House of the Dragon season three is almost here - and it’s safe to say the HBO series is even better than its forebear. Season three sees war well and truly coming to Westeros as the Targaryen civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, intensifies. In typical Westerosi style, the power play, politicking and machiavellian scheming will keep audiences on their toes with betrayal only a whisper away.

The performances continue to prove compelling from the large ensemble cast, who are utterly brilliant in this epic story akin to a Shakespearean tragedy. Then there’s the writing in House of the Dragon, which feels stronger than ever before. The way in which the various story threads intertwine this year really harks back to peak Game of Thrones - think seasons one to four.

Audiences get satisfying payoffs and there’s no hanging around this time; all of it feels pretty meaty.

All of this is even before we get to the production values, which are on a scale we’ve never seen before.

Forget about the Battle of Blackwater, the Battle of Winterfell and even the monumental Battle of the Bastards; the Battle of the Gullet surpasses all of these.

House of the Dragon’s showrunner Ryan Condal has promised this battle sequence is unlike anything that TV audiences have seen before.

But there’s one big reason why House of the Dragon has surpassed its parent to become an even better series: we know the full story.

Beloved Game Of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is still penning away his magnum opus A Song of Ice and Fire with no finish or publication date in sight.

This is perhaps why, as Game of Thrones neared its TV end, everything started to unravel.

Much to the show’s detriment, without Martin’s tightly woven and intricate plotting as a base, the TV series simply couldn’t sustain the quality of the earlier seasons.

Given that House of the Dragon is based on just a section of Martin’s Targaryen encyclopaedia, Fire & Blood, this might not be the case with the HBO series.

Instead, we know where the Dance of the Dragons is headed in great detail, and while there has been some creative license taken by the writers, by and large, House of the Dragon has a strong structure that promises to end things on a high note, unlike Game of Thrones.

The opener to House of the Dragon season three is an incredible television feat that won’t disappoint even the most cynical of fans.

House of the Dragon season 3 will premiere in the UK on Sky Atlantic, NOW and HBO UK & Ireland on Monday, June 22 at 2am BST