House of the Dragon is officially back, and what a return it was. Last night HBO debuted the season 3 premiere for the series, which featured a massive naval clash called the Battle of the Gullet. Fans have been dying to see the Gullet on screen for years, and now we can all breathe a sigh of relief, because my did House of the Dragon deliver.
That's not to say there weren't changes from the source material, however, many of which have rubbed diehard fans of George R.R. Martin's written works the wrong way. That includes the cutting of Nettles, a fan-favorite character who claims the wild dragon Sheepstealer that has been completely replaced by Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell). Another major one is just who's involved in the Battle of the Gullet; in the book, there are almost twice as many dragons in the fray, thanks to the involvement of Hugh and Vermithor, Ulf and Silverwing, and Addam of Hull and Seasmoke.
But perhaps the change which stands to cause the biggest ripple effect is the exclusion of Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen's two young songs, Aegon and Viserys. We last saw these boys shipping off from the Vale to the Free Cities aboard a merchant cog called the Gay Abandon in the season 2 finale. In the book Fire & Blood, they sail directly into the Triarchy fleet. Aegon manages to escape on his tiny dragon Stormcloud and fly back to Dragonstone, where he alerts his mother and brother, Jacaerys, to the danger in the Gullet just as his dragon succumbs to its wounds. The youngest child, Viserys, is captured by the Triarchy and lost in the mayhem of the battle, though he turns up again after the war and plays a major role in the ultimate future of Westeros.
Given their import to the overall history of the realm, which sees both Aegon and Viserys serve as kings of the Seven Kingdoms down the line, them not appearing at the Battle of the Gullet may change the overarching story significantly. Showrunner Ryan Condal addressed this concern in an interview with IGN, reassuring fans that he and his fellow writers "haven't forgotten" about Aegon and Viserys, and the crucial role they have yet to play.
Aegon and Viserys were cut from the Gullet for "practical" reasons
“That was just one of the many challenges of making the show and telling a story that involves so many children, very young children," Condal said. "And particularly in our case where we had to compress history a little bit just to make Season 1 take place over 20 years instead of 30 years. So it just meant all of the children in the story are a little bit younger, especially the young, young children, are a little bit younger than they are even in the books. And the kids that we had for Aegon and Viserys, Rhaenyra's sons with Daemon, her youngest children are just not of an age where you can involve them with complex dramatic sequences, complex action. It's not safe, it's not practical. So it was just something that we had to dispense of rather early on in the process.”
“It's not to say that those characters are out of the show or anything," he added. "We all realize what an important role they play as Rhaenyra's sons with Daemon and the heirs to their particular bloodline and where they sit in the history. So we haven't forgotten about any of that. It just requires changes and adaptations to make it safe and practical. When we are going to tell a story with those kids, to be able to do so in a way that we can actually do.”
Why do Rhaenyra's children Aegon and Viserys matter?
Ultimately, Condal's explanation is understandable, at least in theory. Given how immense the production was on the Battle of the Gullet, it makes sense that involving small children in those setpieces might have been prohibitive — though, if I'm being honest, I do wonder if there wasn't some creative solution that could have kept the core of their involvement, even if they weren't actually around any of the action.
Regardless of any misgivings, it's good to hear Condal directly address Aegon and Viserys' absence. Both boys are impacted deeply by the Battle of the Gullet in the book. For Aegon, the death of Stormcloud marks the beginning of the end for his relationship with dragons, which is soured significantly by the time he eventually becomes a boy king at the end of the Dance of the Dragons. For Viserys, it puts him in the Free City of Lys, where he remains as a prisoner of a rich Lysene magister until after the war, when he's eventually recovered and brought back to Westeros.
Both Aegon III and Viserys II have a larger role in the future of the Seven Kingdoms after the Dance, but Viserys especially goes on to serve the realm for quite some time as Hand of the King, first to Aegon III, then to Daeron the Young Dragon, then to Baelor the Blessed. When the pious (and celibate) Baelor finally dies, Viserys II ascends the throne at the ripe age of 49, making him one of the oldest Targaryens to ever claim the Iron Throne. It's through his bloodline that we eventually get characters like Egg, "Mad King" Aerys Targaryen, and Daenerys Stormborn.
Without the trauma and life-changing events of the Battle of the Gullet, there remains a huge question for how House of the Dragon will reconcile Aegon and Viserys onto the path that history requires of them. But for now, it's good just to know there is still come kind of plan for them down the line.
House of the Dragon season 3 premieres new episodes Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
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