Warning: Major spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1.
House of the Dragon season 3 has held nothing back in its very first episode, with the Battle of the Gullet claiming its victims.
Not only did another tragic death befall House Targaryen, a major departure from George RR Martin’s book Fire and Blood also saw the demise of none other than Admiral Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) – who was only introduced in the final episode of season 2.
In the midst of the battle, Admiral Lohar, commander of the Triarchy, went against all advice, hunting down her mortal enemy, Corlys Velaryon, AKA the Sea Snake.
Things seemed to be going well for her, with the admiral claiming her prize, Corlys’s castle, High Tide. But when it came to one-to-one combat, she was less lucky.
She had the upper hand against Corlys, but when he took a plunge into the water, his bastard son Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) took over – and Lohar had no chance, with Alyn brutally drowning her in the depths.
Speaking exclusively to Radio Times, Thorn opened up about the devastating input she had on that scene.
“One of the lovely things about this was that I got to choose her emotional arc throughout the episode,” she told us.
“The script just says that they fight and she dies – and I decided that in her very final moments, she is just a woman who is afraid. There’s that beautiful moment where [Alyn] lifts her up out of the water, and all the blood and grime has washed off her face, and she’s just a woman who is scared.
“And in that final moment, I think you see everything that this battle and this quest has cost her, and it makes [Alyn] look like a real monster as well.”
Thorn added: “It’s a moment for me that, like, really sums up the cost of this mission she’s driven herself to, so that was really beautiful as an actor to get to choose that moment as well.”
She went on to say: “In the end, she’s, she’s a woman being drowned by a much larger man, and it is shocking.”
The death of Admiral Lohar in the Battle of the Gullet is an interesting divergence from Martin’s source material. In the book, the Admiral survives the Battle of the Gullet but is later murdered by a rival over a personal dispute.
Even in the first episode, House of the Dragon season 3 has proven deadly. Now, we’re terrified for what’s ahead…
House of the Dragon season 3 will arrive on HBO Max on 22 June in the UK. Seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on HBO Max, Sky and NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.
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