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After much anticipation, House of the Dragon season 3 has begun, kicking off the show's return with a bang. The opening episode finally brings the Battle of Gullet to the screen and it's every bit as bloody and brutal as we'd expected.
However, as has been the case with so much of the Game of Thrones prequel so far, there have been several changes from its source material, George R. R. Martin's 'Fire and Blood'. The book is a historical account of the key period of Westerosi history and is told as if collated from a series of varying reports.
As such, many changes seem fair game as the narrative is not the most reliable. However, as fans of Martin's work will realize, there are a few larger changes beyond even this too, which we'll get into below. Before we begin, here's your spoiler warning: make sure you've seen House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1 before reading on.
The Battle of the Gullet's biggest changes from the book
Rhaenyra doesn't get locked in
When Rhaenyra Targaryen vows to fly into battle, Jacaerys Velaryon locks her inside her rooms with a guard stationed outside. There's no mention of this happening in the book, but the Queen is not involved in the battle.
A rocky route
In the show too, Lord Corlys Velaryon and his men make a strategic decision to sail through the rocky part of the ocean. This works initially but doesn't save them for long as Sharako Lohar follows them through without a hitch. There's no description of this in the book, but Martin does not go into great detail about how the battle was waged.
Big deaths
In the show and the books, Vermax is struck in the chest by a grapnel. However, she sinks when the ship holding her sinks, rather than her slow descent from the anchor attached to her in the show.
Despite Vermax's death being slightly different, probably the most faithful moment of the battle is how Jace is killed. As Martin described in 'Fire and Blood', "The prince was stuck once, and then again. More and more Myrmen brought crossbows to bear. Finally one quarrel took him through the neck, and Jace was swallowed by the sea". This is almost exactly how the young prince is felled in the show as well.
Missing sons
Another key difference concerns Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen's younger sons. In the books, Aegon the Younger and Viserys are about nine and seven when the civil war begins. Because of this, they are part of the Battle of the Gullet, travelling on a ship that is intercepted by the Triarchy during the naval siege.
Viserys is kidnapped during this altercation and is taken away for years before returning home while Aegon the Younger escapes on his critically injured dragon, who never recovers.
However, in the show, they are both still toddlers, meaning they're excluded entirely from the sequence. This is probably the biggest departure from the novel and given how important this moment is for both boys going forward in their story, it will be interesting to see how HBO tackles them later on in the adaptation.
Other absences
In the book, the Dragonseeds are also involved in the fight, flying in on their dragons. However, they're not included in this sequence at all in the show. Equally, Nettles is not in the show at all either, despite making an appearance in Martin's novel. In fact it's not likely that she'll ever be brought into the adaptation as Sheepstealer is instead claimed by Rhaena Targaryen, Daemon Targaryen and Laena Velaryon's youngest daughter.
House of the Dragon releases on HBO in the US on June 21, and streams on HBO Max and Now from June 22 in the UK. For more, read our House of the Dragon season 3 review and check out our guide to all the upcoming Game of Thrones movies and shows.
