

Pointing plot holes remains, as we know, incredibly entertaining, but this selection isn’t meant to criticize. We point at these movies with the utmost affection, signaling that not everything needs to be raised to the ultimate standards; it’s ok to make mistakes, as long as there is passion at work.

The post 15 Big Plot Holes Nobody Actually Cares About appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

When movies are crafted with expertise, certain details can fly by our heads and we don’t even notice. Of course, part of us does notice, which leads to feelings of dread or discomfort that are hard to describe. Well, the reason was the movie itself all along, hiding horrible details for our brain to register.

Some eagle-eyed viewers spot these moments on a first watch, but most of the time, they are moments that are meant to be reframed once something is revealed. The best way to enjoy these scenes, once you know what’s going on, is to rewatch the film and enjoy it with different eyes.

The post 15 Unsettling Movie Facts You May Not Have Noticed Before appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

What qualifies as a “punchable” character? Well, as you may all know, it is a character in a film whose role is to infuriate the audience. Through a combination of script, direction and performance, these characters are brought to life so efficiently, that we wished they were real so we could smack them.

It goes without saying, but we mean no harm to the actors. They just did their job a little bit too well, and they didn’t do it alone. It is what they fictionally represent that rubs audiences in a certain way, and makes them memorable in the most violent of ways.

The post The 15 Most “Punchable” Movie Characters of All Time appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

The world of The Boys seemed to be expanding rapidly for a while. The mothership series kept getting early renewals, and two spinoff shows soon arrived on Prime Video. There was The Boys Presents: Diabolical, an animated anthology show, and Gen V, a live-action project focusing on the lives of college-aged Supes at Godolkin University. […]

The post The Boys Franchise Is at a Crossroads After Gen V’s Cancellation appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

Movies tend to try and remain in theatres for as long as possible, or at least, as long as it remains profitable. But of course, for every success story there are ones filled with backlash, controversy and the need to reduce (or outright remove) time spent in cinemas.

These are the films that, due to their content, were removed from theaters shortly after release. Not all stories are worldwide, since censorship does not work the same way everywhere. But they all present the same tale: sometimes, there are tales too controversial to be told.

The post 15 Movies That Were Pulled from Theaters Right After Release appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

A picture is emerging of Daredevil: Born Again’s ratings, and it isn’t a particularly good one. The first season had a solid but comparatively low-key launch in Marvel terms, snagging 7.5 million views in its first five days. Previous MCU series Agatha All Along hit 9.3 million views in its first week on Disney+, so […]

The post Why Aren’t More People Watching Daredevil: Born Again? appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.

“Every mystery forms a complex web,” monologues Nicolas Cage in the newest Spider-Noir trailer. He’s not kidding. Even with the several teasers and images already released for the Prime Video and MGM+ spinoff of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, questions surround Spider-Noir. We know that Cage plays private investigator Ben Reilly instead of Peter Parker, breaking […]

The post Spider-Noir Trailer Confirms Big Change From Classic Spider-Man appeared first on Den of Geek.

This article contains spoilers from the novel Fire & Blood that will likely spoil details from House of the Dragon season 3.

House of the Dragon has some work to do in its third and penultimate season.

Following an abbreviated second outing that concluded right before the real battles started, some viewers were left wondering if the HBO series can live up to the massive expectations set forth for the first Game of Thrones spinoff. It certainly doesn’t help HotD‘s case that one viewer in particular is very dissatisfied with the direction of the show. And that’s not even to mention the fact that fellow spinoff A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms reminded us all of how fun Westeros can be.

Based on the action-packed first trailer for season 3, however it appears as though Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent (Olivia Cooke), and company are ready to wage many battles – including the battle to win back fans’ affection.

Read on for a breakdown of the most striking images from the House of the Dragon season 3 trailer and our book-informed analysis of what it all might mean.

Who Is The Dragon in the Vale?

The House of the Dragon season 3 trailer doesn’t shy away from one of the series’ most controversial adaptation choices tight from the get-go. Around the six-second mark, we catch a glimpse of a dragon soaring over the unmistakable craggy mountains of the Vale of Arryn. In season 2, Rhaenyra’s dragon-less step-daughter/cousin Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) learned of an untamed dragon stalking the Vale from Warden of the East Lady Jeyne Arryn (Amanda Collin). This is undoubtedly that dragon. But who, exactly, is that dragon?

Due to a quirk of adaptation, it’s not entirely clear. George R.R. Martin’s historical tome source material features a lowborn “dragonseed” known only as Nettles claiming a wild dragon called Sheepstealer. After fighting for Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) and Team Black in the Dance of the Dragons, Nettles and Sheepstealer would retire to the mountains of the Vale, never to be seen again. Given Rhaena’s lack of a dragon and contrived presence in the Vale, it’s become increasingly clear that she will be assuming Nettles’ book storyline. Does that make this dragon Sheepstealer, Rhaena’s book dragon Morning, or another dragon altogether? That remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Gullet

As previously mentioned, House of the Dragon season 2 concludes just before a handful of major battles get underway. The biggest of those battles, both in terms of scale and consequential character death, is the Battle of the Gullet.

