Episode 8 of House of the Dragon received strong reactions from fans, including a touching sequence between Daemon and Viserys, which was not planned in the script! Warning, spoilers.
Warning, spoilers. It is advisable to have seen episode 8 of House of the Dragon before continuing to read this article.
The eighth episode of House of the Dragon has thrilled fans of the Game of Thrones prequel series for its high-flying family reunion. While the fate of Corlys Velaryon alias The Sea Serpent (Steve Toussaint) is uncertain, a successor to Lamarck must be chosen and the Hightowers oppose the appointment of Lucerys Velaryon, the son of Rhaenyra (Emma d’Arcy).
Members of the Targaryen, Hightower and Velaryon families first all shot each other in the paws to appoint Corlys’ successor to Lamarck before laying low for the well-being of King Viserys (Paddy Considine). The latter, near death, used his last strength to sit on the Iron Throne and support his daughter.
And it was during this long moving but also bloody scene that a rather tender sequence between Viserys and his brother Daemon (Matt Smith) made a lot of talk. As he struggles to gain access to the Throne, the King drops his crown. Daemon comes to his aid, picks up the crown and puts it back on his head. Fans loved that moment, and yet that scene shouldn’t have existed as it was.
A moving improvised sequence!
Indeed, this scene was not planned in the scenario. Director Geeta Patel explained to Entertainment Weekly that it was an accident during rehearsals and that actor Matt Smith improvised his gesture:
“When we were shooting that scene – I think it was the first day of rehearsals – the crown fell off Paddy’s head and Matt picked it up and we kept going. We didn’t stop. [le tournage]. It was a suspended moment. So the three of us got together and they were like, ‘We felt this moment, this evidence. It was a turning point in our relationship.”
HBO
The emotion was such that they decided to shoot this scene including this improvisation and the director was very happy with this change:
“I was so grateful that the accident happened, that the crown fell because it turned out to be, at least for me, a pretty strong moment. It’s a turning point in their history since the episode pilot where Daemon resented the crown of Viserys and there he’s more like, ‘I’m going to put the crown back on your head and I’m going to help you ascend the throne’.”
And the director did well to keep this moment since this passage is often quoted by the fans since the broadcast of the episode. The emotional impact of this sequence is all the stronger since at the end of episode 8, King Viserys dies. And his death will be a major turning point for the sequel to House of the Dragon, as the teaser for episode 9 hints.
PODCAST – House of the Dragon: incest, marriage and change of actors … we take stock of the Game of Thrones spin-off mid-season:
House of the Dragon is available on OCS.