HBO released another bloody look at the third season of “House of the Dragon,” which is set to premiere June 21. 

The trailer opens mid-battle as Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) beats up an opponent amid a fire-ravaged battlefield. Dragons fly over a fleet of wasted ships at sea and those who support Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) arrive in King’s Landing. 

Alicent (Olivia Cooke), Rhaenyra’s enemy, warns her son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) that he must leave King’s Landing because he’s no longer safe there. 

Rhaenyra, however, says she wants to “secure the city, without further bloodshed.” Her enemies, though, see her mercy as a sign that she’s “weak and unsuited to rule.”

“In a war, all suffer,” Daemon warns. 

“You’ve come so far, and yet you still don’t know who you are,” he tells Rhaenyra. 

In anger, she calls for her brother and challenger to the throne, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), to be brought to her. 

At the end of Season 2, Alicent, Rhaenyra’s childhood best friend-turned enemy, visits the queen at her base in Dragonstone. She apologizes to Rhaenyra about the conflict between the two sides of the family over the throne and offers to open the gates of King’s Landing to let the queen take the capital.

“House of the Dragon,” the first spinoff from the “Game of Thrones” series, is based on Martin’s book “Fire & Blood.” It’s a prequel to the main series based on the “A Song of Fire and Ice” books. 

Also returning this season to “House of the Dragon” are Rhys Ifans, Steve Toussaint, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, Matthew Needham, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell and Phia Saban. Joining the cast this season are James Norton, Tommy Flanagan, Dan Fogler, Tom Cullen, Joplin Sibtain, Barry Sloane and Annie Shapero. 

About the author

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations, film and TV development. She’s 100% Team Black, though she’s sure Rhaenyra will commit some new atrocity in Season 3 that will make her question that.