‘House of the Dragon’ Star Reacts to [Spoiler]’s Death in Season 3 Premiere: ‘Hard to Act Dead’

Warning: Spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3, episode 1.

Poor Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) is down another son after the Battle of the Gullet.

During the Sunday, June 21, season 3 premiere of House of the Dragon, brooding Jacaerys Velaryon — played by Harry Collett — met his watery end along with his dragon, Vermax.

The action-packed first episode saw Jace and Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) come to the aid of Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) and his ship, the Queen Who Never Was (originally called the Sea Snake), after they were ambushed on the Gullet by a fleet of Triarchy pirates led by Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn).

Near the end of the episode, with Jace distracted by Rhaena Targaryen (Phoebe Campbell) and wayward dragon Sheepstealer joining the fray, the pirates speared the prince’s dragon using a ballista, bringing the beast down into the water. Just as it seemed Jace would survive — managing to free himself from his mount and come up for air — the prince was struck by no less than three arrows and died at sea.

In an interview with Variety on Sunday, Collett reacted to Jace’s final moments, which involved him having to play dead in the water.

“It was really hard to act dead — it’s actually one of the hardest acting I’ve ever done in my life,” he said. “It was really fun, but also really challenging trying to keep my eyes open in the water and staying afloat while also not getting any up my nose. Otherwise, I’d cough, and obviously I’m not dead if I cough. So that was quite challenging.”

Collett, 22, first joined House of the Dragon in the latter half of season 1 as Rhaenyra’s eldest son and heir apparent to the disputed Iron Throne.

The British actor said he always knew his character would only appear in the show for two seasons, but his time on set was extended when the Battle of the Gullet was moved from the end of season 2 to the beginning of season 3.

“I knew my fate already and was taking the days as they come and enjoying myself and just being grateful to be on this show in the first place,” he said. “When I read season 2, normally [showrunner] Ryan [Condal] calls you to tell you what is gonna happen this season. I didn’t get a call, and I was like, ‘Is he just waiting until like we get to the script read?’ But, no, it got skipped in season 2, which I’m very grateful for. It’s great that it gets to be the first episode that people see for this season.”

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Jace’s death follows the slaying of his younger brother, Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), who was also killed alongside his dragon, Arrax, at the end of season 1.

For those keeping score, that means Rhaenyra is now down to just three children, her young sons — Joffrey, Aegon III and Viserys II — with husband/uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).

House of the Dragon season 3 airs Sundays on HBO and is available to stream on HBO Max.