How House of the Dragon Mirrored Its Two Vital Rhaenyra and Alicent Reunions

During a caller interrogation with IndieWire, House of the Dragon manager Geeta Vasant Patel discussed the tumultuous past of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s strained relationship. In her ain words, “I ever thought astir the metaphor for it arsenic 2 lovers that person been divorced and inactive emotion each other. Part of it is that they some privation to beryllium with each different successful a mode they can’t recognize and can’t explain–it’s similar archetypal love.”

As she confirms successful the article, the character’s shared chemistry has been largely  subtextual. “For example, archetypal season, I was told that the full Episode 8 was astir Rhaenyra and Alicent’s narration and however they miss each other. Okay, is that connected the leafage anywhere? No, not erstwhile is it connected the page. In fact, it’s astir the other the full mode through, they perpetually bicker. So I had to fig out, with Katie [Goldschmidt, House of the Dragon cinematographer], however to marque it palpable that they miss each other. There’s definite ways, done cinematic devices, framing, structure, transitions, we moved scenes.

Patel reveals she took ocular inspiration from cloak and dagger spy movies to convey Rhaenyra and Alicent’s archetypal surreptitious gathering earlier this season.

“In Episode 3, Rhaenyra sneaks into King’s Landing to speech to Alicent. On the leafage it was astir 3 lines. Ryan [Condal, House of the Dragon showrunner] came to maine and said, ‘Hey, I truly privation this to beryllium suspenseful. I don’t privation it to conscionable beryllium walking in, having a conversation.’ I had to beryllium down with Katie and the accumulation squad to fig retired how, successful the tiny clip we had, we could marque it much similar successful Mission: Impossible, wherever she’s trying to sneak in, there’s a adjacent miss–all of the things that Ryan wanted, we conscionable had to fig retired visually however to pump it each up and springiness him choices successful edit,” Patel said. “So what was 3 lines connected the leafage was an full time of shooting, wherever you had Emma and Olivia adjacent missing each other. One’s up connected the stairs, one’s behind. It was this expansive structure. A movie that truly inspired maine for that moment, was The Conversation, wherever there’s a big, wide overhead changeable of the courtyard and you spot this full happening playing out, and it conscionable gives it scope.”

In this way, Patel made definite everything was cleanable to bespeak the aforesaid successful the character’s tense 2nd gathering successful the play finale. “We were perpetually looking astatine the 2 of them. You cognize erstwhile you get your hairsbreadth chopped and they marque definite some sides match ? It’s benignant of similar that. We kept weighing some of them and conscionable making definite that the displacement was beardown and that determination was a mirroring, determination was a origin and effect. All the strengths of storytelling were determination betwixt the 2 scenes, and past Ryan and Sara [Hess, enforcement shaper and writer] were perpetually tweaking small moments, either successful letting maine cognize what they were feeling for behaviour oregon blocking, oregon having conversations with the actors,” Patel said.

“A batch of attraction was enactment connected those 2 scenes, knowing that they were tentpoles for the play successful a mode of that relationship. Those are the 2 times you spot the 2 of them together… Katie and I sat down and blocked everything Episode 3 to lucifer what Greg Yaitanes did successful Season 1 erstwhile they were young women. We added immoderate flourish for the country itself successful Episode 3 to marque it chiseled successful different ways, with immoderate of the wide shots. We of people leaned into the weapon moment, which was thing they didn’t person erstwhile they were kids, truthful determination were a fewer things that were different, but yes, we wanted to marque it astir similar deja vu.”

Patel besides praised Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke’s choices arsenic performers to convey the unspoken anguish betwixt them, reflecting connected some Mily Alcock and Emily Carey’s roles successful play 1 arsenic the younger Rhaenyra and Alicent.

“I deliberation what was truthful beauteous astir this country is it’s relatable to each of america successful that erstwhile you spot idiosyncratic that you person had a precise agelong narration with and a fraught narration with, similar a sister oregon member oregon a lover, and that narration started erstwhile you were younger–when you spot them, you instantly revert to immoderate property that was, and you’re allowed to beryllium childish. Even if you’re President of the United States, you are instantly a 15-year-old. The mode that the 2 of them portrayed that prime gave distant the astir emotionally,” Patel added.

“You saw Rhaenyra’s look contort successful a mode that we don’t usually see. The was making these faces and these gestures and saying things that were rather juvenile. Alicent was incredibly emotional, but besides became the kid she utilized to be. It was specified a large prime that Olivia spot her nails. We each cognize that prime hadn’t travel retired successful a agelong time, and I deliberation it was a prime connected her portion not to wound her nails done galore episodes of the play successful bid to marque definite that erstwhile she did, it was a clip erstwhile she perfectly had to spell backmost and was feeling similar a child.”

Possibly successful portion to past year’s writer’s strike, the accumulation limb of House of Dragon were near to parse overmuch of the series’ framing and quality details to themselves alternatively than immoderate further alterations to the delivered scripts–a dilemma that, arsenic seen successful the past, doesn’t ever pb to subtle and restrained choices. Patel, however, understood the assignment. “I felt a large consciousness of responsibility. I felt rather honored to beryllium capable to those 2 scenes. I felt a work to Emma and Olivia, Ryan and Sara, who had entrusted maine to shepherd the shooting of it, and took it precise seriously.” 

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