The Gullet is a stretch of water in The Crownlands that separates the islands of Driftmark and Dragonstone with Massey’s Hook (an eastern peninsula of Westeros). Due to its narrow features, the Gullet has been where House Velaryon has instituted a naval embargo of King’s Landing on behalf of Queen Rhaenyra. Ser Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), with the help of the Triarchy’s ships, is en route to lift that embargo.

As for that consequential character death…

Why Is Rhaenyra Crying?

You’d cry too if your eldest son and heir to the Iron Throne was just killed in battle. Yes, Jacaerys Velaryon meets his end in the Battle of the Gullet after a crossbow bolt takes down his low-flying dragon Vermax. In the book, Jace is then lit up with arrows and his body sinks into the sea. Based on the presence of a skull in front of Rhaenyra, we imagine it will play out a little differently in the show.

James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower

House Hightower is obviously central to House of the Dragon‘s story. Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) served as the Hand of the King for Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and his daughter Alicent married the king and helped set events in motion for this continent-spanning civil war by crowning her son King Aegon II. Season 2 even introduced Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) to keep the Hightower vibes going.

Despite the Hightowers’ importance, we have not yet met the head of the household and the Lord of Oldtown. That changes with the introduction of James Norton as Otto’s nephew Lord Ormund Hightower in season 3. Ormund isn’t seen “onscreen” much in Fire & Blood but as the general of the Reach’s forces, he is present for many key events, including the arrival of Alicent’s youngest son Daergon and his dragon Tessarion into the war.

House of the Dragon has clearly opted to elevate Ormund as a character and to do so it has turned to beloved British actor James Norton, who can be seen in Happy Valley, Grantchester, and most recently, Netflix’s House of Guinness.

Aegon’s Murderous Motivations

Written as a historical text gleaned from unreliable primary and secondary sources, Martin’s Fire & Blood presents a fascinating adaptation challenge. When different sources provide conflicting information, House of the Dragon has had to essentially choose which one is right, which has led to many (but not all) of Martin’s issues with the series. The season 3 trailer provides a glimpse at one such headache.

Fire & Blood never makes explicit that King Aegon II’s brother Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) was responsible for his fiery injuries at Rook’s Rest. Nor does it heavily imply that Aemond seeks to sit the Iron Throne permanently and not merely in his convalescing brother’s stead. House of the Dragon, however, leans into the drama and finds Aemond professing his empirical ambitions. Now Aegon is articulating that he views his brother as an enemy, not an ally.

Lord Cregan Stark’s Winter Wolves

Here we get a thrilling look at some very rowdy old dudes. These drum-banging senior citizens are part of Lord Cregan Stark’s “Winter Wolves” contingent. Recall that Jace convinced Cregan to join the war on the side of Rhaenyra. But with winter coming (is winter ever not coming for these dudes?), Cregan couldn’t send any able-bodied men away from the North. Thankfully, even the elderly are fierce fighters in the North and Cregan and friends will participate in a battle or two this season.

Alicent Prepared to Flee

You know who we don’t see a lot of in this trailer? Our old friend Alicent Hightower. We have to imagine that that’s because she spends the early portion of the season following through on Rhaenyra’s offer to flee with her daughter Helaena before Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing. And the latter parts of her season arc are likely deemed spoiler-y to even book readers as her story (everyone say it with me now) deviates from the book’s plot line.

Skirmish at Harrenhal

There appear to be two significant moments featuring the desolate, haunted castle Harrenhal in this trailer. Near the end of the clip, we see Daemon Targaryen, fully kitted out in his dragon armor, battling two hapless Green knights. Before that, we view Aemond Targaryen prowling through a mossy hallway with his sword drawn.

Combine those two scenes and we have rough confirmation that Harrenhal will again be changing hands from Daemon to Aemond this season, as it does in Fire & Blood. Does that mean Aemond and Daemon will cross paths? Or will the show save their inevitable showdown for later? We’ll bet on the former, given House of the Dragon’s penchant for getting characters together whenever possible.

Who Is Giving Birth?

As a story about a Targaryen civil war, there are naturally a lot of blond people in House of the Dragon. Somewhat surprisingly, however, there aren’t quite as many blonde women of child-rearing age as one might think. That means that the brief glimpse we get of a character in labor can be only Rhaenyra Targaryen or Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban). A closer look at a screengrab confirms that it is indeed Helaena giving birth.

While it’s possible that this moment is merely a Harrenhal-induced hallucination for Aemond, it’s equally as likely that Helaena is secretly pregnant throughout season 2 and will be giving birth this season. In Fire & Blood, Helaena and her brother-husband Aegon have three children: Jaehaerys, Jaehara, and Maelor. The lattermost child has not yet been featured on the show, much to George R.R. Martin’s consternation. In fact, the absence of Maelor was the first adaptation change he publicly criticized, which kicked off the souring relationship between him and showrunner Ryan Condal.

Based on this trailer, it seems as though George might have finally gotten his way.

House of the Dragon season 3 premieres Sunday, June 21 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.

The post House of the Dragon Season 3 Trailer Breakdown: James Norton As Ormund Hightower Revealed appeared first on Den of Geek.