Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the Season 3 premiere of House of the Dragon, now streaming on HBO Max.
During early discussions about how to complete the long-awaited Battle of Garrett scene that opens season 3 of House of the Dragon, director Roni Peristaire (who previously directed season 2’s “The Red Sower” episode and is a self-proclaimed biggest “fanboy” of George R.R. Martin’s work) recalled saying one important thing to cinematographer P.J. Dillon:
Pellister saw the historic painting “The Battle of Trafalgar,” which depicts Lord Nelson fighting a “savage” battle surrounded by bodies underwater, and the London screening of director Peter Weir’s 2003 epic “Master and Commander,” which fueled the core creative team’s enthusiasm and ultimately determined the crew’s approach to capturing the “vibrant life of the ship.”
The Battle of Garret (originally cut from Season 2 due to budget constraints) has finally arrived, depicting an epic naval battle between the Black Army led by Rhaenyra (Emma Darcy) and the King’s Landing loyalist Green Army led by Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney). This sequence required building a full-size version of Corey (Steve Torsan) and Lohar’s (Abigail Thorne) ship so that it could be used in both dry and wet tanks, requiring thousands of gallons of water, additional equipment, and, of course, numerous CGI dragon battles that required mechanical costs.
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With the help of Naval Advisor Craig Lambert, the House of the Dragon crew drew references from real ship mechanics to build both ships (Queen Who Never Was and Bitch Fist). That effort was primarily led by production designer Jim Clay and line producer Kevin de la Noy.
“Even though we were surrounded by blue screens, there was a strong desire from all of us to have everything on deck. Whether it was land, sea or air, we wanted everything on deck to be legitimate, real and present,” says Pellister. “So when you’re with[the dragon]Shrykos, she gives the command, ‘Get on board!'” It’s like we’re with her, making continuous cuts in tiny seamless stitches that you can’t even see. ”
That mindset applies to director Pelister and his actors, saying, “We rehearsed all of this with real naval personnel who were on deck, so everyone in the background was doing the right thing.”
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The episode had to be meticulously planned by everyone, including the crew directing the movement of the water cannons, to stay “on time,” Pellister said. He also created a 186-page Wikipedia-style document with information for each department head based on the level of blood and wind needed at a given moment.
“Even though we have a decent budget, we’re not a $300 million movie, so everything we had to do had to be done on the day. We’re not Marvel,” he says. “If I didn’t get my shot the next day, it didn’t work out because we were on a very tight schedule.”
Beyond the episode’s huge set-pieces, director Pellister recognized the need to center the human drama and characters, especially since there was a two-year gap between seasons two and three. “We taped a ship’s deck to the inside of the stage and started, ‘Let’s rehearse with just the cast. Let’s talk about the drama.'”
One of the most shocking moments in the episode is when Rhaenyra’s eldest son Jace (Harry Collett) is killed underwater by an arrow from a rival ship (Collett told Variety why this scene was so difficult to film). Colette was intentional about how she played Jace’s final moments underwater and the death of his dragon Vermax.
“Even as the arrows fly, Jace says, ‘I am a god, a dragonrider. And when he stands up and takes a breath, even though he is grieving the loss of his dragon, he never once thought he would die. Baela will come for him,” says Peristea. “Harry really leaned into it, God bless him, because we put him through the wringer.”
By following the episode from its beginning on a foggy morning, viewers can get a complete picture of the day and “feel the change in the sun” as the death toll settles. “When we get to the finale and all is lost, we wanted that sense of separation: Driftmark is gone, the ship is lost, there’s a corpse in the world, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” Peristaire says. “It’s just hell on earth. You look at the last two frames of the episode and you’re like, ‘Wow, we just had the biggest epic battle of all time. It sucks! I feel terrible!'”
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The Battle of Garrett opens this season with literal fire. Ms. Rainira will have to deal with not only the death of yet another child, but also that same child’s decision to betray her and lock her in a room.
“Rhaenyra is sidelined, she can’t be king, she can’t sit on the Iron Throne, and even her family is confined to her court. We literally watch Emma Darcy become queen and become king,” says Peristea. “And she swings that knife, and that’s the natural progression. That knife penetrates the whole hierarchy and we can feel it coming. That brings us to episode two, which Claire[Kilner]directed brilliantly, and to be honest, it’s the beginning of something that canonically gets a little crazy.”
