'House Of The Dragon's Battle Of The Gullet Is Different, Better And Devastating
House of the Dragon’s Battle of the Gullet has come and gone, and fans of Fire & Blood, the book the show is based on, probably feel like they watched a very different battle than the one they read about—even if the first episode of Season 3 ends pretty much where anyone with knowledge of the source material expected it to.
So far, the show has taken a great number of liberties with George R.R. Martin’s story, including the characterization of Alicent and Rhaenyra. There’s also Daemon’s long Harrenhal detour in Season 2, which the show tied into Game of Thrones (2011) lore. Season 3’s Battle of the Gullet is no different, with a lot of changes to the story we know, but the same result: the death of Rhaenyra’s oldest son and heir, Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon.
But on a show that has dealt with criticism from book purists and those who are not all that attached to the source material alike, the Battle of the Gullet seems like a rare win. Does it work? Yes. Does it work better than the book? That’s always in the eye of the beholder, but there’s at least an argument to be made that the show doesn’t falter when it comes to bringing such a pivotal moment to life, and that it might even improve the iconic battle by bringing it to our screen.
’House Of The Dragon’s Battle Of The Gullet Doesn’t Involve Aegon III Or Viserys II
To begin with, the Battle of the Gullet doesn’t involve Rhaenyra’s youngest kids, Aegon III or Viserys II, her two kids with her uncle/husband, Daemon Targaryen. Near the end of House of the Dragon Season 2, Rhaenyra chooses to send the two, Joffrey and Rhaena, to Pentos. In the book, Rhanerya indeed sends her two youngest sons to Pentos, but when the ship carrying them is attacked, that’s when Jacaerys intervenes.
In the source material, the Battle of the Gullet goes very differently. First, the Triarchy attacks the ship carrying the two young princes, and Aegon III escapes on his dragon. His younger brother, Viserys II, only has a dragon egg and can therefore not escape. After Aegon III flies back to Dragonstone to warn his family, Jacaerys flies out alongside the other dragonseeds to destroy the Triarchy fleet, believing Viserys II to be dead.
Why, then, is he flying so low? Simple, to maximize the damage he can unleash. Basically, Jace is acting out of anger and that causes Vermax, his dragon, to be targeted, wounded, and crash into the sea. Jace then dies after being hit with enemy arrows. In the show, however, Jace isn’t blinded by rage. He comes into the battle with a clear head, and Vermax is only injured because he goes to attack a new dragon that is burning the Velaryon ships and realizes the rider is none other than his stepsister, Rhaena. When he maneuvers to avoid her, Vermax is hit by arrows, and despite Baela and her dragon, Moondancer, attempting to aid him, both Vermax and Jacer are wounded and die.
No Dragonseeds Or Nettles, But Rhaena Surprisingly Appears
This is partly what makes the whole thing so devastating, and potentially even more emotionally devastating. Rhaena claims Sheepstealer, a wild dragon, in the first episode of House of the Dragon Season 3. This sounds like a good thing for Team Black, even more dragons on their side! In the book, however, a girl called Nettles is the one to claim the dragon. And she is not involved in Jace’s death. So, the show is more or less making Rhaena into Nettles, but making it even worse by making her somewhat responsible for what happens to Jace.
She, of course, doesn’t mean to hurt him. She just cannot control Sheepstealer, and despite her good intentions of helping as she heads for battle, she ends up hurting the cause. As soon as Jace recognizes her, he does his best to avoid hurting her, and he ends up being hit instead.
Still, giving Rhaena the Nettles plot is actually a smart change for the show. In the books, the final rift between Rhaenyra and Daemon comes after Rhaenyra starts to suspect the dragonseeds are all turncoats. This isn’t the case, with Addam of Hull remaining loyal. However, Rhaneyra becomes increasingly paranoid in the last few days of the war and believes Nettles to have bewitched Daemon and used magic to bond with Sheepstealer. Daemon protects Nettles, but the book isn’t clear as to why. Therefore, changing it so that Rhaena is House of the Dragon’s version of the girl makes what happens between Daemon and Rhaenyra later make so much more sense. If Daemon believes in something, it’s protecting his family.
The End Result Of The Battle Of The Gullet Is Still The Same
However, even all these changes could not save Jacaerys. He was always destined to die, as was his dragon, Vermax. The Dance of the Dragons does, after all, end with the Targaryens decimated and most dragons dead. That’s the real tragedy.
But by using a character they’d already introduced and tying Rhaena to Jace’s face, the show has now given another dimension to the upcoming marital dispute between Daemon and Rhaenyra. If Daemon protects his daughter going forward, well, that makes sense. And if Rhaenyra wants revenge for what happened to Jace, especially considering his other daughter, Baela, was the one to accompany Jace on his ill-fated foray into battle, then that makes sense, too.
It’s still a sad ending for Jacaerys Velaryon, but at least one that makes the entire show a little more interesting.
