HBO‘s House of the Dragon Season 3 opens with one of the most devastating battles in Westerosi history: the Battle of the Gullet.
The Battle of the Gullet doesn’t just stand out in George R.R. Martin‘s Fire & Blood because of its vast scale — two massive armadas duking it out in between Dragonstone and King’s Landing — but because of the beloved characters who wind up perishing during the combat.
**Spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 1, now streaming on HBO Max**
Prince Jacaerys Velaryon, aka Jace (Harry Collett), dies in the final moments of the House of the Dragon Season 3 premiere. Fans of George R.R. Martin’s work already knew this tragic death was coming, but showrunner and episode writer Ryan Condal came up with numerous twists that kept the actual cause of Jace’s death all the more shocking and devastating.
Of course, Jace isn’t the only character to meet their end in the House of the Dragon Season 3 premiere. The Triarchy’s colorful admiral, Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) is also killed in brutal hand-to-hand combat by Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim). Oh, and it’s unclear what happened to Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) or if House of the Dragon ignobly killed off Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) in the same episode that opened with the death of his twin brother, Jason.
Here’s everything you need to know about who dies in House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 1…
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 1 Ending Explained: Is Jace Dead in Hot D?
Oh, weep for Jacaerys, eldest son and best boy of Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), for he is dead!
Jace dies in the Battle of the Gullet in both the books and on the HBO television show, and House of the Dragon star Harry Collett told DECIDER he wanted it to hurt.
“I wanted it to — in the nicest way possible — I wanted it to hurt in some way. I want people to be upset,” Collett said. “And it is an impactful death, I think, and it’s good that it’s not just been written — I mean, it wasn’t going to anyway — but it’s good that it wasn’t written poorly.”
George R.R. Martin never explains Rhaenyra’s thinking for sending Jace and his betrothed Baela (Bethany Antonia) into battle, but House of the Dragon positions it as a young man trying to step up to the plate to do his duty to protect his mother. In the show, Rhaenyra fully intends to ride into battle, but Jace convinces Baela that they should guilt her Kingsguard into locking her in her chambers, so the younger Targaryens can do their part for Team Black.
At first, Jace and Baela’s arrival marks the turning of the tide for the battle. The Triarchy’s fleet doesn’t have the protection of any dragons, so the young dragonriders are able to light the enemy’s ships up. The wrinkle that Condal creates is the unexpected arrival of Baela’s sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), who has just tamed a wild dragon named Sheepstealer and thinks she’s ready to help. (She’s not.)
“Our girl’s on a high. Do you know what I mean? She’s sort of done the unthinkable,” Phoebe Campbell told DECIDER. “In that moment when they turn towards [Dragonstone], she’s like, ‘Okay, this is my moment. This is what I’ve been waiting for.’ Obviously, that’s very shortly lived in the recognition of like, ‘Oh no, not my moment.’ Sheepstealer’s moment, actually.”
Sheepstealer is so overwhelmed that he begins to attack both sides, despite Rhaena’s pleas for him to stop. Unaware who is riding this new, large, wild dragon, Jace and Baela initially go on the offensive. Both immediately call off their dragons — Vermax and Moondancer — when they recognize the rider. However, the damage is done. Sheepstealer sees both Vermax and Moondancer as threats.
Meanwhile, as this is all going on, the Triarchy is flinging scorpions at the smaller dragons. Jace and Vermax survive this first attack, but they are so distracted by Sheepstealer, it happens again. Vermax perishes and Jace swims to driftwood — only to be felled by three volleys of arrows from the Triarchy’s pirates.
When DECIDER asked Phoebe Campbell and Bethany Antonia if Sheepstealer was to blame for Jace’s death, they disagreed.
“Oh, no. Do you know what? No. Blame Rhaena. Blame Rhaena for sure,” Campbell said. “I don’t think it’s Sheepstealer’s fault at all. If someone was just chucking arrows at you, you’d react. I think it’s a real oversight from Rhaena.”
“Yeah, I think it’s a bit of Sheepstealer’s fault,” Antonia said. “Just a little bit. I don’t think it’s fully Rhaena. Maybe like 40/60?”
“Oh, and the Pirates,” they said.
“I mean, it’s obviously their fault, but, like 40/60,” she said.
Whoever was responsible for Jace’s death, Collett was thrilled with the final result.
“I think it was done to absolute perfection,” he said. “All the fans already knew my fate. God, reading through the comments these past few months —”
“Don’t read the comments,” Tom Glynn-Carney advised his co-star.
“Mate, it’s everywhere. ‘Don’t go to the Gullet, stay at home.’ ‘Don’t take unnecessary journeys,’” Collett said. “I’m like, there’s people that don’t actually have read the book and you’re just blatantly spoiling it, so I do feel a little bit bad.”
“Yeah, but hopefully, even if you have read the book, to see it on screen is a completely different feeling.”
Who Dies in House of the Dragon Season 3?
House of the Dragon fans should prepare themselves to bid farewell to many of their favorite characters this season, as it covers the bloodiest chapters of the civil war GRRM calls the “Dance of the Dragons.”
In the first episode of House of the Dragon Season 3, we learn that the Stark’s greybeards, led by “Roddy the Ruin” (Tommy Flanagan), defeated and beheaded Jason Lannister’s forces.
Later, during the Battle of the Gullet, Sharako Lohar throws Tyland Lannister overboard, with his fate left up in the air. (In the books, he miraculously returns to steady the realm in the war’s aftermath. We don’t know if House of the Dragon will follow the same storyline.)
The Sea Snake, Corlys Velaryon also falls overboard during the battle; his fate unclear. (Again, in the books, he survives and has a major part to still play. The show might change this.)
Sharako Lohar is killed by Alyn of Hull.
Jacaerys and Vermax are killed by pirates (and Sheepstealer?).
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 2 will premiere on Sunday, June 28 at 9 PM ET on HBO and HBO Max.