Editor's Note: The following contains major spoilers for Fire & Blood and potential spoilers for the future seasons of House of the Dragon.
The Big Picture
- In Fire & Blood, the Battle of the Gullet is a pivotal naval encounter with high dragon involvement, reflecting the horrors and costs of war.
- The Greens gain an early advantage but suffer when Rhaenyra's dragons come and burn the Triarchy fleet.
- The battle, while strategically significant, costs the life of one of the main players of the Dance of the Dragons and it raises questions about the true purpose and value of the war's sacrifices.
The Dance of the Dragons is known as a horrific tragedy, one that House of the Dragon has translated well to the small screen, but none encapsulates the war better than the Battle of the Gullet. The culmination of two long campaigns by each side, the battle is a huge naval confrontation, but also features more dragons than any other battlefield from the conflict. In the world of Westeros, romantic and horrific depictions of war are two sides of the same coin, and the Gullet is no exception. As epic as the dragon fights might be, the costs for both sides prove devastating, and one death in particular deals a political blow to the cause of the Blacks. Additionally, the fact that the Greens have already evacuated their leader with secret help makes it worth asking what the battle was even worth fighting for. After such high losses, however, that seems to be a question few on either side truly want to answer.
House of the Dragon
810
TV-MA
Fantasy
Drama
Action
Adventure
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
- Release Date
- August 21, 2022
- Creator
- Ryan J. Condal, George R.R. Martin
- Cast
- Paddy Considine , Olivia Cooke , Rhys Ifans , Matt Smith , Eve Best , Steve Toussaint , Emma D'Arcy , Milly Alco*ck , Emily Carey
- Seasons
- 4
- Distributor
- HBO
The Gullet is the Culmination of the Early War
While the timescale of the war is not clear in the show, Fire and Blood says that the Battle of the Gullet occurs nine months after the death of the late king. Already, we've seen how devastating it has been with Rook’s Rest, where the dragons had clashed for the first time. The naval battle for King’s Landing, however, serves as the final act in what initially seemed an unlikely campaign by the Blacks. Both navies have spent months assembling their forces, and whoever emerges victorious will be in prime position to claim the Iron Throne.
Aside from their dragons, the biggest advantage of the Blacks has been the navy of House Velaryon, which they use to blockade the capital by sea. In hopes of breaking it, the Greens instead seek a navy outside of Westeros in the form of Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn) and her pirates, who remain the only force possibly capable of combating the Velaryons. Since their dragons loom over the battle, Sharako orders a preemptive strike against the rival fleet while it remains anchored in the port of Spicetown, deeming it the only chance to destroy the Velaryons before the dragons arrive. There is, of course, also clear financial motives in striking there, as it remains one of the wealthiest places in Westeros due to years of adventuring by the Sea Snake.
From the other side, the Blacks have now assembled the most dragons of either side in the war, which seem impossible to counter. With Sunfyre crippled and Vhagar occupied, the only dragon the Greens could deploy in response would be Dreamfyre, but Helaena (Phia Saban) is far from an experienced rider. In the books, the Blacks have four dragonseeds, but it seems that the show has replaced the role of Nettles with Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell), who never rides a dragon in the books. With Daemon (Matt Smith) still on the march in the Riverlands and Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) unable to afford to risk her life in battle, it falls to her eldest son to lead the charge.
In the Gullet, Fortune Favors Both Sides
In the initial stage of the battle, things seem to go very well for the Greens. Since they use the sunlight to prevent detection from the shore, Lohar is able to catch the Velaryons completely off guard, sinking nearly a third of the fleet in port. Making landfall, they celebrate by sacking and burning Spicetown and High Tide, the seat from where Corlys (Steve Toussaint) himself reigns. The destruction is said to be so devastating that the Velaryons never regained their previous status, leaving them as only minor lords by the time of the original series, while Spicetown is never rebuilt.
All of this changes when the dragons finally arrive. As the heir, Jaecerys (Harry Collett) himself leads the charge and the fleet attempt to target his dragon, since Vermax is young and far from the most powerful, only for the other four riders to follow. For hours, they all burn the Braavosi fleet without mercy, destroying more than sixty of the one hundred ships. Needless to say, morale plummets among their sailors, forcing Lohar to eventually withdraw.
Before fleeing, however, the Greens do manage to inflict a devastating blow on the Blacks, perhaps surpassing even Rhaenys (Eve Best) as the worst death in their own ranks so far. During a dive attack against one of the ships, Jace’s dragon Vermax is pierced by a grappling hook, and his own momentum creates a large gash across its abdomen. While not fatal by itself, Vermax is sent crashing into the sea and soon collides with another ship in the chaos, leaving him to become entangled in the wreckage and sink to the sea floor as he dies. Although Jace manages to leap free and clings to the wooden debris, he is quickly struck and killed by a crossbow bolt to the throat.
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The Gullet Perfectly Reflects the Dance of the Dragons
Throughout House of the Dragon, the fear of mutually assured destruction has been a constant theme for both sides in this war. This has already been shown on a small scale with the Cargyll twins, but season three will take this to another level. Given how the conflict is now a total war, it makes perfect sense that the first major battle in that phase would serve as a warning. Ironically, those very same costs, especially the fear they might have been for nothing, are the exact reason they remain likely to go unheeded.
In terms of sheer numbers, the winner remains quite clear. Not only was the Triarchy shattered in the battle, never again playing a role in the Dance of the Dragons and later succumbing to a civil war of its own, but the road to King’s Landing became open. But, even putting aside the burning of Spicetown and the Velaryon fleet, the death of Jace is still a devastating blow to Rhaenyra, both politically and personally. No doubt, this will be even more brutal in the show, which has taken great pains to display him as a promising heir through scenes with his mother, making his inevitable death all the more tragic.
What makes the battle more hollow is that it is not even a permanent end to the war, as the escape of Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) already denies Rhaenyra a decisive political victory. Even if he had been executed, there is still Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) to contend with, and Vhagar remains by far the biggest threat to the dragonseeds. Like the war as a whole, it all raises the question of what both sides are even fighting for if they lose all they care about in the process. No one realizes this better than Corlys himself, who has already lost so much and summarizes the battle perfectly: “If this be victory, I pray I never win another.”
House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max in the US.
