“House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 1, “Salt and Sea, Fire and Blood,” is a great opening to the third season of the show because several of the storylines that were set up in last season’s finale bear fruit. Also, the long-standing story of the need for dragon riders looms large. The episode begins with Rhaena approaching Sheepstealer, the wild dragon on the loose in the Vale. She tells him to be calm before climbing on, and he flies off with her screaming on his back.
This discovery of Sheepstealer in the Vale by Rhaena sets the tone for an episode that ends with dragons doing battle over the sea. Meanwhile, Aemond is very upset when he finds out that Lord Larys and King Aegon have fled. He drags Grand Maester Orwyle out of bed and threatens to behead him, thinking the maester helped Aegon escape. Aemond only stops when he learns Larys is missing too.
Out on the road, soldiers who say they are loyal to Rhaenyra capture Lord Larys and Aegon. The men order them to renounce the usurper and swear fealty to the queen. Larys bends the knee. Aegon will not. The soldiers are about to behead them when Larys reveals that the man beside him is King Aegon Targaryen. He talks them into delivering the two of them to Rhaenyra alive, since a living king is worth more than a dead one. Who are these men really working for? We will have to wait and see. There are several other big, important stories in “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 1.
Gigantic Naval Battle
The centerpiece of the episode is the Battle of the Gullet, the big naval battle between Sharako Lohar and her Triarchy fleet and Lord Corlys. The battle begins with Lord Corlys and Alyn sitting together in his cabin and sharing a drink from Ib. Corlys tells Alyn that the queen wants them to send five ships from the blockade to seize King’s Landing. He also apologizes to his son for the years he never gave him a name. However, they are interrupted by alarm bells; the Triarchy approaches with Sharako Lohar and Ser Tyland Lannister.
The Triarchy fleet is massive, and it badly outnumbers the Velaryon ships. Lohar sends a detachment to sack and burn High Tide, Lord Corlys’ castle. She wants to distract him from the big naval battle that follows. This is personal for her. She does not care about Tyland’s orders or his king. She wants the Sea Snake. The battle is ferocious and at times hand-to-hand. Then Jace and Baela arrive on their dragons, and it is amazing what weapons the ships have to fight them. Scorpion bolts and harpoons.
Eventually, Lord Corlys leads his ship through a narrow, extremely narrow pass near High Tide. It is a trap. The tide is going out, and the Sea Snake is betting that her ships cannot make the pass. Corlys knows the way through, and he takes the helm himself for the shallowest stretch. They get through. This sets up the most vicious battle in the episode.
Most of Lohar’s ships are wrecked in the pass, but hers gets through. She throws everything heavy overboard, including Tyland’s men, and her lighter, much faster ship catches Lord Corlys and rams it. Lord Corlys is stunned to see High Tide burning, and Alyn has to rally the crew. The fighting is hand-to-hand, with Lord Corlys eventually fighting Sharako Lohar himself. Then his ship, The Queen Who Never Was, breaks in half, and Lord Corlys falls into the sea. In the chaos, Alyn tangles with Lohar in the water and kills her. Nobody knows if the Sea Snake survived.
Armies Link Up
An important secondary story in “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 1 is the linking up and maneuvering of the armies. Daemon fights alongside the Rivermen, slaughtering the Lannister forces. Then he links up with the Northmen known as the Winter Wolves. Their leader, Lord Roderick Dustin, announces they have come to die for the dragon queen by throwing him the severed head of Lord Jason Lannister.
Meanwhile, Ser Criston Cole and Ser Gwayne are stuck in camp, waiting on a dragon that never comes. Aemond and Vhagar were supposed to join them, and Gwayne is angry that they still have no dragon support. Their men are getting out of control, and Cole does not seem to care anymore. The plight of that army shows how great the peril the Green armies are in.
Final Analysis: Jace Dies
In the big naval battle, more dragons join in. Rhaena comes with Sheepstealer. He is a wild, untrained dragon and burns anything that moves, friend and foe alike. Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon is already in the fight on his dragon, Vermax. Vermax is hit by scorpion bolts, hooked by a harpoon and dragged into the sea, where the dragon drowns. Jace cuts himself free and grabs a floating piece of wood, but Myrish archers hit him with three arrows. He dies in the water. The episode ends with Baela and her dragon, Moondancer, circling the wreckage, looking for him.
Rhaenyra wanted to fly to the Gullet herself, but Jace had Ser Lorent Marbrand lock her in her room to keep her safe. She is furious that her own son did this to her. She doesn’t know yet that it was the last order Jace will ever give. His death, needless to say, will upset her greatly.
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