House of the Dragon | Battle of the Gullet REACTION

[00:06] Oh man, his beach road is going to save

[00:09] his ass.

[00:12] Oh, nice. That is awesome. Get yourself

[00:15] a wife whose dragon will save your

[00:17] dragon like this.

[00:19] >> What do you weigh in that armor?

[00:24] >> Oh, she promised him she would do that.

[00:27] >> Oh, all the Lannisters are going down.

[00:31] >> The Rains of Castamere.

[00:33] >> No, no, no.

[00:34] Wrong ships, wrong ships.

[00:36] >> Oh, damn.

[00:38] >> [laughter]

[00:39] >> [ __ ]

[00:43] It's the Sheep Stealer's fault. Oh, it

[00:45] got him in the lung. Oh, no, no, no.

[00:48] >> Jace.

[00:49] >> Oh, she knows what she did.

[00:55] Oh, it's so sad.

[01:02] What a great episode. Holy [ __ ]

[01:07] Woo, I'm Eric Voss of the New Rockstars

[01:09] channel and this is a reaction to House

[01:11] of the Dragon the season 3 premiere. In

[01:13] this video, I'm just going to give my

[01:14] quick snapshot and review of this

[01:16] episode and an explanation of how the

[01:17] Battle of the Gullet plays out

[01:18] differently in this show than it did in

[01:20] George R.R. Martin's text. Tomorrow on

[01:22] this channel will be our in-depth

[01:23] scene-by-scene breakdown and analysis of

[01:25] this episode. Any spoilers in the book

[01:27] as to the future of these characters

[01:29] will be in the spoiler dungeon, so don't

[01:30] worry. And if you haven't seen the

[01:32] episode, why did you watch this?

[01:33] Spoilers for this episode to follow.

[01:35] Please stop watching if you haven't seen

[01:37] the episode yet on HBO. Okay, let's

[01:38] recap this episode. In the season 3

[01:40] premiere, Rhaena, sister to Baela and

[01:42] daughter to Daemon, ends up bonding,

[01:44] sort of, with the wild dragon Sheep

[01:46] Stealer in the Vale. And ailing King

[01:48] Aegon the Second has fled King's Landing

[01:50] with Lord Larys Strong, worried that the

[01:51] King Regent Aemond One-Eye will kill his

[01:54] sick brother. They They getting captured

[01:55] by soldiers from House Staunton from

[01:57] Rook's Rest, sworn to Rhaenyra and the

[01:59] Blacks. Rhaenyra meanwhile still

[02:00] encouraged by Alicent's promise to

[02:02] surrender King's Landing without

[02:03] bloodshed and Rhaenyra plans to move in.

[02:05] Daemon finishes off Lannister troops

[02:06] with Oscar Tully's forces in the

[02:08] Riverlands. I assume this is the Battle

[02:09] of the Red Fork because it ends with

[02:11] Jason Lannister, Tyland's twin brother,

[02:14] dead at the hands of the Winter Wolves

[02:15] from the North sent by Cregan Stark.

[02:17] 2,000 old men who do not plan to return

[02:19] because they want to leave the resources

[02:21] for their sons, wives, and grandkids for

[02:23] the winter to come. They're led by

[02:25] Rodrik Dustin. Now, while Jason

[02:26] Lannister dies in the Battle of the Red

[02:28] Fork in the text, Daemon Targaryen was

[02:29] not present for that nor were the Winter

[02:31] Wolves. That happens elsewhere. Another

[02:33] difference from the text, the three

[02:34] Dragonseed recruits, Hugh Hammer on

[02:36] Vermithor, Ulf the White on Silverwing,

[02:38] and Adam of Hull on Seasmoke are not on

[02:40] Dragonstone like they are in the book

[02:41] and ready to join the Battle of the

[02:42] Gullet like they do in the text. They

[02:44] have been sidelined here in this episode

[02:46] by the Gods' Eye lake and Harrenhal

[02:48] waiting for Aemond and Vhagar. But, the

[02:49] Harrenhal woods which Alice Rivers

[02:51] returns this season taking her goat form

[02:53] and spooking the three of them. While

[02:55] Ser Criston Cole and Larys Hightower are

[02:57] left exposed in their march toward

[02:58] Harrenhal, Alicent sends a letter that

[03:00] Aemond and Vhagar will come support her

[03:02] other relative, Ormund Hightower, in the

[03:04] host that he leads from Oldtown with

[03:06] Alicent's youngest son, Daeron, and his

[03:07] blue dragon, Tessarion. James Norton's a

[03:10] pretty big name and he chews the scenery

[03:12] as this germaphobe snob, but out of

[03:14] focus for most of the scene is his

[03:15] green-dressed squire with bright red

[03:17] hair. And in the text, Ormund's squire

[03:19] is Daeron. So, I think this kid is meant

[03:21] to be Daeron, son of Alicent, but he

[03:23] really doesn't get any speaking lines in

[03:24] this instead tells Aemond to fly Vhagar

[03:28] to Harrenhal to draw Daemon out, warning

[03:29] her son that Rhaenyra will come to

[03:31] King's Landing with her dragon sooner or

[03:32] later. This is a significant change from

[03:34] the book where it's implied that Aemond

[03:35] just decides to fly to Harrenhal without

[03:37] any mention of his mother's counsel.

