5 'Game of Thrones' References You May Have Missed in 'House of the Dragon' Season 3

Image via HBO Published Jul 24, 2026, 10:02 PM EDT Michael Hein has been covering entertainment, fandom news, and trending topics since 2016 on outlets including Rogues Portal, PopCulture.com, and ComicBook.com. He has provided live coverage of red carpet premieres, conventions, and up-fronts, and has interviewed major stars including Charles Dance, Patrick Stewart, and Chloe Sevigny. An avid fiction reader and writer, Michael has been diving deep into all the biggest book-to-screen adaptations of the last decade, from Game of Thrones to Foundation. Sign in to your Collider account Editors Note: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, and A Song of Ice and FireHouse of the Dragon walks a fine line when it comes to tie-ins and references to Game of Thrones. The prequel series is built on the foundation of Thrones' unparalleled domination of the TV industry in the 2010s, yet it also lives in the shadow of Thrones' infamously disappointing ending. House of the Dragon needs to stay canonically consistent with its predecessor, so it can't simply retcon things or stick with the story of George R.R. Martin's novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire. Any reference to Game of Thrones is controversial to say the least, but so far, House of the Dragon Season 3 has walked this tightrope with perfect balance. Of course, House of the Dragon's biggest connections to Game of Thrones is its revelation of House Targaryen's prophecy of the White Walkers. This was the key to Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) story in Season 1, and it went even further in Season 2 by putting the elven ice warriors on screen in Daemon's (Matt Smith) vision. This is the most controversial connection among fans and critics, and its efficacy won't be clear until the story is over. In the meantime, this article is about the more subtle references — the ones that make the world of Westeros feel authentic and lived-in. 1 The Cats of the Red Keep Image via HBO House of the Dragon's best change from the book Fire & Blood came in Season 3, Episode 4, "Tumbleton." In it, Corlys Velaryon (Steven Toussaint) leaves King's Landing, furious that Rhaenyra won't legitimize his sons at this time. He orders his elder son Alyn (Abubakar Salim) to go to Rhaenyra in his place — a move that could have easily blown up in his face. Instead, these two characters find heartwarming common ground between them, and Alyn gives his first bit of counsel to Rhaenyra. She complains that rats are overrunning the castle because Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) had all the rat-catchers executed. Alyn points out that on ships, a pet cat hunts the rats for them. No more is said about the cats, yet they have begun appearing in the show already. Nearly 200 years later, they will be a common sight in the time of Game of Thrones. In Season 1, Arya Stark (Maisy Williams) chased and caught cats as part of her training to be a "water dancer." Tommon Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) loved cats and kept several as pets, which was an important sign of his gentle nature. We can even feel the cats' presence in the franchise's other spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, where Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) mentions keeping a pet cat. Martin's book Fire & Blood also indicated that cats became the rat-catchers of the Red Keep at this time, but it happened differently. There, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) ordered 100 cats be brought into the castle after Aegon's stunt with the human rat-catchers. The show's choice to change this even was brilliant — it allowed the rats to build up as a literal and symbolic nuisance, culminating in Rhaenyra's return to the castle. It also gave Alyn an early victory as an advisor, and illustrated why he and Rhaenyra would get along. 2 The Butterflies of Naath Image via HBO Max HBO's version of Westeros has managed to bring up the butterflies of Naath surprisingly often considering how irrelevant they are to the main plots. Naath is a small island far from Westeros, and is the home of Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) from Game of Thrones. It has never been successfully conquered by outsiders because it is full of venomous butterflies, and only the native inhabitants are immune. However, the Naathi people are sometimes captured by slavers, as Missandei was. At the end of Game of Thrones, Grey Worm (Jacob Anderson) leads the Unsullied sailing towards Naath to protect its inhabitants, apparently unaware that he and his men will succumb to the butterflies venom. House of the Dragon Season 3 made a curious reference to these butterflies in Episode 2, "Queen's Landing." In it, Helaena (Phia Saban) was in the Godswood studying bugs with a book open at her side. The camera lingered on the book, showing a large illustration of a butterfly with a description underneath. The text clearly describes Naath's "butterfly fever," while Helaena is studying a native Westerosi caterpillar. This is a fun bit of worldbuilding to keep bringing up, though it may have its own hidden layers of venom. After House of the Dragon Season 2 aired, Martin made an infamous blog post about his disappointment in it, which was titled "Beware the Butterflies." In it, Martin wrote that small changes to the story now could have massive "butterfly effects" on the story later on. He even used the phrase "toxic butterflies," which is easy to connect to Naath. However, if the show intended some kind of jab here, it's incredibly subtle. 3 The Game of Cyvasse Image via HBO Game of Thrones missed every opportunity to introduce viewers to the game Cyvasse, but House of the Dragon has not only filled in that gap — it did so with an incredible homage to the books. In Episode 5, "Unbowed and Unbent," Ormund Hightower (James Norton) and Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evans Ainsworth) play the board game together with the air of two people who have played it quite a bit. This might be interpreted as a change from the books — Cyvasse is described as a relatively new game in Westeros when it is first introduced in A Feast for Crows, so it's doubtful that Ormund would have it nearly 200 years earlier. That's an easy change to forgive, especially since it gave us this scene. Cyvasse is similar to chess, and in the books, Tyrion Lannister has many scheming conversations over the board, layered in double-meanings. Ormund and Daeron's scene is a perfect parallel to Tyrion's best Cyvasse scene, where he plays against "Young Griff," a.k.a. Aegon VI Targaryen. Aegon is one of the most consequential characters left out of HBO's Game of Thrones. He claims to be the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Elia Martell, smuggled out of Westeros by Varys when King's Landing fell and raised in secret to be the perfect king. Tyrion teases and manipulates the young man over Cyvasse until he loses his temper and sweeps all the pieces off the board. House of the Dragon inverted this scene with Ormund scattering the pieces. The finishing move was even the same — Daeron defeated Ormund with his dragon piece while Ormund was lecturing him about the limits of dragons' power, just as Tyrion used the dragon to take down Young Griff. 