For all its strengths, House of the Dragon season 2 was ultimately hobbled by the 2023 Hollywood strikes. Instead of a clearly intended 10-episode second season, HotD's sophomore run was trimmed to just 8 instalments, abruptly cutting the action short right before the climactic confrontation. Well, the good news is that House of the Dragon season 3's first four episodes – the sum total sent to press for review – waste no time in paying off that long wait; it's easily the most explosive start to a Westeros-set season to date.
The much-ballyhooed Battle of the Gullet ("arguably the craziest episode of TV ever made" among the many superlatives thrown around in recent interviews) is the gruelling centerpiece of the 65-minute season 3 premiere. A brutal, thrillingly staged battle at sea, it pits the Lord Corlys's armada against a fleet of revenge-fuelled Triarchy pirates, with dragons raining fire down from the skies for good measure. Like many of Thrones' famed battle episodes, it's an impressive marriage of spectacle and character, with some seriously huge ramifications for the future of the Team Green vs. Team Black civil war.
