'House of the Dragon' opens Season 3 with major deaths. Who died?
'House of the Dragon' opens Season 3 with major deaths. Who died?
Bryan Alexander, USA TODAYMon, June 22, 2026 at 2:00 AM UTC
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Warning: This story contains spoilers from Episode 1 of "House of the Dragon" Season 3.
The death toll is already skyrocketing on "House of the Dragon," with the shock-and-awe-inspiring Battle of the Gullet in the TV history books after Episode 1 (now streaming on Max) of Season 3.
We're not just talking about the hapless screaming soldiers scorched to death by passing fire-breathing dragons in the epic sea battle, or the slain littered on ship decks. We're talking about bold figures who will go down in the history of Westeros, of whom bards will sing heartbreaking songs by the fire evermore.
It was rocking good TV with plenty of gnarly blood spilled, stupendous action and renegade dragons in battle. Here's the death toll.
Who is Sharako Lohar? Abigail Thorn storms 'House of the Dragon' Season 3
For our song of the dead, we'll have no problem finding a rhyme for Jace Velaryon, the dragon-riding scion. We'll have a slightly tougher rhyming problem with Jace's dragon steed, Vermax.
Yes, the beloved eldest son of Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy), who locked his warrior mum away to keep the Queen from flying her dragon into battle, succumbed in the Battle of the Gullet − just as his character did in the source material, George R.R. Martin's "Fire & Blood."
My, how the sailors cheered when Jace and Vermax swooped into battle. But Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) aimed the Scorpion spear-shooter dragon-slayer from the deck of her ship, the Bitchfist, and shot Vermax. The beast screamed and flew away, pulling an attached anchor into the water.
Vermax was in dire trouble until Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) heroically steered her Moondancer and broke the rope attached to the anchor. Jace and his steed climbed free, high into the sky, just long enough for American viewers to have a quick bathroom break.
But back the duo steadfastly returned to battle. Vermax had to fly too low to avoid the rogue dragon Sheepstealer, who was attacking everyone, much to the horror of the beast's novice rider, Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell).
Another spear hit Vermax from a ship. And that was all she wrote. The screaming creature fell into the sea, sinking below the depths. Jace broke free, pushed himself to the water's surface, and was then used for target practice by archers on nearby ships. Watching Jace's ordeal was like having your heart ripped, replaced, and then ripped out again. Imagine how Mom's gonna feel.
Tyland Lannister is going down, down, down
Among the missing: Tyland Lannister. Presumed dead. Tyland was unceremoniously dumped overboard by one-time ally, Sharako Lohar, when her Bitchfist ship needed to lose some weight. Cutting away the anchors wasn't enough in the dangerously shallow, jagged-rock-lined pass.
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"What do you weigh in that armor?" Sharako asked her seeming-comrade, Tyland, as he peered over the side of the ship. Tyland saw what was about to happen, turned and swung. But Sharako simply pushed him overboard before ordering her men to throw Tyland's other armored comrades off as well.
Harsh but effective. Free of armored men and anchors, the ship slipped over the jagged rocks. It's really unlikely Tyland will rise again. So we're counting him as toast in a brilliant, anti-climactic death, until proven otherwise.
After a blaze of glory, Sharako goes down horrifically
Sharako got her revenge wish to face off against the Sea Snake, Corlys Velaryon, after ramming his ship. Captain Ahab seemed to have captured the white-haired whale.
The two battled, with the Sea Snake about to make the kill after stabbing his foe in the thigh. But with sword raised, Corlys was thrown off the busted ship and fell into the sea (Officially missing: Not dead).
Bastard son Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), the undisputed MVP of this battle, jumped to battle Sharako and avenge his father. Their final side battle was ferocious and flailing.
"Sharako is fighting until the end, and she goes down bitterly," Abigail Thorn tells USA TODAY. "There's a certain point in the fight that she realizes that she is going to die. And she is afraid."
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The battle goes against Sharako in Alyn's mighty clutches. There's even some sympathy for the vengeful pirate character.
"When she's lifted out of the water, all the blood has washed from her face," says Thorn. "In that final moment, she looks innocent, the soft light bouncing off the water. And she looks afraid. [Salim] even said to me on the set, 'The audience is going to hate me.' And I said 'Yeah, I know.'"
Alyn gave a final knife thrust into his drowning victim. Sharako fell beneath the water, eyes open in death.
Standing ovation for the whole damn shooting match, please. But disturbing, of course.
"It's about the consequences of war," says Thorn. "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."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who dies in 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 premiere?
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
