Actress Emma D’Arcy of House of the Dragon claims that Matt Smith made an essential suggestion for the season 1 finale’s last scene. The Game of Thrones spin-off had a few significant deaths in the most recent episodes, with King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) passing in episode 8 sparking the subsequent civil war. In the King’s Landing-only ninth episode of House of the Dragon, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) plotted to replace Rhaenyra (D’Arcy) as the legitimate heir by installing her son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the Iron Throne.
Actress Emma D’Arcy of House of the Dragon claims that Matt Smith made an essential suggestion for the season 1 finale’s last scene. The Game of Thrones spin-off had a few significant deaths in the most recent episodes, with King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) passing in episode 8 sparking the subsequent civil war. In the King’s Landing-only ninth episode of House of the Dragon, Alicent (Olivia Cooke) plotted to replace Rhaenyra (D’Arcy) as the legitimate heir by installing her son Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the Iron Throne.
D’Arcy reveals some intriguing details about the production of that sequence while discussing the expression on Rhaenyra’s face in the House of the Dragon season 1 finale after learning of Lucerys’ passing with The Face. Rhaneyra’s anger will act as an “engine” for the second season, D’Arcy said in response to the question. Here is what they had to say:
“I totally think so. I have to say, just because I just think it’s [a mark] of genius: it was Matt Smith who suggested that Rhaenyra received the news on the walk away from camera. As soon as he said that when we were doing an onset rehearsal, I suddenly could see it. But that really sincere attempt towards maturity, complexity and holding all of these moving parts together – her attempt to be the glue just falls away. There is nothing left to bridge those many factions anymore.”
What Will Happen to Rhaenyra in Season 2 of House of the Dragon?
Rhaenyra has placed utmost importance on maintaining peace in the Seven Kingdoms, mostly as a result of her faith in the prophecy that her father entrusted to her, Aegon the Conqueror’s dream from The Song of Ice and Fire. D’Arcy’s remark suggests that Rhaenyra will have a different personality in House of the Dragon season 2 as she forgoes the mature calmness she showed in the season 1 conclusion in favor of righteous wrath. Although she doesn’t say it in the episode, the Rhaenyra in George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood holds Alicent and her people responsible for the deaths of both her son and her unborn child.
The Dance of the Dragons will officially start in Season 2 of House of the Dragon, with Rhaenyra finding a personal reason for bloodshed in her desire to avenge Lucerys’ death, which she will probably perceive as a murder. Before the end of season 2, viewers might witness the new queen make some genuinely stunning judgments as she begins to rely more on her instincts and less on the composure and reasoning that first served as her guides. Given the revisions House of the Dragon has made to the novel’s events, some pivotal scenes in Rhaenyra’s plot arc could not go as Fire & Blood readers anticipate.