*Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 1* House of the Dragon has returned with its season three premiere, which culminated with the Battle of the Gullet and the shocking (but expected) death of Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon. Readers of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy novels will have been well aware that Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) firstborn son was set for an untimely death, but that doesn’t make it any less horrific. The scene unfolds amid the battle between the Velaryon ships and the Triarchy. After ordering for Rhaenyra to be locked in her chambers, Jace jumps on his dragon Vermax and heads to the scene to support the Sea Snakes. But it all goes south (quite literally) when Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) rocks up on her wild dragon Sheepstealer, which swiftly starts attacking both sides of the fight – and the other dragons. Credit: HBO Amid the chaos, Vermax flies too low and gets hit by one of the Triarchy’s ballista bolts, causing him to fall into the sea, with Jace still on his back. Jace manages to break free and hold onto some driftwood, only for him to be struck by multiple arrows from a nearby ship, plunging him to his watery death. Not only is this another blow to the Blacks, but it’s also a turning point in Rhaenyra’s mindset. Having lost two of her sons, it’s time for her to go full scorched earth. The sad truth behind Jace’s death in House of the Dragon season 3 Credit: HBO Following the release of House of the Dragon season three episode one, Jace actor Harry Collett has now spoken about his character’s death and what was going through his head. Tragically, he was scared and wanted his mum. Speaking to Esquire, he explained, “I know how brutal it sounds, but Loni [Peristere, director of House of the Dragon] wanted to do it by arrow. The first arrow is in his back, and we wanted him to feel confused and, because of the adrenaline, not a lot of pain. “Then, he obviously turns around and sees the archers and then the second one goes in. Ultimately what he felt was, ‘I don’t want to die, I just want my mum’. He felt very young and vulnerable in that moment and regretted his decision to go. “People forget he’s 16. He’s struggling to breathe at that point, and then that last one just finishes him off.” Sad it may be, Collett explained why Jace had to die at that moment in time. “There’s no way Jace couldn’t have died. He had to for the future of the realm,” he said. “It changes Rhaenyra’s mindset, so it’s all a great sacrifice. Some people say to me, ‘I’m so sorry they killed you off’, and I’m like, ‘I haven’t been fired! I knew this was going to happen in Season 1’. Credit: HBO “It’s been an absolute joy and I’ve met friends for life on here. I feel like there’s no better way to go out than season 3 episode 1. For me, that was the perfect death.” The actor also commented on the difficulty of holding this spoiler in, having known for the past five years. If you remember, the season three premiere was originally going to be the season two finale, making the wait even longer. “If it was in the season 2 finale, obviously that would have been great for season 2, but for me, I wouldn’t have been able to speak about it all of last year,” he said. “Now I get to bang on about it and I don’t have to stress out about spoilers all the time.” Harry Collett thanks fans for accepting him as their Jace Collett also took to TikTok to thank his fans for their support (after a massive spoiler warning) and for accepting him as their Jace. @harry.collett ❤️ ♬ original sound – harrycollett “When people read the books, they always have a certain idea of what they want Jace to be like, and I just wanted that to be fulfilled for a lot of people,” he explained. “It’s been a crazy five years of my life. It’s been such a big portion of it. And I’m so grateful that I even got the chance to be on this show in the first place. “I’ve met, honestly, friends for life in this cast, and the support has been insane throughout this entire journey. And I’ve loved watching your memes and everything.” “The Battle of the Gullet, what an episode. What an episode to go out on as well,” he added. As for what’s next, the Jace star couldn’t give anything away, but there’s plenty he’s excited to see in the third chapter. “The Battle of the God’s Eye, between Daemon and Aemond. Or if they do it, the Hour of the Wolf, but I feel like they could do like a whole series on Cregan Stark and the Starks,” he said. “That would be sick. Who knows? I’m very excited to see where this is going to go, I’ll be watching from afar.” For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, like our Facebook page. Featured images credit: HBO Post navigation Next storyPrevious story
