House of the Dragon season 3 kicked off on June 21, and the opening episode of the season quickly reminded fans that no one is ever safe in the world of Westeros.
Allow me to note there are spoilers ahead from the House of the Dragon season 3 premiere. If you’ve not yet watched the episode – what are you waiting for?! – and are looking to avoid spoilers, we’re about to get into details about the biggest death of the premiere!
Heading into the season 3 premiere, we knew there were key events coming our way, namely with the inclusion of the Battle of the Gullet. This pivotal battle was initially intended to close out the second season but was pushed to the opening of season 3, which honestly worked in the show’s favor. The Battle of the Gullet opened the season on a high note, delivering an epic battle that resulted in a pair of heartbreaking deaths.
During the battle, Jace’s dragon, Vermax, is struck by a scorpion bolt with an anchor attached that drags him down into the ocean waters, where he sadly drowned. Knowing there is no way to save Vermax, Jace quickly races to free himself from his saddle before he’s dragged down into the waters with Vermax.
Jace is able to free himself in time, but before we can even get a moment of relief that Jace was not pulled under with Vermax, he’s shot with a series of arrows that result in his tragic death.
Despite knowing that the moment was coming as Jace’s death is foretold in the pages of Fire & Blood, the death still shook the fandom and left them in shock. It was an emotional blow to close the season premiere on and quickly reminded the fans that you should never get too attached to characters in the Game of Thrones universe.
Harry Collett bids farewell to House of the Dragon following Jace’s death
Following Jace’s death in the closing moments of the premiere, star Harry Collett wasted no time in reflecting on his time on the show and bidding farewell to a character that he’s eternally grateful to have had the opportunity to play.
“Well, I don’t know where to start. I hope you enjoyed the first episode! I got cast in this show when I was 17, I was waiting for a role to come along just like this. I’m so eternally grateful that it was even given to me in the first place. Little Harry would be jumping for joy if he knew this back in the day. And YES, I knew this was happening since season 1. And honestly, I would’ve even been happy if it happened then. That’s what kind of power this show has,” Collett reflected of his journey with House of the Dragon in a post shared to Instagram.
Collett made it abundantly clear that while he's sad his time on the show has come to an end, he could not be more grateful to the show's creative team for taking a chance on him and giving him an opportunity that has changed his life. And while he joked about the Targaryens being a very dysfunctional family, there is nothing but love between Collett and his costars.
"First of all I’d like to thank the whole of the HBO team, Ryan [Condal] and Sarah [Hess] and Kate Rhodes James casting who had faith in me from the beginning. You have changed my life. Secondly, I’d like the thank my second family. All of you lovely lot in the cast. It’s genuinely such a rare treasure to get a cast where everyone gets along and to most importantly feel like a second home. (As much as we are a very dysfunctional family in the show.) I will never ever take that for granted. I have made friends for life."
Of course, Collett could not say goodbye to Jace and House of the Dragon without also thanking the fans who embraced him and his character on the show. And he made a point to remind them that this is only the beginning for him and his career.
"Finally, I’d like to thank the fans. Without ANY of you. I wouldn’t be here in the first place. To accept me as your Jace. I am honoured. That was all I ever wanted. You have been the light in my life for the past 5 years. So supportive of everything I do. Wherever you are in the world. I genuinely can’t put into words how much you all mean to me. But listen, as much as Jace is gone. I’m not going anywhere."
While Collett's time on the show has come to an end, Jace's death will hang over the season ahead, and his presence will surely be felt throughout the rest of the season. It's just hard to know that Jace's story has ended as we weren't ready to say farewell to Collett, though we're excited to see what's next for him now that his time on House of the Dragon has ended!
House of the Dragon season 3 airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO and streaming on HBO Max.
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