A character presumed dead returns, while we get our very first look at an important dragon after three seasons.

Warning: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon season 3, episode 7.

It’s time to wake the dragon.

Ahead of the House of the Dragon season 3 finale, this year’s penultimate episode brought a number of new developments, mostly around dragons.

For the first time since the start of the Game of Thrones prequel, fans were treated to a look at Dreamfyre, the glorious she-dragon bonded to Helaena (Phia Saban) and the one that hatched a secret clutch of eggs that Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) keeps stored at Harrenhal.

Then another dragon makes a comeback. Sunfyre, Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) mount who was presumed dead after the Battle of Rook’s Rest, emerged from the woods to defend his rider in a moment of great need.

Regarding the former, Nina Lopez-Corrado, the director of season 3’s seventh episode, explains the excitement around the Dreamfyre reveal during an interview with Entertainment Weekly. She worked with a storyboard artist in Vancouver to come up with the sequence, one of a series of visions in which she mounts Dreamfyre in the Dragonpit of King’s Landing and torches an army of smallfolk charging their way.

“I’ll be honest with you, it didn’t change much from the original storyboard,” Lopez-Corrado tells EW, noting how the VFX department built an animated rendering off of those designs. “But the thing that was really amazing is when the set [decoration] department started to put together the saddle. That’s when it really starts to feel real because that’s the only physical, real part of the whole dragon.”

In the book Fire & Blood, as originally detailed by author George R. R. Martin, Helaena is a formidable dragonrider with a fierce bond to Dreamfyre. House of the Dragon takes a different approach, presenting a Helaena that shares the same concerns around dragons as her grandfather, the late King Viserys (Paddy Considine). Like him, she no longer flies, fearing the corrupting influence of such world-shaking power.

“Helaena has such a strong feeling about the dragons in which she’s torn because she thinks that they do change people and that they’ve changed their whole world, essentially,” Lopez-Corrado explains. “So when she sees herself on the dragon and sees Dreamfyre basically take out all of King’s Landing, internally for her it burns deep…. I think she knows that deep down inside, because she is a Targaryen, there almost is no positive outcome to anything that’s happening in regards to this war in this family. And the dragons, as long as they exist, are going to keep this inner turmoil inside of the Targaryens.”

As for her husband/brother, Aegon is discovered in the woods with Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) by a military host from Team Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy). He decides to awaken the dragon within himself by revealing his identity in a threatening speech. And in doing so, he wakes his more literal dragon.

Sunfyre was last seen lying motionless on the ground near Rook’s Rest in episode 4. Aegon attempts to stir his animal companion to no avail, leaving the presumption of death. Sunfyre, however, is very much alive, though just as scarred as Aegon. Dragon and dragonrider bear mirrored wounds on the same side of their faces.

“I think he truly did believe that Sunfyre was dead, and I think Sunfyre was very close to being dead,” Lopez-Carrado says. “During the time period in which he was laying there, he did rejuvenate so that he was able to come back. I think a part of his healing process truly had to do with the fact that when Aegon was there, he was gonna die. So I think it helped him rejuvenate enough strength to come back and save him.”

In Fire & Blood, Martin writes how Sunfyre survived the battle of Rook’s Rest, but was essentially flightless for a time while recuperating. The dragon roamed the woods, feeding on slain soldiers before Aegon’s allies came to guard the beast and feed him calves and sheep.

The connection between dragon and dragonrider is mythic in the fantasy world of Westeros, often described as an emotional and telepathic bond. Speaking to the show’s version of events, Lopez-Carrado remarks of Sunfyre’s sudden reemergence, “I think it 100 percent has to do with the Targaryen line and the connection they have with the dragons. It was a huge, huge reason in the return of Sunfyre.”

A third, less obvious dragon surprise comes in the final minutes: dragon allegiance. It’s one that tees up the events to come in the season 3 finale.

Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton) entreats with Ulf the White (Tom Bennett). He woos the simpleton with promises of the Driftmark throne and the title of Lord of the Tides — both of which currently belong to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), who’s in Ormund’s custody — in exchange for betraying Rhaenyra.

For those familiar with Fire and Blood — a non-spoiler for non-readers — “I do think you should start refreshing your memories for the Battle of Tumbleton,” Lopez-Carrado advises.

“We do deviate just a little bit in episode 7 from what’s originally in the books and, personally, from a character standpoint, what Ryan [Condal, showrunner] and the writers did in terms of that really helped evolve the character storylines from what were in the books,” she continues. “I know that’s a very controversial thing to say for diehards, but I think some of the storylines that you’re gonna see in 7 that’ll carry on into 8 were really executed strongly by the writers and also by the actors.”

The House of the Dragon season 3 finale will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max next Sunday, Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. ET/PT.