“House of the Dragon” fans have been anxiously awaiting more action from HBO’s tentpole “Game of Thrones” spinoff — and their wish may be granted much sooner than later.
Ahead of the season three premiere on Sunday, “House of the Dragon” co-creator and showrunner Ryan Condal has been teasing the Battle of the Gullet, described in the original book “Fire & Blood” as one of the “bloodiest sea battles” in Westerosi history.
“To try to tell this story without doing the Gullet would be trying to film ‘Lord of the Rings’ without doing the Battle of Helm’s Deep,” Condal told Entertainment Weekly. “If we were gonna do it, we had to do it right. And that meant dragons and ships and multiple theaters of conflict.”
Condal also said that in terms of expense and execution, the impending Gullet sequence makes for “arguably the craziest episode of television ever made.”
Of course, fans of George R. R. Martin’s fantasy world are no strangers to spectacle and violence; think of Princess Rhaenys Targaryen’s fiery death in “House of the Dragon” season two, the epic Battle of the Bastards in “Game of Thrones,” or the many, many men that Daenerys Targaryen burned alive.
But the Battle of the Gullet isn’t just about expensive sets, special effects, and sacrificial background actors. It’s a crucial turning point in the Targaryen civil war, also known as the Dance of the Dragons, and proves deeply consequential in the grand scheme of the dynasty.
Here’s what happens in the book when naval forces and dragonriders collide. (Obviously, spoilers ahead for “Fire & Blood” and potential spoilers for “House of the Dragon” season three.)
‘A new threat was closing from the east’
In “Fire & Blood,” the Battle of the Gullet takes place in 130 AC, less than one year after Aegon II Targaryen was crowned instead of his older half-sister, Rhaenyra Targaryen, the late king’s chosen heir. (AC denotes “after conquest,” meaning the number of years after Aegon I conquered Westeros and became the first Targaryen king.)
At this point in the story, Rhaenyra’s war council is plotting from Dragonstone — largely led by her 15-year-old son, Prince Jacaerys, aka Jace — while Rhaenyra’s husband, Prince Daemon Targaryen, is rallying an army at Harrenhal in the Riverlands.
However, as Jace hatches a plan to fly against King’s Landing, Rhaenyra’s foes are covertly planning an attack by sea.
King Aegon’s council has formed an alliance with the Triarchy, a trio of powerful fleets from the free cities of Essos.
The Triarchy had long warred with Lord Corlys Velaryon, Rhaenyra’s right-hand man and sea commander, over a chain of islands known as the Stepstones. With the Triarchy’s 90 warships, King Aegon’s council hopes to break the blockade set up by Rhaenyra and Corlys, which prevents food and supplies from coming into King’s Landing.
As the Triarchy sails toward the Gullet — a narrow channel next to the islands of Dragonstone, where Rhaenyra is based, and Driftmark, the seat of House Velaryon — they come across a ship called the Gay Abandon, sailing away from Westeros.
Aboard the Gay Abandon are Rhaenyra’s two youngest sons, Prince Aegon III (also known as Aegon the Younger) and Prince Viserys II. They’d been sent away by their older brother, Jace, to wait out the war across the narrow sea. Corlys had also sent seven warships to escort them.
When they cross paths, the Triarchy sinks the seven warships and captures the Gay Abandon. Nine-year-old Aegon III is able to escape on his young dragon, Stormcloud, and fly to Dragonstone, where he warns his family about the Triarchy’s assault — but Stormcloud is shot by several arrows while they flee, and the dragon dies soon after landing.
Meanwhile, 7-year-old Viserys II has no means of escape; the dragon egg given to him at birth hadn’t even hatched yet, and Stormcloud is too small to carry both boys. The younger brother is captured by the admiral of the Triarchy’s fleet, Sharako Lohar of Lys.
‘It is one thing to face a dragon, another to face five’
Roused by his little brother’s warning, Jace flies to meet the Triarchy on his own dragon, Vermax.
