Contains spoilers for “House of the Dragon” Season 3 Episode 1 — “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood”
The early praise for “House of the Dragon” Season 3 appears to be well-earned. Critics, including Looper’s Matthew Jackson, have hailed the new run as the strongest chapter yet for HBO’s “Game of Thrones” prequel. With the premiere now setting the board for what comes next, here is where the story stands heading into Episode 2.
The third season of the Targaryen-focused drama picks up almost exactly where Season 2 ended. Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), the dowager queen aligned with the Greens, is prepared to turn against her ruthless sons, Aegon II and Aemond Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney and Ewan Mitchell). Aegon’s disappearance from King’s Landing makes that task easier, while Alicent manages to divert Aemond’s attention by sending him to reclaim Harrenhal after the stronghold falls to Black forces under Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith). Aegon, badly disfigured from the wounds he suffered during Season 2’s Battle at Rook’s Rest and no longer immediately recognizable as king, has fled the capital with the ever-calculating Larys Strong (Matthew Needham).
Meanwhile, Alicent’s onetime closest friend and now bitter rival, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), is preparing to claim the Iron Throne that her father, the late King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine), once promised her. Alicent may insist she is acting in good faith, but few seem inclined to believe her. As Rhaenyra weighs her next move, urgent news arrives from the sea: Black and Green forces are on a collision course. Determined to intervene personally, Rhaenyra moves to take Syrax into battle, only to be stopped by an unexpected figure — her eldest son, Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon (Harry Collett).
A major character dies during the Season 3 premiere of House of the Dragon
Theo Whiteman
After ordering Rhaenyra confined to her chambers, Jace rides out with his betrothed and stepsister, Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia), to join the Battle of the Gullet. The pair enter the fight on their dragons, Vermax and Moondancer. At first, Moondancer is able to save Vermax from disaster after Green forces strike the dragon with a spear attached to a rope, dragging him beneath the water. Baela’s dragon snaps the line and frees Vermax, but the battle becomes far more dangerous when a third dragon arrives.
As Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), the powerful seafarer known as the Sea Snake and one of Rhaenyra’s most important allies, faces off against his longtime enemy Admiral Sharako Lohar of the Triarchy (Abigail Thorn), Baela’s younger sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) enters the chaos on the wild dragon Sheepstealer. The problem is clear almost immediately: Sheepstealer is untamed, unpredictable and nearly impossible for Rhaena to control, putting friend and foe alike in danger.
The Battle of the Gullet might have felt like a natural centerpiece for the Season 2 finale, but its arrival in the Season 3 premiere still delivers a gripping and devastating sequence. Sheepstealer’s chaotic intervention leaves Jace and Vermax exposed, and Green forces seize the opportunity. Another spear brings the dragon down, and Jace is struck by a volley of arrows before both rider and dragon are lost to the sea.
This is a truly devastating end to the Season 3 premiere of “House of the Dragon,” and fans can expect rage from Rhaenyra and new twists and turns when the second episode airs on Sunday, June 29 on HBO and HBO Max at 9 p.m. EST.
