All eyes are on the Battle of the Gullet heading into House of the Dragon season 3, as that's where the action will pick up. Looking ahead in George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood, we can speculate about where the season will end as well, and many fans are betting on the battle known as the "Butcher's Ball." It may be the most shocking set-up for a battle Martin has ever written, and we all know that's saying a lot. Of course, there's no guarantee this will be the climactic fight of the season, but considering showrunner Ryan Condal's plan to end the series with four seasons — along with several other clues — it seems like a good guess. Read on for all the gory details of the Butcher's Ball, but fair warning — there are spoilers ahead!
The Riverlands always seem to get the brunt of the fighting when Westeros goes to war, and this is no exception. House of the Dragon season 2 showed us plenty of fighting among the river lords themselves, but in the end it reminded us that dragons are the real threat. We've seen Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) wreak havoc on villages with his dragon, Vhagar, so perhaps it's not much of a spoiler to say that more fire and blood is coming. In the process, control of the Riverlands territory will change hands several times before the Butcher's Ball, so let's fast forward to the scene of this battle.
The Riverlands will be scorched by the time of the Butcher's Ball
At the time of the Butcher's Ball, Aemond's base of operations is Harrenhal, where he is accompanied by an increasingly uncooperative Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) and an army of Greens. Ser Criston insists that he must march his host south to join with other Green forces, while Aemond wants to finish this war on dragon-back. When Cole and his men march, an enraged Aemond flies off to burn everything within sight of Harrenhal, hoping Rhaenyra will send a dragonrider to stop him.
This means Cole and his army are marching through the burned wreckage of the Riverlands on their way south, seeing the horrors of Aemond's actions up close and personal. They begin to see corpses, and notice that they are not just scattered haphazardly along the road — the bodies are staged to look as if they're sitting at feast tables together. Cole perceives this as mockery and condemnation of his men for what they've done, but it's also a clear sign that there are still people alive in the area, and they want to send him a message.
Just when Cole and his men start to become accustomed to these "corpse feasts," the trap is sprung. At the village of Crossed Elms, the corpses are actually Rhaenyra's supporters in disguise. When Cole and his men walk past, these soldiers launch a surprise attack. Cole's force loses a dozen men before realizing the danger. A short while later Criston's beleaguered company leaves the Gods Eye lake behind, only to stumble right into a waiting army of Riverlanders and Northmen near the Blackwater Rush. With no option except to fight, Cole asks for Black champions to duel him in single combat. They all refuse, and Cole is killed unceremoniously along with hundreds of his soldiers in the slaughter that follows.
Will the Butcher's Ball close House of the Dragon season 3?
The Butcher's Ball is exactly the kind of shocking event to end an HBO TV season on, but that's not the only reason to suspect it will be in the season 3 finale. Looking at all the major events remaining in this war from Fire & Blood, the Butcher's Ball is about halfway to the endpoint — depending on where Condal and his team decide to end this series, of course. With only eight episodes per season going forward, it's safe to say that some battles may happen off-screen, but Criston Cole has been a main character from the start of this series, and it's hard to imagine his death happening out of sight.
Sadly, depicting the Butcher's Ball likely means cutting some other spectacular battles from the show. For example, an earlier battle that also takes place on the shore of the Gods Eye, the "Fishfeed," could get minimal screentime. Not only would the setting be repetitive, but the scene would be focused on characters we don't know as well as Cole. We also have to take into account the series' budget for huge action sequences, which will be stretched to its limit no matter how this season goes.
On the other hand, there are a few strong candidates for a season finale that could take precedence over the Butcher's Ball. There's no need to spoil them all here, but it seems likely that Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) will end season 3 on a higher note than season 2, for example. The timeline has already been modified a bit in the adaptation to TV here, so we should expect Condal and his team to be flexible and to surprise us somehow this season.
However it ends, House of the Dragon season 3 will likely be the bloodiest yet, and will remind fans why this franchise is considered anti-war. The season kicks off on Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max. You can get ahead by reading Fire & Blood now in print, digital, or audiobook formats.
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