House of the Dragon season 3 premiere unleashes 5 deaths — here’s how they compare to the books

Back again, are we? HBO's House of the Dragon has officially rolled into its third season, and if you were expecting a gentle catch-up, you’re clearly watching the wrong series. Episode 1 starts exactly where we left off: factions bristling, swords unsheathed, and a fair few characters not making it to the end credits. This one mostly zeroes in on the epic Battle of the Gullet—a much-hyped sea scrap between House Velaryon and the notorious Triarchy. And being House of the Dragon, you can count on dragons causing utter chaos and some mainstays winding up extremely dead. If you’re still clutching onto your favourite characters… brace yourself. Here’s who meets their maker, and how it all shakes out compared to George R.R. Martin’s original Fire & Blood.

The Big Death Toll: Episode 1 Casualties

• Jason Lannister
• Tyland Lannister
• Sharako Lohar
• Vermax (the dragon)
• Jacaerys Velaryon

Jason Lannister: Didn’t See That Coming (Because It’s Off-Screen)

Last we caught up with Jason Lannister, he was swaggering round with a crew of Westermen, rampaging into the Riverlands to stamp out Daemon Targaryen. It all goes completely sideways: by the start of the season opener, Daemon’s side has cleaned up at the Battle of the Red Fork. Jason himself? He’s not so much killed on-camera as delivered in bits—specifically, his head lands at Daemon’s feet, courtesy of Roddy the Ruin and his Northmen, who've charged in declaring they’re here to die for the dragon queen. The script snatches this line straight from Fire & Blood. Not one for subtlety, this lot.

Book version? Jason still dies at the Red Fork, but the method’s less theatrical and a bit more on-brand for a blood-soaked medieval fantasy: a knackered old squire called Pate the Longleaf wounds him, after which Jason just kind of… expires. As far as the show is concerned, Pate doesn’t exist.

Tyland Lannister: Heavier Than He Looks

Now, Tyland (played by Jefferson Hall) was last seen swapping pleasantries in Essos, wrangling with Admiral Sharako Lohar about helping break the blockade of King’s Landing. Thing is, Lohar holds a grudge the size of the Narrow Sea against Corlys Velaryon—ancient rivalries and all that. At the Gullet, Lohar chases Corlys through a tight strait, ignoring Tyland’s increasingly desperate warnings about, well, everything.

The twist: Tyland is in full plate armour aboard a warship. You don’t need a sea captain’s badge to know that’s a terrible idea. With the vessel listing, Lohar’s had enough. She warns Tyland, 'What do you weigh in that armour?' and before he can clock what she’s on about, she shoves him overboard. Heavy armour plus deep water—it’s not looking good. Unless House of the Dragon goes full resurrection plot, I’m calling this: Tyland’s dead.

In the books, he sticks around much longer: nowhere near the Battle of the Gullet, not dead in the first act, and actually survives to serve as Hand of the King to Rhaenyra’s son, dying years later of Winter Fever. The show’s gone rogue with this one.

Sharako Lohar: Admiral with a Vengeance

Having sacrificed her own passenger earlier, Lohar squeezes her ship through the strait and then uses it as a literal battering ram, splitting Corlys’s ship in two. Cue bloody boarding action. Corlys falls overboard but his son Alyn (Abubakar Salim, for those keeping score) steps in. Lohar and Alyn go at it while the ship’s sinking beneath them—end result, Alyn stabs Lohar, and down she goes, dead on her own flooded deck.

Book purists: Sharako Lohar’s show storyline is wildly off-script. In Fire & Blood, Lohar survives the Gullet and returns to Essos, eventually getting murdered later on (the details are murky—possibly for romance reasons, possibly for politics). On TV, Lohar is basically a mash-up with another book character, Racallio Ryndoon, who doesn’t meet his end at this battle either.

Vermax: Down with the Ship

Rhaenyra’s son Jace (played by Harry Collett) rides his dragon Vermax into the heart of battle, but Lohar’s got anti-dragon tech: ship-mounted ballistas throwing immense chains at the poor beast. They hit Vermax early doors, but Baela and her dragon Moondancer try to save the day by snapping the chain. Doesn’t work out, does it? Vermax is struck a second time, the anchors do their job, and he’s dragged helplessly underwater until he drowns. Classic Targaryen tragedy.

The books get cagey about Vermax’s demise—a bolt through the eye or possibly wounded and snared with a grappling chain, either way he spirals into a burning ship, then sinks for good. Show and page are basically in sync on this one, and either way, it doesn't end well for the dragon.

Jacaerys Velaryon: Sunk and Shot

With Vermax done for, Jace unclips his harness and floats up, finding some driftwood to hang onto. His celebration doesn’t last—Triarchy crossbowmen spot him bobbing about and finish him off with a couple of bolts.

If you’re a stickler for textual detail: In the book, Jace leaps free before Vermax hits the drink, and is finished when a crossbow shaft goes straight through his neck. The main bits are the same—he tries to survive but gets picked off. Of the many deaths in this episode, this one is almost word-for-word from the source.