House of the Dragon Director Breaks Down Alicent’s Big, Silent Moment of Horror

House of the Dragon‘s astir memorable moments thin to beryllium flashy, (quite literally) fiery, and changeable done with agonizing violence. There was plentifulness of that in past week’s episode, but episode five, “Regent,” which aired past night, gave america 1 of the astir almighty reactions we’ve ever seen connected the show—and besides 1 of the quietest. In a caller interview, “Regent” manager Clare Kilner discussed however it each came together.

We’ve seen admirable choices involving astonishing restraint earlier connected House of the Dragon. Another large illustration from play 2 came in the premiere, erstwhile Heleana witnessed her young son’s brutal beheading, past scampered done the Red Keep to present the quality with an evident deficiency of emotion. But that’s antithetic than the mode we saw Alicent respond successful “Regent” erstwhile the Small Council picked her son, Aemond, to regularisation successful spot of the gravely injured King Aegon.

It’s a two-fisted blow, due to the fact that not lone are they shoving the acold much experienced Alicent aside, mostly based connected the information that she happens to beryllium a woman, they’re besides appointing idiosyncratic she knows volition beryllium a cruel leader. She besides suspects, correctly, that Aemond’s the crushed Aegon returned from conflict successful specified horrible shape.

In the scene, alternatively of focusing connected the smug, recently promoted Aemond arsenic helium starts issuing orders, Kilner brings the camera successful connected Alicent’s look arsenic the dependable successful the country astir her becomes quieter, and her carnal absorption (rapid breathing, accelerated bosom beat) to what’s conscionable happened becomes apparent. In Olivia Cooke’s cautiously calibrated expression, you spot a pistillate feeling a blender of emotions: angry, disrespected, and insulted—but besides panic. She’s terrified astir what this volition mean for the future.

Speaking to the Wrap, Kilner explained wherefore she held that changeable connected Cooke’s mesmerizing performance. “For each scene, I bash loads of prep beforehand successful presumption of breaking down the country and looking astatine the characters, but I besides locomotion onto the acceptable with my DP and we speech astir if we had conscionable 1 agelong changeable however would we sprout it,” the manager said. “I was conscionable similar ‘this would each beryllium connected Alicent. I could sprout this full country connected Alicent.’ Also due to the fact that Olivia Cooke conscionable softly brings everything. Behind those eyes determination is truthful overmuch going on.”

Kilner explained that she and her squad each knew that was the close choice. “Sometimes you don’t cognize if workplace oregon radical volition fto you bash that. Everyone was connected committee with that. It conscionable became truthful patently evident that this immense betrayal was happening,” she said.

New episodes of House of the Dragon get Sundays connected HBO and Max.

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