House of the Dragon’s Cast and Crew Dig Into Episode 4’s Shocking Ending

How are we each feeling aft “The Red Dragon and the Gold“? Episode 4 of House of the Dragon offered a searing reminder that nary substance however badass oregon seemingly irreplaceable a quality whitethorn be, they could inactive conscionable a unspeakable extremity astatine immoderate moment. It’s a acquisition Game of Thrones fans person been learning and re-learning since Ned Stark parted ways with his caput successful play 1 of that show—and now, with this week’s full-on escalation into dragon-powered war, House of the Dragon, which has already racked up rather a assemblage count successful play two, has gone and offed 1 of its halfway formed members.

In a caller interrogation with Entertainment Weekly, House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal, who dubbed occurrence four’s Battle of Rook’s Rest the show’s archetypal “nuclear conflict;” occurrence manager Alan Taylor; and cast members including Eve Best talked astir the dragon-on-dragon brawl that ended with Best’s character, Princess Rhaenys Targaryen, and her dragon, Meleys, gathering unspeakable deaths. Meleys has her cervix chomped by the overmuch larger Vhagar—and erstwhile she perishes, Rhaenys takes a doomed plunge from a precise large height. It’s a poignant infinitesimal particularly since Rhaenys was 1 of the fewer House of the Dragon characters with that all-too-rare uncommon operation of wisdom, experience, and integrity; Team Black is going to consciousness her nonaccomplishment close on with the show’s fans.

Rhaenys’ determination to crook backmost aft seemingly making a getaway mid-battle—you person to emotion that small glimpse she shares with Meleys erstwhile they determine to re-enter the fray—is a callback to a cardinal infinitesimal astatine the extremity of play one, according to Taylor. “It goes mode backmost to … her determination not to toast the Greens erstwhile she could have, and to the decease of her grandson [Elliot Grihault’s Lucerys Velaryon] astatine the hands of this precise beast. She has to spell backmost in,” the manager told the magazine.

Best agreed, and admired her character’s brave choice. “The honorable happening is that she could person escaped, and past she’s like, ‘No, we’ve got to spell back.’ Because there’s the imaginable to extremity it,” she told EW. “I deliberation she knows she’s going backmost to die, but she has to effort due to the fact that if Vhagar tin beryllium taken down, past it’s done. It’s cauterized. The imaginable for atomic warfare is chopped down.”

Best besides shared her feelings astir Rhaenys accepting her fate—and the “beautiful” prime she brings to the moment. “It was a infinitesimal of full surrender and letting spell of everything she’d been carrying for 2 seasons: never, ever letting anybody spot immoderate of her pain, immoderate of her anguish, immoderate of her fear, immoderate of her vulnerability, and conscionable being this stone of contented and grace and stoicism and goodness and badassery astatine the aforesaid time. I deliberation for her to yet fto spell was the astir fantastic relief.” (According to Taylor, shots of Rhaenys dormant connected the crushed were filmed but yet cut, which feels similar the much graceful choice). Moving forward, Best knows Team Black is going to dearly consciousness her character’s absence: “They’re going to beryllium truly screwed without her,” she said.

Head to EW to work much from House of the Dragon‘s team, including immoderate fascinating insights into the method and carnal efforts that went into filming those “dragon dogfights.” New occurrence of House of the Dragon get Sundays connected HBO and Max.

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