The first episode of “House of the Dragon” season 3 has aired, and the premiere has come with devastating character losses. The episode aired on Sunday, June 21, on HBO, and it covered the Battle of Gullet. During the course of the premiere, three characters were lost, leaving castmates reeling with the knowledge of how their deaths would impact the story.
“House of the Dragon” is a spinoff series of “Game of Thrones,” which takes place 200 years before the events of the iconic series. It follows the events of the Targaryen Civil War, and uses George R. R. Martin’s novel “Fire & Blood” as a guide. While most of the events have stayed relatively close to the Author’s original narrative, one major death in the season 3 premiere has deviated from this script.
“House of the Dragon” Season 3 Premiere Kills Three Major Characters
During the first episode of “House of the Dragon” season 3, three characters met their end. The first two, who died in the “Fire & Blood” novel, are Prince Jace (Jacaerys) Velaryon and Jason Lannister. However, the third death, which was not expected, was that of Sharako Lohar, who initially makes it through the Battle of the Gullet but meets her end in the television spinoff.
In an exclusive interview with People, Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen, has discussed how the loss of these characters will affect the story moving forward. D’Arcy has explained that the loss of Rhaenyra’s son has an undeniable impact on how their character will act in the future. They explained, “I think Jace’s death is honestly a sort of unquantifiable loss. There was a shared kind of understanding, there was an intimacy there that I don’t think is replicated anywhere else.”
They go on to explain that the loss of Jace is Rhaenyra’s driving force, solidifying her desire to secure the Iron Throne, and that it awakens a desire for “Vengeance” in the grieving mother.
Surprise “House of the Dragon” Premiere Character Death is “About The Consequences of War”
In an interview with USA Today, Abigail Thorn broke down the final moments of her character, Sharako Lohar. She said Sharako’s obsession with revenge and how it had derailed all her motivations, turning her into a “monster.”
Thorn explained that Sharako’s demise was a “consequence of war.” She went on to add that Alyn of Hull will follow in Sharako’s footsteps. She said, “We’ve seen what happened to Sharako over the episode, obsessed with vengeance. She becomes a monster. But in those final moments, Alyn of Hull gets infected by that. The germ has been passed to him. And that sets up the entire Season 3.”
Sharako Lohar was a unique character in “House of the Dragon,” straying far from the character originally portrayed in the book. In “Fire & Blood,” Sharako was male and is known for naval prowess. In the TV series, Sharako was reimagined as a woman with incredible military power and LGBT themes. She is referred to as male by her crew due to her status.
Her loss so early in the season is just as difficult to process as that of characters that were expected to meet their end during the Battle of the Gullet. The ripple of these losses will be seen in the rest of season 3, which will air on Sundays at 9 PM ET on HBO.
Appreciated this recap of a very surprising episode.
Wow, what a shocking premiere recap. Interested to hear others’ reactions.