Corlys Velaryon’s Fate Gets In The Way Of Another Canon Story: House Of The Dragon Season 3, Episode 6 Ending Explained

Published Jul 26, 2026, 10:00 PM EDT Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Critic on ScreenRant's TV team, covering new-release and classic TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy. Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones). Warning! Spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, ahead!House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, wraps things up with another significant change to canon, this time using Lord Corlys Velaryon. This installment in the HBO fantasy series has followed Rhaenyra Targaryen through her newly established rule in King's Landing, and things have gone far from smoothly. The queen's mental state continues to decline as her paranoia regarding threats unseen grows. Members of the City Watch are turning up dead, Aemond and Aegon Targaryen are still missing, and Rhaenyra's own Hand, Corlys, has all but abandoned her. As far as that last one goes, House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, attempted to take some steps forward. With the City Watch all but dissolved, Rhaenyra sends Alyn Velaryon to meet with Corlys and ask him to bring his army back to the city. This proud Velaryon lord is, at first, enraged that Rhaenyra would ask more of him after refusing to legitimize his bastard sons. However, in the final moments of this episode, Corlys concedes that it is time to go back. Unfortunately, it doesn't look as if Rhaenyra will be reunited with her Hand any time soon. Just as Corlys announced to his men that they would turn back toward King's Landing, Ser Jon Roxton—a knight loyal to Lord Ormund Hightower—ambushes the Velaryon army. Corlys is taken captive just as the credits for this House of the Dragon episode begin to roll. So, what's next? What Does Ormund Hightower Want With Corlys Velaryon? Clearly, it's bad news for Rhaenyra that her enemy has her Hand of the Queen captive. Still, it's not entirely clear what Ormund Hightower's goal is here. While preventing the Sea Snake and his army from heading to King's Landing would surely be a hit against Rhaenyra, there would be no need to take Corlys captive to do so. There is no chance that the queen would pay any ransom or negotiate for her Hand's freedom, and the people of Tumbleton are collateral enough to ensure Rhaenyra's restraint. Ormund must have something else in mind. George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood makes no mention of Ormund ever taking Corlys captive, so we can't turn to the source for answers. Instead, our best bet is to look at the episode itself. Earlier in House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, Ormund tells Daeron Targaryen that Rhaenyra made a rare good decision by making Corlys her Hand. He criticized even Otto Hightower for his performance in the role, but notes Corlys Velaryon's overt advantage. It's almost as if Ormund admires his enemy. The fact that Ormund had Corlys captured rather than killed proves that he sees this man as having some value to him. If he really admires the Lord of the Tides, then it's likely that he wants Corlys on his side. After all, while Ormund has publicly named Daeron Targaryen as king, it will take the acceptance of additional lords to make the realm take this claim seriously. Who could be a better ally than Rhaenyra Targaryen's estranged confidant? Corlys' Story Is Meant To Go In A Different Direction Warning! Spoilers for Fire & Blood (and therefore potential spoilers for future episodes of House of the Dragon) ahead! Regardless of what Ormund Hightower wants with Corlys Velaryon, this is a unique outlet for the story. In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra's Hand is meant to go through a very different series of events. In the upcoming Battle of Tumbleton, Hugh Hammer and Ulf White betray Rhaenyra to join the Greens, and this results in a devastating loss for the Blacks. Enraged, Rhaenyra plans to arrest and execute Addam Velaryon (still Addam of Hull in House of the Dragon), since he is another dragonseed. Corlys argues against it and helps Addam escape, and Rhaenyra has him thrown in the dungeon for it. This action doesn't quite fit with House of the Dragon's version of Rhaenyra, but the canon story only gets more tragic from there. In Fire & Blood, Corlys' imprisonment leads to further uprisings against the Queen, adding to the ultimate necessity for Rhaenyra to flee King's Landing. When Aegon takes back the throne, Corlys is freed and swears fealty to Rhaenyra's usurper. It appears that, once again, House of the Dragon is trying to pull fault away from Rhaenyra. In the book, it's the queen herself who causes her own downfall, and though Corlys tries to prevent it, he only ends up on her bad side. This ultimately means the Lord of the Tides has no real choice but to back Aegon. In House of the Dragon, it looks as if Ormund will be the one to place Corlys between a rock and a hard place, while Rhaenyra remains relatively blameless for her Hand's position. Alicent's Departure Is Another Big Change From Canon Another significant moment in the ending of House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, is Alicent's big goodbye to Helaena. Rhaenyra has ordered Alicent to head to Harrenhal to draw out her son, Aemond, for execution. It's a terrible thing, but perhaps the only solution that could actually work. While Alicent surely doesn't want to further contribute to her son's fated death (she has already done a great deal in that regard), her true concern is Helaena. The pregnant young queen is, as Alicent says, fragile, and Rhaenyra has confined Helaena to her rooms. Alicent convinced Helaena to at least eat before she left, so there is at least a little relief. Still, without her mother and the freedom of the open sky above her, Helaena's mental state is sure to deteriorate. In Fire & Blood, this tragic Targaryen queen takes her own life, though it's rumored that Rhaenyra had her killed. It's an unfortunate likelihood that Helaena won't be alive when Alicent returns from Harrenhal, and while it won't be by Rhaenyra's hand, it will still be her fault. Criston Cole's Death Opens The Way To Tumbleton So much happens during the ending of House of the Dragon season 3, episode 6, that it's easy to forget that Ser Criston Cole is finally dead. This is one of the Game of Thrones franchise's most despicable villains, and fans of Martin's Fire & Blood knew Criston's death was coming with the Butcher's Ball. The Rivermen and Roddy the Ruin's Winter Wolves were meant to arrive at Tumbleton long ago, but Criston made their path impossible. They flipped the script, however, and after a clever ambush, Criston was shot and killed (by Alysanne Blackwood) without further ado. This means that the path to Tumbleton is now clear. Rhaenyra needs the Rivermen and Winter Wolves to reclaim the town without significant loss of innocent life, and that means holding back her dragons and allowing men with swords to do the work. How that will play out is written about in Fire & Blood, but that clearly doesn't mean House of the Dragon has to take the same route. The Battle of Tumbleton will absolutely happen, but the result is anyone's guess.