The House Of The Dragon episode from last night included some hot and heavy situations. Beware of spoilers.
Of course, there was plenty of sexual filth to select from in the original Game of Thrones series, and there was even more graphic and occasionally unsettling content in George R.R. Martin’s novels.
However, the sequence in last night’s episode of The King Of The Narrow Sea was, to put it mildly, surprising and frightening.
I won’t go into great depth at this time. If you want more spoilers, see my recap/review of the programme. The Targaryens are, it needs to be said, even more incestuous than the Lannisters, and in this instance, Daemon and Rhaenyra, two of the show’s best characters, have taken up the cause rather than two (at first) repugnant characters like Cersei and Jaime.
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Young Rhaenyra’s Milly Alcock revealed to The New York Post that although the sequence may have been surprising, filming it wasn’t particularly awkward—at least not between her and co-star Matt Smith (Daemon).
“No, surprisingly. I was simply kind of friends with [Matt Smith]. As a result, Alcock told the post, “It was fairly comfy. We worked with the intimacy coordinator throughout the rehearsal phase and blocked it out months in advance.
Alcock is 22 and Smith is 39, but the scene was surprising in part because of how young Rhaenyra appears to be at this point in the show’s rather hazy timeline (she’s closer to 18 or 19 at this point).
It appears that neither of the performers had visited the pleasure house set where this scene was placed before it was being filmed.
Our director, Claire Kilner, made sure that we didn’t view any of the brothel-related material until we were actually filming, according to Alcock. So, that was our first time into the brothel, and he was escorting her past the room filled with other dead people. That was therefore extremely shocking. You think, “This is kind of strange and silly.
The word “silly” doesn’t really come to mind when viewing the episode, but it’s a humorous look into the performers’ daily lives on set. It must be really odd to film around a group of naked extras, regardless of the editing and cinematography magic that went into this sequence.
Alcock told the site, “There were extras that we had just met who were like, 69-ing for 12 hours. It is quite rough. Because everyone else was in their underwear, we felt rather out of place.
Although it’s “complex,” Alcock claims that she believes Daemon is generally beneficial for Rhaenyra. That may be the case, but it sure seems like an understatement!
Alcock continues, “I fought with [her love for Criston] the whole time, throughout the performance, with her illicit encounters with attractive Kingsguard knight Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). She wants to be seen, and the only people who truly notice her are Daemon and Criston Cole, in my opinion. They both had distinct perspectives on her. Rhaenyra has the upper hand with Cole and Daemon kind of has the upper hand, which slightly turns her on.
“I believe she sincerely cares for him. However, I don’t believe she would ultimately choose him over Daemon.
The remainder of the interview may be read here.
Except for perhaps the plethora of naked persons nearby, I found the scene to be shocking but not gratuitous. At this point, I’m more intrigued by Daemon’s intentions. Why do this in front of others? How does he play? Why not meet in secret if that’s what he wants? He must know that King Viserys (Paddy Considine) will find out about this.
It reminds me a lot of how perplexed I was by Daemon’s party after the queen and her little son died in the first episode of the series. Will Daemon accept punishment and exile? Is he purposefully hurting himself? It’s also interesting that, in a fit of rage, he turned around before continuing with his niece, leaving her all by herself in the brothel. Why? Maybe his love for Rhaenyra is stronger than whatever drives him?
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