Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is performing way better than most expected. Fans are loving the cast, the storyline, the scenery, and the dragons so far. However, just like its predecessor, House of The Dragon is not devoid of controversy. One of the most bone-chilling moments of the latest episode was also one of the most controversial choices the showrunners made. The moment when Princess Rhaenys breaks out of captivity along with her dragon, Meleys, and gives the Greens the death glare before flying to Rhaenyra caused a lot of fans to wonder, why not kill her enemies in the first place?
In a new behind-the-scenes video released earlier today, showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik explained the importance of that scene.
Sapochnik: We needed a penultimate scene, so we tried to come up with: What’s the worst thing that could possibly happen at the coronation? And realized that it was a dragon to be let loose.
Condal: Rhaenys, the Queen who never was, she’s a triumphant dragon rider. We wanted a triumphal moment for her at the end of the season.
Sapochnik: We really wanted to make sure that there was meat on her character. Rhaenys was not passive, and it felt like this was an incredibly valuable moment, rather than have her just bear witness to something, be able to take part in it. But her moral standpoint becomes the reason for inaction rather than action.
Condal: She knows if she set fire to that dais, she ends any possibility of war, and probably sets peace throughout the realm, but I think probably doesn’t want to be responsible for doing that to another mother. And it’s a complex choice, and one that people might dispute or have a problem with. But that’s the choice Rhaenys makes in that moment.
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