It’s heartbreakingly tragic to think that if Aemond and Luke somehow worked around their issue in Storm’s End, the Dance of Dragons and all the mind-numbing tragedies that followed it would never have happened. House of the Dragon showrunner is here to explain why they changed that crucial scene from the book, and whether it redeems Aemond One-Eye in any meaningful way.
The fact that the skirmish took place and resulted in a terrible loss for the Targaryens is one thing, and how Rhaenyra deals with it is a completely different matter. Emma D’Arcy says that it pushes the “goalposts for grief,” so expect your Black Queen to unleash a fury the likes of which Westeros has never seen before when the show returns for a second season.
‘House’ will be smaller than ‘Game of Thrones’ in scale, but these are the seasons they wish to copy
Since House of the Dragon mostly revolves around the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of Dragons, the other realms in the Seven Kingdoms lineup have little part to play besides supporting the opposing sides. What’s more, the prequel series isn’t going to depict locations like the Wall, the lands beyond it, or even the continent of Essos. In short, House is definitely smaller in scale compared to the original series, but according to Ryan Condal, the team is aiming to imitate the middle Game of Thrones seasons. From what we remember, especially in terms of objective quality, that’s certainly a positive sign.
This is what was going on inside Aemond’s brain in that devastating little scuffle
Was Aemond really to blame for losing control of Vhagar and accidentally committing an act of kinslaying? The answer to that question depends almost entirely on who you ask, but if that person was showrunner Ryan Condal, he’d say that the Targaryen prince certainly shares a degree of responsibility. But then, it should be noted that Aemond didn’t intend to “launch nukes right out of the gate and go for an all-out dragon war.” The executive producer breaks down the character’s mentality in full during a recent interview, which you can check out here.
Rhaenyra really, really needs a hug right now, but even that wouldn’t quench her fury
All bets are off when it comes to what the Black Queen will do next. Having lost a brother, a mother, and lately her father, Rhaenyra has been through a lot, but what drives her over the edge is apparently the death of one of her sons, Lucerys Velaryon. Emma D’Arcy recently explained her character’s mentality by saying that what she goes through “moves the goalposts for suffering.”
“Once you’ve lost both your parents and you’ve lost a lover, maybe you think you know grief,” D’Arcy explains. “And then I think what’s so awful is that losing Luke tells us she knows nothing about grief and completely changes her outlook on the world going forward.”
Brace yourselves, Greens. The true heir to the Iron Throne is coming for her crown.