[03:39] But, also probably the biggest change

[03:41] that's going to be controversial with

[03:42] viewers. He leans in for a kiss from his

[03:44] mom and she lets it happen. This [ __ ]

[03:47] family. Baela on Moondancer returns to

[03:49] Dragonstone to report the arrival of the

[03:51] Triarchy fleet in the Gullet. Rhaenyra

[03:53] plans to fly out Syrax to aid Corlys's

[03:55] fleet, but her son Jace orders Ser

[03:57] Lorent of the Queen's Guard to barricade

[03:59] Rhaenyra in her chambers. In the book,

[04:01] this does not happen. Rhaenyra decides

[04:03] just not to go to the Gullet and sends

[04:04] five others in her place, including all

[04:06] the other dragon riders who are at

[04:08] Dragonstone at that time, including Jace

[04:09] on Vermax, Hugh, Ulf, and Adam on their

[04:11] dragons, and Nettles on Sheepstealer.

[04:14] This is after Nettles has actually spent

[04:15] a lot of time working with Sheepstealer.

[04:17] Sheepstealer's not the chaos monster

[04:19] that it is in this episode. Meanwhile,

[04:20] Baela on Moondancer is elsewhere. But,

[04:22] the show rearranges things to sideline

[04:24] the three dragonseed recruits and

[04:25] instead pair Jace on Vermax with his

[04:27] betrothed Baela on her dragon

[04:29] Moondancer. And since Nettles was just

[04:31] removed from the show, they give

[04:32] Sheepstealer to Rhaena and have this

[04:33] untamed dragon act unpredictably in the

[04:35] Battle of the Gullet. The Battle of the

[04:37] Gullet is a remarkable achievement of

[04:39] filmmaking. I think the most impressive

[04:41] naval battle I've ever seen on

[04:42] television and the best looking battle

[04:44] we've seen in any Game of Thrones title

[04:46] since Hardhome. Yeah, I'm putting this

[04:47] one above the Battle of the Bastards,

[04:49] maybe just cuz I'm a navy brat. The

[04:50] basic setup and results of the battle go

[04:52] down mostly as they do in the text. 90

[04:54] warships from the Triarchy, the combined

[04:56] forces of Lys, Tyrosh, and Myr,

[04:57] represented by the banner of the Three

[04:59] Daughters, led by Sharako Lohar, played

[05:01] by the unhinged and very entertaining

[05:03] Abigail Thorn in this episode, facing

[05:05] off against the naval wits of the Sea

[05:07] Snake, Corlys Velaryon. But, this

[05:08] 25-minute battle in this episode gives

[05:10] us way more context to the personalities

[05:12] of the two commanders. How Sharako

[05:14] rejects the more sensible strategy

[05:16] suggested by Tyland Lannister to avoid

[05:18] direct conflict with the Sea Snake and

[05:19] the Velaryon fleet, and she chooses to

[05:21] engage the Sea Snake head-on out of

[05:22] bloodlust and vengeance for what Corlys,

[05:24] with Daemon, has done to the Triarchy

[05:26] fleet in the past. And she chooses to

[05:28] raid High Tide on Driftmark to cut to

[05:30] Corlys's heart. But, Corlys, knowing

[05:32] that the smaller Triarchy ships are much

[05:33] faster, wisely leads Sharako's flagship,

[05:36] the [ __ ] Fist, amazing name, on a chase

[05:38] through the Dragonstone pass, a narrow

[05:41] channel that only he knows the exact

[05:43] course through, including the exact

[05:44] arrangement of the rocks, the exact

[05:46] depth and tidal rhythm, and precise

[05:49] weight of his ship and crew and cargo.

[05:50] It is awesome to see how good he is at

[05:52] this. In fact, he eventually takes the

[05:54] helm and it's one of the coolest

[05:55] displays of nautical wisdom and

[05:57] experience I've ever seen. It's kind of

[05:59] like Maverick in Top Gun: Maverick

[06:01] showing the young bucks that the mission

[06:03] can be done. And watching it, I felt

[06:05] like Warlock doing that fist pump meme.

