House Of The Dragon Season 3's First Major Death Will Ruin Your Day

Winter is coming, and so are spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of "House of the Dragon."

"House of the Dragon" is back with a season that's bigger and darker, but not free of issues. After Season 2 ended kind of abruptly and without a climax, Season 3 kicks the ground running with the long-awaited battle we were previously denied. The premiere makes for an action-packed spectacle, with the Battle of the Gullet delivering the kind of blockbuster-sized battle fans usually expect from a climactic Episode 9 of each season of "Game of Thrones" and of this show.

Indeed, the main battle is simply spectacular, easily the most technically-impressive combat sequence in the entire three-show franchise. There are fights between warships, a thrilling chase sequence through shallow waters, cannons and crossbows, and even plenty of dragon fire.

Of course, it wouldn't be a Westeros-set show without some tragedy, and "House of the Dragon" more than delivers. This might just be the most tragic death in the entire show, and one of the saddest moments in the franchise at large. I'm talking about the death of Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett). I'm kidding, of course. I'm actually talking about sweet, poor Vermax the dragon.

We are telegraphed Jace and Vermax's deaths pretty early on in the battle, when the captain of the incredibly-named Bitchfist, Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) fires at the dragonrider. This is no Iron Fleet using giant arrows and calling it a day. Instead, the Triarchy fleet fires crossbow bolts that are tied to anchors that start weighing the dragon down to the bottom of the sea.

The first time Vermax is hit by a crossbow bolt, it is a horrific sight. The poor dragon desperately tries to fly up while being dragged down by the anchor. Jace begs and commands his dragon to keep flying up, to no avail. Only with the help of Baela, whose dragon cuts the rope attaching the bolt to the anchor.

Still, she isn't able to save Jace twice. With the arrival of Sheepstealer, the absolute worst and ugliest dragon in "House of the Dragon," the dragons are distracted, allowing the Triarchy to shoot another bolt at Vermax. This time, the dragon gets dragged down, bleeding all over the place as it slowly sinks to the bottom of the Gullet. It's by far the most heart-wrenching death in the series, a reminder that dragons are just giant cats forced to act as nukes. Vermax's screams are harrowing, and it is a testament to the animators and VFX artists working on the show that the dragon's performance is as effective as any human, despite being an entirely digital creation. We've seen plenty of awful, gruesome deaths in "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon," but this one will absolutely ruin your day.

But that's not the only death. Jacaerys manages to free himself from his dragon right before it sinks to the bottom of the Gullet and swims back up — only to get the Boromir treatment like "The Lord of the Rings." A rather surprising but downplayed scene, Jace barely gets a moment to breathe when he's struck by one arrow, then another, and another. There's no scream, no single word said by Jace. He doesn't get to react to the death of his dragon; he's shot several times and dies instantly.

Jacaerys' death – surviving a crash and nearly drowning, only to get shot by a dozen arrows — is quite the shock. It also brings to mind the hilariously shocking death of Charles Deetz in "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice," which was inspired by Tim Burton's fear of surviving a plane crash only to immediately get eaten by sharks.

The death of Vermax is quite heartbreaking, and Jace's death is very tragic considering he wasn't even supposed to be in the fight. Still, their deaths suffer a little from being yet another case of "House of the Dragon" making everything an accident. In what's arguably the worst adaptation choice in the show (though not the one bad enough to make George R. R. Martin swear off the adaptation), it repeatedly makes every atrocity, every fight, every death the result of simple miscommunication or an accident. We saw this with the death of Lucerys in the first season, who wasn't murdered on the order of his uncle Aemond, but rather killed because "Granny War Crimes" Vhagar refused to obey her rider and went on the attack. The same thing happens at the start of Season 2 when the only reason the murder of Alicent's grandson Jaehaerys happens is because Blood and Cheese were unable to find their true target, Aemond, and went with the first Targaryen they found.

Here, the death of Jace and Vermax happens mostly because Sheepstealer's presence distracts Baela, allowing the Triarchy to shoot down the prince. It's still an effective death, but it loses something when it's less a casualty of war and more of an accident.

"House of the Dragon" is available to stream on HBO Max.