This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1.
Rhaenyra Targaryen is no stranger to the vulgarities of war. The Queen in Dragonstone and claimant to the Iron Throne received an education in what war really costs before her war even truly began.
Back in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale, Rhaenyra lost her second son Lucerys when he and his dragon Arrax were devoured by his cousin Aemond’s dragon Vhagar on what should have been a relatively safe diplomatic mission. It’s a devastating loss, to be sure. But thankfully Rhaenyra still has a host of other sons including her eldest and heir Jacaerys Velaryon.
So, about that…
Jacaerys meets his end in House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1. And like his younger brother before him, he perishes whilst riding his dragon Vermax. Rather than being swiftly consumed by a bigger dragon, however, Jace and Vermax’s demises are more tragically drawn out.
When the Triarchy’s fleet of ships arrives in a narrow Westeros waterway known as the Gullet, Jace locks his queen/mother away in a room for her own safety and takes off on dragonback alongside his cousin/step-sister/fiancée Baela to protect Corlys Velaryon’s navy. Unfortunately, the Triarchy has developed a rather ingenious strategy of dealing with dragons, harpooning Vermax in mid-air and then dragging him down into the water where the beast known to the Westerosi as “fire made flesh” drowns. Jace doesn’t last much longer than his dragon as he is quickly lit up with arrows and killed.
While we do not yet get to see how Rhaenyra responds to her oldest child’s death, her portrayer Emma D’Arcy believes that the moment represents a point of no return.
“I think for Rhaenyra, Jace’s death is an insurmountable loss, honestly. It’s unprocessable,” D’Arcy tells Den of Geek and other outlets during a press roundtable. “But I think grief actually sometimes simplifies things. It offers her a sort of nihilism in that final part of the journey.”
House of the Dragon will certainly look a lot different onscreen without the presence of Harry Collett as the raven-haired, not-so-secretly bastard-born prince. It will also look different for the performers offscreen as the show careens towards its fourth and final season.
“The relationships that we have on the show and the friendships that we form are very real. They’re friends of mine. There is always a life imitating art aspect to a character death because we lose a company member and so those days have an atmosphere necessarily,” D’Arcy says of Collett’s departure.
For his part, Collett is taking things in stride.
“Maybe I’ll have to leave [the cast group chat]. Can you imagine? It’s a really dramatic ‘Harry left the group chat,’” he says with a laugh, then continues: “I was told what would happen in season 1, so I’ve been preparing for this. I’ll always be grateful for being on this show in the first place. Ultimately I’ve had the best time ever and I got to travel the world because of it.”
Collett is also aware that, if your character destined to die in a Game of Thrones story, they might as well do so in style – on the back of a dragon and shot through with arrows certainly fits the bill.
“What a great way to go! I’m glad it just didn’t get, you know, brushed under the carpet. It’s a really impactful episode and it’s been done amazingly. I’m very, very happy.”
New episodes of House of the Dragon season 3 premiere Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max, culminating with the finale on August 9.