4 Helaena and Tommen's Window Image via HBO House of the Dragon has trained fans to keep a close eye on Helaena now that we know she has the gift of prophecy. The young queen has showed us or told us what's going to happen on several occasions now, but prophecy is hard to interpret in Westeros, and it always leads seers astray somehow. Helaena may have misread the signs in Season 3, Episode 3, "Rhaenyra Triumphant." Rhaenyra ordered Helaena and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) confined to a chamber together as high-born prisoners. When she explained their imprisonment to them, Helaena said: "I don't want to stay in this room," gesturing with both hands to the floor. Her inflection and posture made it seem like she wasn't protesting her imprisonment — she was saying that she specifically didn't want to stay in this room. She was also standing by the window, which made the parallel to Tommen more clear. Looking at this scene side-by-side with the scene of Tommen's death in Game of Thrones Season 7, it's very plausible that Helaena and Alicent are being held in the same chamber where Tommen will eventually jump from the window to his death. It may be that Helaena is seeing a vision of that future event, and she's disturbed by it. In Martin's work, seers often misunderstand who their visions are about, and Helaena may feel this urge to leap applies to someone she loves, or even herself. 5 The Braavosi Climate Image via HBO Finally, This week House of the Dragon once again brought up one of the biggest debates in the Game of Thrones fandom — the climate of Braavos. In Episode 5, "Unbowed and Unbent," Aegon and Larys (Matthew Needham) were reunited with Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall), who survived the Battle of the Gullet. Larys explained his plan to smuggle Aegon overseas to Braavos, where they could hide from the war and live off of gold he had invested in the Iron Bank there. Tyland protested, saying that even Aegon wasn't fit for war, "Neither would he tolerate the Braavosi heat! The monkeys alone..." Tyland seems to be a little confused here. He traveled to Essos to negotiate with The Triarchy, which was an alliance of three of the Free Cities — Myr, Lys, and Tyrosh. The hot climate and monkey infestations he experienced might be common where they met in Tyrosh, but Game of Thrones fans already know that Braavos is much colder and further north. Tyland seems to be assuming that the conditions in all the Free Cities are similar, but that is far from the truth. This is not the first time House of the Dragon has referenced the worldwide misinterpretations of Braavos, and the fan theories that surround it. Braavos was founded by escaped slaves from Valyria, and kept hidden in the northern fog for many years. It's at roughly the same latitude as The Twins, slightly north of The Eyrie. By all accounts, this, combined with its marshy setting, should make it cold and inhospitable to agriculture. Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie. 🐺Stark 🦁Lannister 🐉Targaryen 🦌Baratheon 🌹Tyrell FIND YOUR HOUSE → 01 Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house. ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours? AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything. AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could. AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly. AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword. NEXT QUESTION → 06 You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory. AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours. AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character. AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign. REVEAL MY HOUSE → The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you. 🐺 House StarkWinter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view. You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having. Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult. The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold. You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are. 🦁 House LannisterYou understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology. You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage. A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order. You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway. The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you. 🐉 House TargaryenYou carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it. You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality. Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs. The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible. At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them. 🦌 House BaratheonYou are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them. Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it. You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers. The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after. The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too. 🌹 House TyrellYou understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes. Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts. You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter. The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it. You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ This brings us to one of the most infamous theories in the fandom — "Lemongate." Fans noted that in the books, Daenerys remembers spending much of her childhood in Braavos, in a house with a lemon tree outside her window. However, lemon trees would be unlikely to survive in Braavos, and fans speculate that Dany must have been lied to about where she actually was. While there could be practical explanations for this, Martin has repeatedly teased the mystery in blog posts, Q&As, and even in preview chapters from The Winds of Winter, telling fans that there is a mystery to Daenerys' childhood memories which will be revealed later. House of the Dragon already referenced Lemongate in Season 1, Episode 5, "We Light the Way." There, Larys spoke to Alicent in the garden in double-meanings, remarkingthat a certain flower shouldn't be able to grow in the King's Landing climate, yet it is thriving. He was clearly speaking about Alicent being alone at court with no allies, but at the same time, there was a mural behind him with a lemon tree conspicously in frame. It's nothing more than an Easter egg, but it proves that the writers and set designers are serious fans of these books. Hopefully, House of the Dragon can remain this creative with its call-backs and references as the show approaches its grand climax. House of the Dragon Season 3 continues for three more weeks on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max. Martin's books are available now in print, digital, and audiobook formats. Release Date August 21, 2022 Network HBO Showrunner George R.R. Martin Cast Fabien Frankel Ser Criston Cole The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.