[06:06] But as the tide goes out on the [ __ ]

[06:08] fist, we see how Shirako has some skills

[06:10] of her own doing what Corlys is not

[06:12] willing to do, sacrifice her own men to

[06:14] lighten the load. She warned Tyland

[06:16] Lannister that his heavy armor would end

[06:18] up sinking him in the drink, and she

[06:19] personally delivers on that promise. So,

[06:21] doing this, she's able to escape the

[06:22] channel with even fewer forces in order

[06:25] to engage Corlys and Allen of Hull. June

[06:27] is Men's Mental Health Awareness Month.

[06:29] Father's Day is coming up, and that can

[06:30] invite a lot of overwhelming feelings.

[06:32] Positive ones like pride, love, and

[06:34] gratitude, but also negative ones like

[06:36] guilt or feeling like you're not doing

[06:38] enough. That can be a lot to deal with

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[06:54] while it's definitely good to try to

[06:56] avoid mistakes, when one happens, your

[06:58] energy is better spent on fixing

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[07:03] first place. Having somebody who's with

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[07:36] go through anything alone. BetterHelp is

[07:38] here with you. We intercut with this

[07:40] with an amazing aerial feeder of this

[07:42] battle. And here I really love the

[07:44] adaptation change to limit the Dragon

[07:45] Riders to Jace Vermithor and Jace's

[07:47] betrayer Baela on Moondancer and Baela's

[07:50] sister Rhaena on a weapon of mass

[07:51] destruction that she cannot control. We

[07:53] go from seeing future Targaryen spouses

[07:55] in this healthy non-incestuous coupling.

[07:57] Their dragons gracefully saving each

[07:59] other to snap the scorpion-fired

[08:01] grappnel chain to free the other to the

[08:03] voice-breaking screams of Rhaena begging

[08:05] Sheepstealer to obey as this confused

[08:07] wild dragon torches both Triarchy ships

[08:10] and her grandfather Corlys's beloved

[08:12] fleet and then just starts clawing at

[08:14] her own sister. The whole episode

[08:16] smartly sets up Rhaena's shaky bonding

[08:18] with Sheepstealer so that when she

[08:19] eventually flies the dragon across the

[08:21] Blackwater, it's kind of like watching

[08:22] Lois in Mad Men get on that lawnmower.

[08:24] If you know, you know. But with Rhaena

[08:26] on Sheepstealer and Aemond shouting

[08:28] Vhagar, no when Luke and Arrax were

[08:30] killed over Storm's End, this show

[08:31] definitely wants to convey how these

[08:33] Valyrian blooded humans are not

[08:35] magically in control of their dragons.

[08:37] The [ __ ] fist rams the Sea Snake Corlys

[08:40] and Sharako engage in some intense messy

[08:42] swashbuckling, but as Corlys's mind is

[08:44] distracted on all of its goofy pirate

[08:46] treasures and high tide burning up,

[08:48] Addam of Hull has to step up to command

[08:49] the defense and ultimately defeat

[08:51] Sharako in the blood-soaked, shattered,

[08:53] flooded hull of his father's ship. This

[08:55] episode leaves Corlys's fate a mystery,

[08:57] but no ambiguity for Jace. Thanks to

[08:59] some distractions from Sheepstealer,

[09:01] another scorpion-fired grappnel hooks

[09:04] Vermithor and brings the dragon down.

[09:06] Jace frees himself and seems okay for a

[09:08] second when he grabs some driftwood, but

[09:10] nope. Myroshi archers bring him down

[09:12] with arrows. This is exactly Jace's fate

[09:15] in the book. Though there is some debate

[09:16] over how exactly Vermithor went down,

[09:18] whether it was a grappnel hook or

[09:19] whether he crashed into the rigging of a

[09:21] ship and just got tangled before it

[09:22] died. But seeing Jace get plugged with

[09:25] arrows is especially reminiscent of the

[09:26] way Catelyn Stark had watch her son Robb

[09:28] die in the Red Wedding. This hits

[09:30] arguably just as hard. This episode

[09:32] gives a conclusive ending to Sharako

[09:34] Lohar and the text the Triarchy fleet

[09:35] breaks rank when five of the Blacks'

[09:37] dragons show up and open a fireworks

[09:39] display over the Gullet. In the retreat,

[09:40] only 28 of the 90 Triarchy ships return,

[09:43] and 25 of those were from Leas, leading

[09:46] the widows of Tyrosh and Myr to accuse

[09:48] Ser Addam Velaryon of sparing his own

[09:49] men and ships and letting the others

[09:51] die, leading to the War of the Daughters

[09:53] among the Free Cities. Another big

[09:54] change in the text is the involvement of

[09:56] Rhaenyra's youngest two sons, her sons

[09:58] with Daemon, Aegon the Younger and

[10:00] Viserys. Remember in season 2, we saw

[10:02] them and Aegon's little dragon

[10:03] Stormcloud and four dragon eggs leaving

[10:06] the Vale for Pentos? They were headed

[10:07] toward a ship called the Gay Abandon.

