House of the Dragon Kills Off Main Character in Season 3 Premiere

House of the Dragon's Emma D'Arcy on Overcoming Gender Norms

Warning: This article contains spoilers for the House of the Dragon season three premiere.

The Battle of Gullet ended with a devastating tragedy for the Targaryens.

House of the Dragon returned for its third season June 21 wasting no time reacquainting viewers with the fire, blood, and heartbreaking casualties they've come to expect from the Game of Thrones spinoff. And this time it was Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) once again in mourning as a bloody naval clash left her eldest son Jace (Harry Collett) dead.

As Rhaenyra's fleet (known as the Blacks) continued fighting with the King's Landing loyalists under Tom Glynn-Carney's King Aegon II (a.k.a. the Greens) during the Dance of the Dragons war, the queen of the Targaryen dynasty was locked in her chambers by her son against her wishes.

Jace then joined the Blacks, led by Rhaenyra's husband/uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), as well as Daemon's daughters Baela (Bethany Antonia), Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) and their dragons in battle. The fight took a turn for the worse when Rhaena's rogue dragon Sheepstealer turned on its counterparts.

Jace's dragon Vermax was struck during the chaos, falling into the water below. With the now-deceased creature sinking, Jace swam to the surface but died after being struck by three arrows from a nearby ship.

As Rhaenyra—whose youngest son Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) died in battle during the season one finale—mourned her loss in the upcoming episode, she vowed to avenge her children.

"I will never have justice," she asserted in HBO's sneak peek, "but what crumbs of it I can snatch, I will devour."

HBO

Meanwhile, Collett reflected on Jace's bold decision to sequester his mother in order to join the action.

"Locking her up with literally a decision of protection," he explained during an interview after the episode. "Jace would always know there's a chance of him dying when he goes to battle, but he's willing to take that risk as long as his mother gets on the throne."

Although the Casual actor was heartbroken to say goodbye to his character, he felt the outcome was necessary.

HBO

"I'm sad but I've realized something," Collett told E! News at the House of the Dragon season three waterfront premiere screening in New York City, "there's no way in the story where Jace could have survived the Battle of the Gullet because it changes so many future aspects in the story."

"There's no way I would have survived," the 22-year-old admitted. "I wouldn't have wanted to survive and just milk it for the rest of the time. It's definitely the right time to go out, I think."

As fans wait to see the aftermath of Jace's death, keep reading for a closer look at more shocking TV show exits.

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