House of the Dragon slammed for skipping “most important battle” from the books

House of the Dragon is getting flak from fans after it merely teased one of the most significant battles in Dance of the Dragons.

Season 2 Episode 3‘s namesake battle, ‘The Burning Mill’, is one House of the Dragon viewers had been waiting on for a while.

Ever since fans think they caught a glimpse of Benjicot Blackwood in the episode’s promo teaser (spoiler alert: it’s actually his father, Samwell), anticipation had been in the air for one hell of a fight.

But many have been left disappointed after the Battle of the Burning Mill formed only the opening moments of the new episode. What we see instead is the build-up to the fight, with the Blackwoods and Brackens having another classic feud, before it abruptly cuts to the bloody aftermath.

The Battle of the Burning Mill isn’t necessarily the biggest of the Targaryen Civil War, but it’s one of the most important for one simple reason: it was actually the first true battle between opposing armies.

Until then, the ongoing war had been mostly bloodless (if you exclude the Blood and Cheese incident), but the Battle of Burning Mill changed everything. As such, many viewers are vocalizing how they’ve been let down by the brief depiction of the event.

As one X user wrote: “One of the most important battles and its only 5 mins long.” Another shared the same thought, writing: “I hate that they didn’t show the actual battle just the end results.”

“A really bad and goofy scene of Rhaenyra going rogue to fulfill a fandom ship when we could’ve had this amazing canon battle instead,” said another.

“They named it after a battle we all waited for…and they didn’t even show it,” one user noted. “I’m sorry, but this was pathetic. Such a huge disappointment.”

One comment pointed out: “Not sure why they didn’t show this battle especially if you’re going to name the episode after it. Episode name should have been ‘Harrenhal’.”

The Battle of the Burning Mill all kicked off when two opposing houses (the Blackwoods and the Brackens) began a gruesome battle after territories were crossed. The Blackwoods supported Rhaenyra, while the Brackens supported Aegon II.

The casualties were devastating, with both Lord Samwell Blackwood and Ser Amos Bracken losing their lives.

Fear not, for there’s plenty more bloody battles to come. Make sure you keep an eye on the House of the Dragon release schedule for more. You can also check out our guides on Ulf the White and Alys Rivers, for some character histories.