[10:09] Rhaena was supposed to accompany them,

[10:11] but she took off like a horse girl after

[10:12] Sheepstealer. In the book, the Gay

[10:14] Abandon's running with the Triarchy

[10:15] fleet is actually the prelude to the

[10:17] Battle of the Gullet with major

[10:18] consequences to what's to follow. But

[10:20] this episode makes no mention of the Gay

[10:22] Abandon and the two younger princes.

[10:23] Maybe future episodes will, I don't

[10:25] know, I haven't seen them yet. So let's

[10:26] end here in spoiler dungeon. If you

[10:28] don't really want to know what happens

[10:29] after this in the text, you can stop

[10:31] watching now. So in the text, we know

[10:33] that the Gay Abandon gets stopped by a

[10:35] Tyroshi ship that's part of the Triarchy

[10:37] fleet. Nine-year-old Aegon the Younger

[10:38] barely escapes clinging to a small

[10:40] dragon Stormcloud and barely makes it

[10:42] back to Dragonstone. And according to

[10:43] Mushroom, the poor kid has wet himself,

[10:45] and this Targaryen kid will never fly a

[10:47] dragon again in his life. Meanwhile, his

[10:49] younger brother, young Viserys, only has

[10:51] a dragon egg and becomes a captive,

[10:52] though will eventually reunite with his

[10:54] family after several interesting years

[10:56] in the Free Cities. Still, Rhaenyra

[10:57] thinks she lost two sons in this battle,

[11:00] but it seems like in the show she's

[11:01] going to think she just lost one, a son

[11:03] she did not listen to, a son who locked

[11:05] her in a room to take her place in this

[11:06] battle. So we'll see how the HBO series

[11:08] explains the fates of Aegon the Younger

[11:10] and Viserys and why the show gave them

[11:12] four eggs in that season 2 episode. I'm

[11:14] thinking maybe it's one for Viserys and

[11:16] then three others sold off in Pentos

[11:18] that could later be given as a wedding

[11:19] gift to Daenerys. So if you've read the

[11:21] text, you know that Corlys does survive

[11:23] the battle, but losing Driftmark, his

[11:25] home, and Spicetown, Spicetown that will

[11:28] never be rebuilt after it's raided and

[11:30] pillaged, it's going to lead him to not

[11:32] celebrate this survival and lament,

[11:33] "Quote, if this be victory, I pray I

[11:36] never win another." But while the three

[11:38] Dragonseed recruits were sidelined from

[11:39] the Gullet, this premiere episode does

[11:41] have them complaining about them being

[11:43] knighted instead of being given the lord

[11:45] status, something that will matter a lot

[11:47] when it comes to their shifting

[11:48] loyalties. Though I think the show may

[11:49] limit that motivation to just Ulf the

[11:51] White and rather give Hugh Hammer other

[11:53] reasons for flipping sides to the Greens

[11:55] related to his wife who has family in

[11:57] Tumbleton and will be there when that

[11:59] battle goes down. House of the Dragon is

[12:01] so [ __ ] back. This was the best

[12:03] episode of the series thus far. Now

[12:04] again, this is just my initial review

[12:06] and reaction and book comparison. My

[12:07] in-depth scene-by-scene breakdown is

[12:09] coming to the channel tomorrow. A

[12:10] special thanks to one of our In Our

[12:12] Underground subscribers, Tam, for

[12:14] supporting us at the executive producer

[12:15] level. You can get all of our exclusive

[12:17] bonus content by clicking the link in

[12:18] the description below or going to

[12:19] inourunderground.supercast.com.

[12:21] Big thanks to studio tech Brian Kim, New

[12:23] Rockstars editors Joshua Stephen Hurd

[12:24] and Abby Friel, and all of our

[12:25] supporting editors for their work on

[12:26] this video. It's especially hard to

[12:28] upload these videos the same night on

[12:29] Saturday night. So big thanks to Joshua

[12:31] for putting in the extra effort on this.

[12:32] [music] Follow me at @eaboss. Hit that

[12:34] subscribe button. Thanks for watching

[12:35] and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.

[12:39] >> [music]

[12:49] [music]