'House of the Dragon' season 3 finale: Is Prince Daeron Targaryen dead or alive? Here's what we know

House of the Dragon's Season 3 finale knocked several key characters off the board, including Lord Ormund Hightower (James Norton). However, one Team Green member's fate is still up in the air: What's happened to Prince Daeron Targaryen (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth)?

Ormund's reluctant king-to-be was last seen fleeing through the burning streets of Tumbleton with his uncle, Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox).

However, in the battle's aftermath, Gwayne finds himself alone in the rubble, calling out for Daeron. Could the prince still be alive, or did he die with Ormund?

The show's "no body, no death" rule

House of the Dragon has always played by the rule that if you haven't seen a corpse, the character isn't dead yet. Take this season's multiple Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) fake-outs, or the return of Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall). Just like with them, we haven't seen Daeron's dead body, so we can assume he's likely survived the Battle of Tumbleton.

Notably, House of the Dragon hasn't revealed the fate of his dragon, Tessarion. Could he have escaped on dragonback and regrouped?

What happens to Daeron in Fire & Blood?

While House of the Dragon does differ substantially from its source material, Martin's Fire & Blood, we can still look to the book for a blueprint of what's next for Daeron.

In the book, Daeron actually fights during the Battle of Tumbleton, flying on Tessarion to take out Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) armies. He winds up surviving the battle and remaining in Tumbleton, where he butts heads with Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) and Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew).

While we may not see that book dynamic in its entirety, especially since Hugh didn't turn against Rhaenyra's armies like Ulf did, we could still see Daeron taking on more of a leadership role as the ‘Dance of the Dragons’ moves into its next phase.

Is HBO holding back Daeron for season 4?

House Of The Dragon Season 3, Episode 8: Alys Rivers' New Harrenhal Backstory explained

At this point, there is no official confirmation that Daeron survived the finale. However, several clues suggest that his story is not finished.

The biggest is Tessarion. The series spent much of Season 3 introducing Daeron and establishing his relationship with the dragon without giving viewers the spectacle of the young prince actually flying her into combat. Earlier comments from showrunner Ryan Condal also suggested that Tessarion has an important role still to play.

Killing both characters immediately after their introduction would therefore constitute an abrupt conclusion. Instead, the finale appears to have recreated the uncertainty surrounding Daeron's book fate while moving it to an earlier point in the timeline.

House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming on HBO Max.