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We all knew that Jacaerys’s death was going to happen on House of the Dragon Season 3. It had to, considering the book storyline.
Well, of course, House of the Dragon has changed the Fire & Blood* storyline here and there. We’ve seen characters survive when they weren’t supposed to, and some characters haven’t even been included in the tale. Yet, there are big moments that simply can’t be changed.
The problem with Jace’s death is that the way the TV show wrote it, it’s something that could have been avoided completely. And it undermines everything.
Jace Should Have Died to Protect His Brothers
In Fire & Blood, Jacaerys’s death has a lot more meaning. He flies into the Gullet to protect his younger half-brothers, who were supposed to be on their way to Pentos.
This could have been included in House of the Dragon Season 3’s premiere*. We knew that Aegon and Viserys were on their way to Pentos, and so, we could have seen them on a ship in the Gullet.
Other elements of the story have changed, such as the fate of Lohar, which did affect the brothers’ storyline, but there were still ways to include the brothers on a ship for Jace to attempt to save.
I’ve already explained how the change to this storyline affects so much more afterward. I don’t need to go into it again.
Jace Knew the Mistakes of Flying Too Low on House of the Dragon
The problem is that House of the Dragon quickly made it clear that there was a risk of flying low. Jace had already been caught in that trap, with Baela having to save him on Moondancer.
Jace should have learned from that. They both remained high enough in the sky after that moment until Rhaena came in with Sheepstealer.
As Sheepstealer went after Moondancer, Jace decided to fly Vermax after them. Of course, he wanted to protect his betrothed, and they both believed that the Greens suddenly had a dragon. Sheepstealer was attacking the Blacks at that point, after all.
However, as Sheepstealer went low, Jace shouldn’t have followed. He could have remained high and attempted to protect Baela from that angle. Baela could have flown up as well.
Of course, they’re in the middle of a battle. They’re running on adrenaline, and it’s not easy to think clearly in all that. It’s not like Baela and Jace were all that experienced in riding in battle.
It’s just a shame, because it could have all been avoided with a little bit of thought.
I’m sure plenty of people are going to blame Rhaena, and she is the one to blame. She shouldn’t have flown into that battle without any experience and with such an untrained dragon. But it’s not hard to see that Jace has to take some blame for his untimely death.
House of the Dragon Season 3* airs on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max.
