House Of The Dragon Season 3 Premiere Recap: [Spoiler] Dies As The Battle Of The Gullet Begins

The battle we've all been waiting for begins in the Season 3 premiere of "House of the Dragon," and as Episode 1 comes to a close, the corpse of at least one member of #TeamGreen sinks to the bottom of the Narrow Sea.

But before that, we've got an MIA king, a locked-up queen, a rogue dragon, a really unfortunate kiss, and so much more! Even if you joined in for our liveblog of the premiere, read on for the highlights of Episode 1. (Then make sure to check out my interview with tonight's big fatality here.)

Our first peek into the new season is a shot of the wild dragon, Sheepstealer, living up to its name. Rhaena Targaryen stands nearby, then approaches slowly. "Calm," she says in High Valyrian, touching the beast's side. Sheepstealer lowers its body so she can climb up; in disbelief, she does. She's barely on as it begins to gallop and then leaps into the air, with the girl screaming and holding on for dear life.

In King's Landing, Aemond has become aware that his brother, Aegon, is no longer in the castle. The one-eyed prince nearly beheads Grand Maester Orwyle in frustration before he learns that Larys is gone, as well. And when we catch up with the unlikely duo, they're still in the back of the raven cart on the road outta town.

As usual, Aegon is being a whiny jerk. As usual, Larys is constantly sizing up their situation — as he does when the cart is stopped and they're questioned. Larys claims they're just simple men "in service of the Citadel," but the guard before them says they have to kneel and swear fealty to Rhaenrya — denouncing the "usurper," aka Aegon — in order to pass. Of course, Aegon refuses in the most douchey way possible, and he's about to be killed when Larys suddenly blurts out the truth: that the disfigured man before them is the king. He even hands over the crown as evidence to back their claim. And when the guard wants to kill them and collect the bounty, Larys sweet-talks the man into bringing them to Dragonstone (via Duskendale), because they're worth more as living hostages.

Speaking of Dragonstone: Jacaerys can't believe it when Rhaenyra tells him about Alicent's visit the night before and the plot they've hatched. "It's a trap, Mother, to lure you and Daemon into Vhagar's jaws," Jace protests. But she's resolute that she'll be able to "take Aegon and the throne in a single stroke." When the queen briefs her small council, they're just as incredulous as Jace was, and warn her not to trust Alicent, but Rhaenyra doesn't care: She plans to fly to King's Landing in two days' time, because the Greens already know: "Their defeat is written."

Back in the Red Keep, Alicent is summoned to the throne room for an audience with the king, and that's when she learns that Aegon is eyy-gone, and Aemond has assumed rule. He has no intention now to leave the city (which, as you'll recall, was a key part of Alicent's bloodless-coup plan); he reassures her that the support of the Triarchy fleet, as well as the foot soldiers in the field, means they've basically already won. "We only need to bide our time," he says smugly, and she's all "Cool cool cool tight tight tight" as she dies inside.

About those forces in the field: They're led by Ser Criston Cole, who is still in a near-catatonic state after Rook's Rest. Ser Gwayne happens to witness the aftermath of a Green soldier sexually assaulting a local girl in the camp, but when he brings the matter to Cole, Ser Criston declines to do anything about it, because "we're all beasts." Gwayne is disgusted. "Only if we abandon our principles," he shoots back.

Elsewhere, Daemon and the Rivermen best the Lannister forces, who retreat — but not before Jason Lannister is beheaded by Ser Roderick Dustin (played by new cast member Tommy Flanagan, "Sons of Anarchy"). And the three dragonseeds — Ulf, Hugh, and Addam — twiddle their thumbs as they wait for Daemon to return to Harrenhal. But they're freaked out when they glimpse a man with antlers in the woods nearby, and then Alys appears and announces that they're missing the battle at Dragonstone, which is enough to send them skedaddling.

At the Red Keep, Alicent works feverishly to come up with a new plan. Helaena helpfully observes that despite what he says, Aemond is frightened. "He knows that if he has to face Rhaenyra's dragons, he'll die," she offers. The dowager queen pens a note and has it brought to her cousin, Lord Ormund Hightower, who is leading the Hightower men marching toward the city. When he receives it, we see that he's played by James Norton ("The Nevers"), and that Alicent has made it seem as though Aemond sent the missive. It orders Ormund and his troops to stay put; Hightower assumes Aegon is dead, but doesn't care much either way.

The next part of Alicent's frantic tapdance involves blowing smoke up Aemond's royal keister so he'll be more amenable to her suggestions. "You should've been king," she purrs, lamenting that he wasn't born first. Then she wonders if maybe he should go to Harrenhal because it's safer, and of course, Rhaenyra is going to come for him eventually.

