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The Battle of the Gullet was always going to be bloody. House of the Dragon maestro Ryan Condal hyped up the naval clash as the Game of Thrones show's version of Helm's Deep, and, as a fan familiar with George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, I knew we were in for a harrowing time at sea. Spoilers for season 3, episode 1 follow.
But before House of the Dragon season 3 was even close to airing, Martin took to his Not a Blog page to lambast changes Condal had made to his source material – then elaborated in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that their relationship is "abysmal." And, indeed, the show's Battle of the Gullet is extremely different to its book counterpart.
In the book, Rhaenyra's youngest sons – Aegon and Viserys – are taken captive by the Triarchy. Aegon escapes to Dragonstone with his dragon, leaving poor Viserys behind. The dragonseeds and Rhaenyra's eldest son, Jacaerys Velaryon, then take to the skies. In the show, Aegon, Viserys, and the dragonseeds are all MIA. What is the same, however, is the clash's gut-wrenching major death: Jacaerys himself.
Into the drink
In the House of the Dragon season 3 premiere, Jace convinces a Queensguard stationed outside Rhaenyra's room to lock his mother away, allowing him to ride into battle unimpeded. While Rhaenyra rages inside, her son – and her heir to the Iron Throne – enlists the help of his betrothed Baela and her dragon Moondancer. Together, they fly to take on the Triarchy.
The battle is smoky, frantic, and visceral. While Team Black greets the sight of dragons with cheers, the tide threatens to turn very quickly when Jace's dragon Vermax is almost brought down by a harpoon bolt attached to an anchor. Luckily, Baela is able to break the rope, and Vermax flies free. All is well.
Book readers, however, most likely watched this scene with growing dread. In Martin's Fire and Blood, Vermax is brought low into the ocean – how exactly this happens is disputed in the text – and perishes beneath the surface, which leaves her rider Jace vulnerable. Moments later, he is shot dead by arrows from a nearby ship, mirroring his fate in the show.
But while the manner of Jace's death plays out almost identically in both versions, the changes made in House of the Dragon only heighten the tragedy. In the book, the young prince's death can be considered heroic. His reasons for joining the battle are not spelled out, but it's reasonable to assume he hoped to rescue his baby brother from the Triarchy. Fire and Blood is a fairly sparse, pseudo-historical narrative, and no doubt if the show chose to follow this route, it would have filled in the gaps with a rousing rescue mission for the youngest of Rhaenyra's sons. Book Jacaerys is also backed by the dragonseeds, making his flight to war seem less of a doomed endeavour from the beginning, and there is no mention of Rhaenyra forbidding him from entering the fray.
In the show, however, his quest is reckless from the start. He flies only with Baela and Moondancer for aid – until Rhaena and a disobedient Sheepstealer unexpectedly arrive, though wild Sheepstealer begins attacking both sides indiscriminately – and he openly disobeys his mother. Jace is attempting to protect her from what he fears is Green treachery, but he's also trying to prove himself: a hopeless effort, since the first time we see Jace fight is also the last.
In fact, in the show, the battle is already over when Jacaerys Velaryon is killed. Sharako Lohar is dead and the fleets of both sides are in flames. It's an anonymous ship that takes down Vermax, who, this time, cannot be saved. The dragon's slow, gruesome descent into the water is uncomfortable viewing, and Jace's ensuing death is entirely anticlimactic.
One arrow pierces him with no fanfare, then another, and another, until the young prince begins to sink beneath the waves. The scene plays out in total silence, without Ramin Djawadi's breathtaking score. Before the first arrow, there is no hint that Jace is on borrowed time: he seems safe, clinging to a piece of driftwood (at the premiere, a gasp ran around the packed theater at the opening blow). It's a shocking, futile death for a character who seemed to have such a weighty destiny.
The dying of the dragons
At first, my instinct was to be frustrated. All of those changes had rendered Jace's death pointless: there was no need for him to be at the Battle of the Gullet at all, considering the Sea Snake had the situation pretty well in hand, and neither of Jace's younger brothers were in danger. Baela and Moondancer were also close enough to save Jacaerys, though they failed. And it's only because Jace pursued Rhaena and Sheepstealer, initially wrongly believing them to be enemies thanks to Sheepstealer's erratic behavior, that he flew within range of the harpoon when the wild dragon then gave chase. Rhaena even witnesses the blow that leads to Jace's death and is powerless to help on her untamed dragon. But, when the arrows struck in total silence, I realized this was the point.
House of the Dragon has never been subtle about its central theme. When the dragons go to war, only death and suffering follow. That was made abundantly clear from the final episode of season 1, in which Aemond Targaryen accidentally killed Lucerys Velaryon when Vhagar went rogue. The parallel with Rhaena and Sheepstealer is so obvious it feels deliberate: Valyrian blood may help a rider bond with a dragon, but it does not mean the rider has complete control over the dragon. "The dragons dance, and men are like dust under their feet," Criston Cole says in season 2. "We march now towards our annihilation."
The bleak, senseless manner of Jace's death only underscores the bitter tragedy of the Dance of the Dragons. This is a war that pits family against family and dragon against dragon, and, Martin strongly implies, is the beginning of the end for House Targaryen. Misogyny and treason stole Rhaenyra's throne out from under her, and I believe she is absolutely right to try and seize it back. The real injustice was that it ever came to this in the first place, a cascade of mini-betrayals and mistakes that culminates in brutal, bloody disaster.
Jacaerys Velaryon became one of my favorite characters in House of the Dragon in season 2 thanks to his spiky attitude, poignant bond with Rhaenyra, and spirited impatience to fight for his mother's birthright. I'll certainly miss Harry Collett's take on the heir as the season continues, but, in a strange way, I'm not sorry he died, even if it was so very different from what I was expecting. Jace's death is a tragedy, and it's one that encapsulates everything House of the Dragon is trying to do. Goodnight, sweet prince…
House of the Dragon season 3 continues weekly on HBO in the US and HBO Max, Sky, and NOW in the UK. You can keep up to date with our House of the Dragon season 3 release schedule.
For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows, or the most exciting new TV shows.