While Vermax sets their ships ablaze, the Triarchy warriors attempt to unseat Jace with arrows and spears. However, he’s quickly joined by four more dragonriders, the non-Targaryen “dragonseeds” who recently claimed dragons in Rhaenyra’s name: Ulf on Silverwing, Addam on Seasmoke, Hugh on Vermithor, and Nettles on Sheepstealer. (Nettles doesn’t exist in the show; it seems her storyline is being given to Rhaena Targaryen.)
You may be thinking: What about Rhaenyra? After all, the would-be queen is a dragonrider herself — one far more experienced than her teenage son or any of the dragonseeds. With Rhaenys dead and Daemon far away at Harrenhal, surely Rhaenyra would be the greatest asset in battle.
In the book, Rhaenyra isn’t even mentioned during the Battle of the Gullet. She’s been essentially neutralized after the death of her son, Prince Lucerys, aka Luke, at the hands of her half-brother, Prince Aemond Targaryen.
“Fire & Blood” is written as a history book, drawing on various informants and eyewitness accounts that are often colored by personal biases; one source says Rhaenyra is horrified by kinslaying and refuses to attack her own family, while another blames a “mother’s heart” for her inaction. Her court jester, Mushroom, says Rhaenyra was “still so griefsick” over Luke that she withdrew from her war council, leaving Corlys and Jace to make decisions in her stead.
In the show, Rhaenyra is not depicted as quite so ineffective. She is both devastated and infuriated by Luke’s death, and she tries to take action multiple times — but she’s usually convinced to stand down by her advisors, who say that her life is too important to risk.
Whatever the reason, Rhaenyra is nowhere to be found in the text as Jace flies into his first major battle.
‘All seemed lost… all was lost…’
While the Triarchy’s southern squadron succeeds in sacking Driftmark, its fleet panics and scatters when five dragons decend from the sky.
“Ship after ship burst asunder or was consumed by flames,” the book reads. “Screaming men leapt into the sea, shrouded in fire. Tall columns of black smoke rose up from the water. All seemed lost… all was lost…”
Suddenly, Vermax plummets from the sky. Again, eyewitnesses disagree on the exact series of events, but the result is the same: Jace’s dragon is hit and falls into the sea, “smoking and screaming, clawing at the water.”
As Vermax dies, Jace is apparently able to unclip from his saddle and leap to safety, clinging to a piece of floating wreckage. But his survival is short-lived. Crossbowmen from the Triarchy’s nearest ship shoot him with arrows until he, too, is “swallowed by the sea.”
The Battle of the Gullet continues to rage through the night, and only 28 out of the Triarchy’s 90 warships survive. Technically, Corlys and the Velaryon fleet claim victory, but with Driftmark destroyed and Jace dead, their victory is hollow.
The book says that when Corlys is congratulated, he replies, “If this be victory, I pray I never win another.”
‘Jace’s death hardened her’
The Battle of the Gullet had dire consequences for Rhaenyra’s family and legacy. Jace was her eldest son and heir, throwing the line of succession into chaos if she were to finally take the Iron Throne — but moreover, he was her pride and joy, and the latest blow in a story already stained by grief.
Rhaenyra’s second son, Luke, was already dead. Her third son, Prince Joffrey, had been sent away to the Vale. Her fourth son, Aegon III, was irrevocably traumatized after his escape from the Triarchy, and her youngest son, Viserys II, was presumed dead in the Gullet, either “drowned or burned or butchered.”
The fictional “Fire & Blood” historians also blame the Battle of the Gullet for draining Rhaenyra of her queenly qualities. Once celebrated as “The Realm’s Delight,” she became brutal and callous in her quest for vengeance, vowing to “rain down fire and death upon Aegon and all those who supported him.”
“Broken by the loss of one son, Rhaenyra Targaryen seemed to find new strength after the loss of a second,” the book reads. “Jace’s death hardened her, burning away her fears, leaving only her anger and her hatred.”
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