House of the Dragon Season 3 will likely begin with a major battle from Fire & Blood (the book that the show is based on).

House of the Dragon Season 2 covered a lot of ground from its source material, beginning with the death of King Aegon II Targaryen’s son, Jaehaerys II, and ending with Rhaenyra and Daemon reunited and Aegon leaving King’s Landing.

Since Season 2 ended on a major cliffhanger, with the threat of all-out staring nearly every character in the face, many fans want to know exactly how Season 3 will begin.

How Will Season 3 of House of the Dragon Begin?

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It is impossible to tell exactly what the start of House of the Dragon Season 3 will look like, but when diving into George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, viewers can get a pretty good idea of what to expect.

Aegon Targaryen and Larys Strong leaving King’s Landing at the end of Season 2 was a monumental sequence that was very telling in regard to the near future.

In Fire & Blood, Aegon and Larys leave the city just before Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen fly their dragons, Syrax and Caraxes, to King’s Landing and sack the city, resulting in Rhaenyra finally sitting on the Iron Throne.

This event, which is formally referred to in Westerosi history as The Fall of King’s Landing, will most likely happen quite early in Season 3.

However, there is another major event that occurs in Fire & Blood that takes place even before The Fall of King’s Landing, and that is the Battle of the Gullet.

In the book, the Battle of the Gullet is the first real test that Rhaenyra’s new dragonriders (Hugh Hammer, Ulf the White, and Addam of Hull) have to face.

After learning that the Triarchy has sided with the Greens and is sending ships into the Gullet, which is also where the Gay Abandon is (the ship that carries Rhaenyra’s sons, Aegon III and Viserys II), members of team Black take their dragons and head to the fleet of ships.

In the book, this battle happens before the Fall of King’s Landing, so it will likely occur very early in Season 3, potentially even in the first episode.

What Happens in the Battle of the Gullet?

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Led by Jacaerys Velaryon, the dragonriders don’t make it in time to save Viserys II from being captured by the Triarchy. In the book, Aegon III is old enough to escape and fly away on his own dragon, but seeing as how he is so little in the show, he may get captured as well.

When attacking the Triarchy fleet, it is unknown exactly what happens to Jacaerys’ dragon, Vermax, but it, along with Jacaerys, crashes into the water and is killed.

Jacaerys tries to escape, but he is also killed when he is shot with arrows from a crossbow.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that Jacaerys dies and one of Rhaenyra’s other sons is captured, the Battle of the Gullet also results in the Triarchy attacking Driftmark, which is the home of Corlys Velaryon.

Because of this, the Velaryon fleet loses a third of its ships, Spicetown is completely destroyed by fire, and all of Corlys’ treasures are burned.

So, at the very least, the Battle of the Gullet is a major defeat for team Black despite Rhaenyra’s new dragonriders and their upgrade in dragonpower.

[ Here’s Why House of the Dragon Season 2 Episodes 9 & 10 Were Cancelled ]