House Of The Dragon Season 3's Battle Of The Gullet Is Impressive – But It Has A Huge Issue

Winter is coming, and so are spoilers. This article discusses major plot details from the Season 3 premiere of "House of the Dragon."

If there's one ironclad statement anyone can make about the "Game of Thrones" franchise, it's that it can stage a barnburner of a battle sequence practically in its sleep. Even dating all the way back to Season 2 of the original HBO series, when the Baratheon forces lay siege to the Lannisters in King's Landing during the first (and, honestly, best) action scene in the show's run, this property has always thrived in weaving together its political storylines with inevitable bursts of violence and mayhem. "House of the Dragon" picked up that baton and ran with it, whether it be a series of conflicts with Season 1's scene-stealing villain the Crabfeeder or dragons fully unleashed like we've never seen them before.

With "House of the Dragon" carrying the weight of expectations for the first significant set piece of its third season, it seemed like a safe bet that the long-awaited Battle of the Gullet would live up to the hype. And it certainly does — in some regards, at least. Technically speaking, the naval engagement between the Velaryon blockade and the Triarchy navy is as ambitious and sprawling as anything we've ever seen in this show. The arrival of the dragons adds another dimension (quite literally) to the fight, as well, as does the complication of Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) on the wild beast Sheepstealer that has no interest in being tamed. Add to that the grudge match on the seas between Corlys (Steve Toussaint) and Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn), and what's not to love?

Unfortunately, this battle excels in every way except the ones that matter most: tension, stakes, and characters we actually care about.

I know, I know — how gauche to demand that "House of the Dragon" Season 3 deliver the biggest moments we've all been waiting years to see, only to instantly turn around and criticize it when it finally does. While showrunner Ryan Condal and his creative team might feel like they're in a no-win situation in this regard, a closer look at the major battle at hand can't help but expose many of the premiere's shortcomings. And, unlike with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss with the later seasons of "Game of Thrones," the writers can't point the blame towards unfinished source material.

Let's start with the dragon in the room. The Battle of the Gullet makes waves (puns!) for the major death at its center: Rhaenyra Targaryen's (Emma D'Arcy) son, Prince Jacaerys (Harry Collett). But, with respect, to what extent does any of the viewing audience truly care about Jace, anyway? This hardly ranks among the most heartbreaking kills in franchise canon, to say nothing of the late Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) or even the scene-stealing commander Sharako Lohar (RIP). It's one thing to make full use of the show's ensemble, focusing on supporting characters like the Sea Snake or Abubakar Salim's loyal first mate, Alyn of Hull. It's quite another to expect us to actually feel invested when they're placed in mortal danger.

Worst of all, however, the battle makes the fatal mistake of simply throwing a bunch of spectacle at us with very few standout character moments, no sense of rising action (like, say, an all-time great episode like "Hardhome" does with ease), and nothing narratively satisfying to speak of whatsoever.

But wait! How can we say that about an epic battle that certainly feels like it completely changes the future of "House of the Dragon" forever? Well, sure, a lot of things happen over the course of the premiere, but at what point does it ever feel like anything but battle for the sake of battle? Compare this rather obligatory confrontation to the Battle of the Bastards or even the divisive "The Long Night" in "Game of Thrones," both of which felt like an exclamation point after lengthy build ups that took full advantage of what this franchise does best. Where are the conflicting character motivations, uneasy political alliances, and overall stakes to the Battle of the Gullet?

Not helping matters is the somewhat head-scratching way that episode writer Ryan Condal and director Loni Peristere decide to structure the battle. For all the talk about this being the biggest "Game of Thrones" battle yet, we spend a shocking amount of time focusing on a one-on-one ship chase between Sharako and Corlys — far away from the rest of their fleets. This makes for some neat individual moments, to be sure, but how much meaning could there be in a Corlys/Sharako grudge that we've never actually seen on-screen before this?

In fairness, much of this has to do with the nature of the engagement in author George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood," but the adaptation somehow increases the spectacle while leaving out much of the substance. (Without spoiling anything, Rhaenyra in the book has much more to lose in this Pyrrhic victory than she does in the show.) Can "House of the Dragon" right itself? New episodes air on HBO and HBO Max every Sunday.