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House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6 Review - Faceless Men

July 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6 Review – Faceless Men

The episode is titled "Faceless Men," but as the hosts note, it has almost nothing to do with the Faceless Men of Braavos—it's a bait and switch. What it does have is an assassination attempt, and a good one, along with the clearest signal yet that the show has fully departed from the book framework. "It's not even close to the books anymore," one host says, but he still calls it "amazing television" that deserves the high ratings it's getting.

The Book Divergence Has Become Total

The hosts spend considerable time reckoning with how far the show has strayed from Fire & Blood. The big bullet points—the major deaths and turning points—might still happen, but the medium and small plot points are now completely rewritten. Characters like Ormund Hightower and Gwayne Hightower are getting vastly expanded roles compared to the books, where Gwayne has been dead for a while at this point. Corlys Velaryon's arc is also unrecognizable, with one host admitting he "really don't like it" anymore.

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What you'll learn

  • 1 (01:43) **Welcome & News Roundup** - The hosts open the episode and share recent George R.R. Martin news from a Hollywood Reporter interview with Ira Parker.
  • 2 (10:05) **The Show vs. The Books: Framework Shift** - Matt explains that this episode marks the point where *House of the Dragon* is no longer recognizable from the book framework.
  • 3 (14:56) **Alicent Going to Harrenhal: The Negative** - Jimmy calls the entire subplot of Alicent being sent to Harrenhal "totally stupid."
  • 4 (17:10) **Helaena's Arc: The Season's Best** - Both hosts agree Helaena has the best arc of the entire season, calling it "fantastic" and "sweet."
  • 5 (20:44) **Criston Cole's Death: The Missing Line** - The hosts discuss fan complaints about the show omitting a famous book line ("I'll have no songs about how brave you died, Kingmaker").
  • 6 (23:54) **Damon's Insults & Small Council Dynamics** - Damon delivers another great one-liner: "I'll have no more from those whose greatest battle is indigestion."
  • 7 (26:19) **Ormund Hightower & Daeron: Abuse and Projection** - Ormund's scene is analyzed as a masterclass in character projection and hinted abuse.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

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Jimmy: https://www.youtube.com/@ChattingWithNutts

Matt's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/supergainsbros

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