He maintains that he's not scared, so she tries a different tack: If he flies to Harrenhal and kills Daemon, "you'll be unassailable," she whispers, buttering him up like a biscuit with mentions of his bravery and insinuations that she loves him more than she does Aegon. The whole thing is getting a little... close — and then he leans down and kisses HIS MOTHER on the lips. Should I be surprised? No. Am I squicked? Yes. And apparently, so is Alicent. ("HER FACE!," I write in my notes. God bless Olivia Cooke.) She plasters on a smile a split second before Aemond pulls back to look at her; he doesn't seem to notice anything's amiss. "I shall hold a feast there in your honor," he murmurs, apparently on board with the Harrenhal resolution.

And then? It's on. Baela brings word to Rhaenyra at Dragonstone that war is underway in The Gullet. (In case you're not well-versed in the geography of Westeros, The Gullet is the channel that leads from Blackwater Bay — which is right outside of King's Landing — out to the Narrow Sea.) The Black queen immediately runs to change into her riding leathers... and that's when Jace orders Ser Lorent to lock his mother in her room. "Come with me," he exhorts Baela, who looks mightily uneasy at this turn of events but ultimately does as her boyfriend says.

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra loses her damn mind over the betrayal by her son and her queensguard. As Mysaria and a handmaid watch, the queen takes a dagger to one of her garments, sobbing that she has the "weak and feeble body of a woman, but I possess the heart and spirit of a king."

I feel for you, queen, but we're going to leave you there, because this cruise just set sail. On to The Gullet!

Corlys is finally having The Talk with Addam — y'know, the one where he apologizes for abandoning him and Alan their entire lives and not giving them his name — when Triarchy ships are spotted nearby. Sharako Lohar is their commander (he/him pronouns, remember?), and Corlys' plan is to lure him away from the main fight so that Baela and Jace (with the help of Moondancer and Vermax) can take out the Triarchy's fleet. But Lohar is crafty, and he manages to land a giant, weighted spear on Vermax. The dragon is unable to fly away, and starts heading for the water, but Baela swoops in and clips the rope, freeing him.

As expected, Lohar's ship follows Corlys into a very tricky, extremely rocky passage that's barely passable at this low point in the tide. But Corlys is sure he can get his vessel through safely, and though they barely make it, he does. Behind them, Lohar's boat starts to get stuck on the craggy rocks just below the water's surface; the crew dumps anything of significant weight overboard, and when Tyland Lannister annoys Lohar, he has him tossed into the ocean, as well. Though it's an even tighter job than Corlys did, Lohar's ship also eventually makes it through and guns for Corlys, who's instructed Allan to bring them back to the main fight. Lohar's craft catches up, and he and his men board the ship Corlys and Alyn are on.

Chaos and blood reigns. Eventually, Lohar and Corlys fight hand-to-hand. He's just about to behead Corlys with a scimitar (I think?) when the boat breaks in half, tossing Corlys into the water somewhere. Allyn sees it all and rushes to fight Lohar, who is a very tough adversary. In the end, Alyn is able to thrust a knife into Lohar's torso and slash; the Lysene sailor goes down for good.

Meanwhile, Rhaena and Sheepstealer sweep into the action, the dragon skimming its toes along the water like it's about to get a pedicure. And I have to give Rhaena credit: She's still on top of that thing, without the benefit of a saddle or riding leathers or anything other than the extreme fear of plummeting to her death. But when Rhaena orders the creature to "Dracarys!" the enemy, it just starts coughing up flames at any target it sees — including Rhaenyra's own forces. Rhaena screams for the dragon to stop, but it doesn't. Baela and Moondancer are soon on Rhaena's heels, thinking Sheepstealer is an enemy dragon. Of note: Rhaena realizes that her sister is following her, but Baela doesn't get a good look at Sheepstealer's rider.

Jace, however, figures it out, just in time to stop Vermax from flambeing Rhaena. At the same time, Rhaena realizes she just had a near-death encounter with Jace... and that his maneuvering out of the clash with her put him very close to a Triarchy ship, which launched another weighted spear into Vermax's scaly belly.

Vermax is dragged down and eventually crashes into the water. Jace, still in the saddle, orders his mystical companion to fly. But Vermax starts to sink toward the ocean floor, so Jace quickly unclips and makes for the surface. He's just come up for air when an arrow launched from the Triarchy ship behind him lands in his neck; two more follow in quick succession. Jace is dead.

Now it's your turn. What did you think of the premiere? Grade it via the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts!