[This story contains MAJOR spoilers from the House of the Dragon season three premiere.]
At long last, the battle begins!
More than two years on since its season two premiere, HBO’s House of the Dragon came back with a season three premiere that wasted no time throwing the Westeros faithful back into the deep end. The Game of Thrones successor from executive producer and showrunner Ryan Condal was originally intended to include a massive naval battle at the end of its second season, but was forced to cut the sequence due to the writers’ strike of 2023. Now, the fight’s back on, opening a season rather than closing it — and if nothing else, it sets a deadly tone.
The episode builds toward the Battle of the Gullet, well known within George R.R. Martin’s fandom as one of the most consequential battles in the Dance of the Dragons conflict between the Blacks and the Greens — the armies loyal to Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her nephew Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), respectively. Told from perspectives embedded in both sides of the naval battle, Team Black ultimately wins the day, but not without suffering a significant loss: Jace Velaryon, Rhaenrya’s oldest son, and now, her second child lost in this violent conflict.
While Rhaneyra and her allies are about to start mourning Jace, the man who brought the young heir to life — actor Harry Collett — tells The Hollywood Reporter he’s entering full-on celebration mode.
“I’m so happy with how it turned out,” he says. “It’s such a cool way to go. It’s not just brushed under the carpet. It’s very impactful, in such a great and epic episode. What a heroic death he gets to have. It’s not just some boring death. I’m very happy with it.”
The heroic death plays out almost as a footnote in an otherwise grim day at sea. Several folks on both sides of the fight are dead by the end of it, including Abigail Thorn as Shark Lohar, commanding the fleet against the Sea Snake Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint). But another conflict breaks out when Jace’s beloved Baela (Bethany Antonia) loses control over her dragon, thanks to the shock appearance of her sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) riding a newly minted, wildly uncontrollable dragon of her own. Jace attempts to help, but when he and his own fire-breathing steed are finally settled down at sea, a litany of massive bolts pierce Jace, killing him instantly.
Collett had a long time to prepare for his death, what with the strike-born delay to the battle in the first place, to the fact that he and his fellow cast mates all have access to their character’s fates, thanks to House of the Dragon’s roots in Martin’s books.
“Luckily, I found out what happened to Jace round about season one,” says Collett. “So it wasn’t a shock, and I’m glad! I don’t think it should be that way. I think it’s quite mean, which Ryan would never do: don’t tell the actor, then get them to the script read-through, and that’s when they find out: ‘What? I’m dead?’ Luckily, it’s nothing like that. You find out the fate of the characters when you get cast. Some things may change, but nothing that drastic.”
There was enough notice for other cast members to swing by and pay their respects, too. Speaking of his final days on set, Collett says: “Emma came, Matt [Smith] came. Loads of people who had been shooting in other studios came, too. It was really lovely.”
Additionally lovely: Collett’s parting gifts. According to the actor, he walked away from House of the Dragon with two massive props in tow: Jace’s sword, as well as the stunt head for Jace’s dragon Vermax. “It’s huge,” he says with a big laugh. “I’m very chuffed.”
The folks back in Westeros? Considerably less chuffed, beginning with Jace’s most frequent scene partner, Baela. Beyond grieving the loss of her friend from the show, however, Baela actor Bethany Antonia feels Jace’s death pushes House of the Dragon into a heartbreaking speed for the rest of the season.
“You have to remind yourself why Rhaenyra is even doing any of this in the first place when everyone around her is dead,” she says. “The whole reason she started this was for her kids to be legitimized. What’s the cost? What’s the goal of the war now, if the people aren’t there to get the thing you were fighting for? It really changes the whole dynamic for the season, seeing what goes on to happen from here, now that those reasons are taken away.”
Indeed, Rhaenyra’s incoming grief (which includes one final scene from Collett) is particularly wrenching when you stop to realize, Jace wasn’t supposed to be at the battle at all; she quite clearly forbid him from sailing off into the fight. For his part, even as Collett says goodbye to House of the Dragon with plenty of memories and even some memorabilia, he can’t help but think on the tragedy of it.
“I think he showed he’s a true leader,” he says, “sacrificing his life for his mother, to protect her, but as much as it was his decision — and it had been brewing for a long time — he is just a kid. Kids do stupid stuff. I don’t think he ever thought he was going to die. It’s no way to die.”
He thinks on it a beat longer, and adds, “You know what? He might be honored to die in battle. It was quite legendary. And without him losing his life? The battle’s won.”
The battles continue as House of the Dragon marches through its third season.
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