House of the Dragon viewers say a surprise death is giving Game of Thrones season 8 vibes

House of the Dragon episode 3 featured a surprise death – and fans have been left disappointed by the "underwhelming" decision to kill a character off-screen.

Spoilers for House of the Dragon follow. If you haven’t seen the latest episode, look away now.

Over in the Stepstones, Daemon had been waging a years-long war against the Crabfeeder. Backed by Corlys Vaelaryon, his brother Vaemond, his son Laenor, and Laenor’s dragon Seasmoke, the alliance eventually prevails in grisly fashion, with Daemon dragging Crabfeeder’s corpse across the beach after a fake surrender.

For many, who had perhaps assumed Crabfeeder was being set up as a major villain in the series, the off-screen demise wasn’t a particularly satisfying end for the character.

"Crabfeeder had a death lamer than the Night King," said one viewer in reference to the leader of the White Walkers who perished in swift fashion thanks to Arya Stark’s Valyrian dagger in Game of Thrones’ final season.

"They set up an interesting character with #Crabfeeder and he gets tiny parts of three episodes and an offscreen death. Weird decision," wrote one on Twitter. Another commented, "Disappointed with ‘The Crabfeeder’ death. His presentation so far had been nothing short of stellar and his design was unique and terrifying."

"I wish we had more Crabfeeder & Daemon scenes," remarked one fan, though another hailed an “amazing episode” despite being "disappointed" by Crabfeeder’s fate. 

Others have pointed to the time skip making a rod for The House of the Dragon’s back. "To me at least, that makes the whole thing and the moment where Daemon finally kills Crabfeeder feel a bit... underwhelming," one said. "Like 'Wow, it's over already?'" Some were more scathing, saying the battle was "as ludicrous,  lacking any thought toward military strategy, as anything from Season 8 of #GameOfThrones."

Don't miss out on the next episode with the House of the Dragon release schedule. Then, dive into the key branches of Westeros' most formidable dynasty with our guide to the Targaryen family tree.