The latest episode of House of the Dragon finally delivers the long-awaited Battle of the Gullet, a massive naval clash described in George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood as one of the "bloodiest sea battles in all of history." The episode ends with Rhaenyra Targaryen's first son and heir, Jacaerys "Jace" Velaryon, being pierced by arrows and killed. However, the emotional impact of this pivotal death falls flat.
Jace's Death Lacks Emotional Weight
Jace's death ushers in a grave silence as the battle ends and the screen cuts to black. Yet this silence, meant to evoke dread and mourning, fails to hit the mark. The show has suffered from inconsistent character motivations, with each death since King Viserys Targaryen's in Season 1 feeling lackluster. While the series' scope mirrors Game of Thrones, the expansive timeline and sprawling cast overwhelm the writers, resulting in deaths that occur without emotional resonance.
Jace, who grew from child to young adult in four episodes of Season 1, lacks the importance of characters like the Stark or Lannister children. In Fire & Blood, Jace and Rhaenyra share a strong bond, but HBO's adaptation places them at odds. Rhaenyra's attachment to Alicent Hightower and her decision to allow three Targaryen bastards to become dragon riders make Jace view his mother as flawed, putting his life and legitimacy at risk.
Character Development Hindered by Pacing
By forcing infighting, Jace rarely appears outside of small council scenes, where he broods in the shadows. This intensifies in Season 3's premiere, where he locks Rhaenyra in her chambers and flies to the Gullet with only Baela Targaryen. In the novel, Jace participates to rescue his younger siblings Aegon and Viserys, who are barely featured in the show. Martin describes Jace as "a worthy heir to the Iron Throne," and no loss "was felt so deeply as that of [his]." But the onscreen Jace has neither proven himself nor made an emotional impact on viewers.
Game of Thrones allowed audiences to spend vital time with characters, building relationships that made deaths resonate. House of the Dragon, however, chips away at character foundations, turning them into stone caricatures. Even in its worst moments, Game of Thrones understood how to make audiences feel each death, forcing them to sit in uncomfortable silences as consequences unfolded. House of the Dragon appears to have made its bed with pacing issues, leaving deaths feeling hollow.
Emotional Disconnect from Characters
When main characters like Robb Stark or supporting players like Missandei died, viewers had spent enough time with them to understand the impact. In this prequel, characters exist in a strange limbo where deaths are supposed to evoke emotion but instead leave viewers staring blankly. The writers have held the audience at arm's length, preventing them from loving and grieving these characters.
In the penultimate season, stakes grow with each episode, but the show's unwillingness to develop multifaceted characters has stagnated emotional weight. Game of Thrones forced viewers to become emotionally tethered to its vast cast, making deaths felt tenfold even when they deviated from the novels.
Future Deaths Likely to Disappoint
If House of the Dragon stays true to Martin's novels, the final two seasons will see more than a dozen characters perish. While the road may be thrilling, each fatality will likely let down book readers and show-only viewers alike. Unlike Game of Thrones, where deaths had significant narrative impact, this series has exiled itself from the needed emotional connection. It has doomed itself to become a pale imitation of its predecessor, whose emotional impact rocked modern television.
House of the Dragon airs on HBO and HBO Max on Sundays.
