On Sunday, House of the Dragon's Harry Collett watched hundreds of fans witness his onscreen death. But first, he DJed for them.
HBO celebrated House of the Dragon's Season 3 premiere with a rooftop viewing party of the episode at New York City's Pier 17.
Before the screening began, treating fans to the spectacular Battle of the Gullet (including the tragic death of Collett's Jacaerys Velaryon), the event featured DJ sets from Mister Sunday, Marc Kinchen, and Collett himself, sporting a House of the Dragon-themed soccer jersey.
For people who didn't know what was in store for Jace, Collett's DJing was a fun way to ring in the new season. For people who knew what was coming, it felt like a rager before a funeral.
It didn't help that the graphics on the screen behind Collett foreshadowed his character's fate. The screen read "Harry Collett" against a watery background littered with ship wreckage, hinting at the Battle of the Gullet and how Jace dies: clinging to driftwood. Not cool, graphics designers! I wanted to boogie to Cheryl Lynn's "Got To Be Real," not be reminded of Jace's impending death!
The good vibes from the DJ sets shifted once the episode began, with the energy moving from party mode to House of the Dragon mode. Attendees locked in harder than Jace locking Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) in Dragonstone. (Too soon?) Watching alongside a group of passionate people, you could hear watercooler moments being born in real-time.
Fans applauded as Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) claimed Sheepstealer, screamed at Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and Alicent's (Olivia Cooke) upsetting kiss, and experienced non-stop panic attacks throughout the entire Battle of the Gullet.
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When Rhaena crashed the Gullet, cheers erupted. But when Sheepstealer went rogue, those cheers turned to anguished yells. Elsewhere, Alyn of Hull's (Abubakar Salim) takedown of Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) earned satisfied hoots and hollers, which faded into despair as viewers reckoned with the fact that Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) might be dead.
Harry Collett gives a speech after a "House of the Dragon" premiere screening. Credit: Gabe Yeh
It all culminated in Jace's death, which earned the loudest (and most pained) shouts of the night. As sad as it was to see the poor prince peppered with arrows, Boromir-style, hearing these reactions was a reminder of the communal power of TV, especially event TV like House of the Dragon. It's just more fun to watch with other people, to experience these blistering highs and lows together, even if what you're watching is a beloved character sink to his watery grave.
While the night ended poorly for Jace, the same was not true for Collett.
After the screening, he returned to the stage, with the screen now reading "All men must die." On the one hand, ouch. On the other hand, who else gets to say they DJed their own funeral?
"Thank you for accepting me as your Jace for the past five years," Collett told the audience. "It's honestly been the job of a lifetime."
Collett went to cut a large Iron Throne cake with — what else? — a giant sword.
After the cake had been thoroughly massacred, he gave fans one last tease of what's to come in a post-Jace House of the Dragon: "I hope you enjoy the rest of Season 3, because it's an absolute banger."