Warning: SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3!

House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3 is complete of shocking surprises and callbacks to each the earlier season and Game of Thrones itself. Daemon Targaryen has left for the Riverlands soon after a no-holds-barred fight with his wife Rhaenyra, and his quest to take Harrenhall offers viewers a deep appear at his psyche even as it unlocks an significant piece of Westeros lore. Rhaenyra, meanwhile, confronts Alicent face-to-face for the initially time because her father’s death, and the resulting meeting has significant implications for each the secret her father Viserys shared with her and the inevitable war to come.

House of the Dragon‘s most recent episode was directed by Geeta Vasant Patel, who has previously helmed episodes of Under the Bridge, The Great, and Ahsoka, proving her emotional intelligence and extraordinary vision regardless of the genre in query. She currently took aspect in House of the Dragon, directing the important season 1 episode “The Lord of the Tides”, and her function on the show highlights the significance of the interpersonal relationships at the heart of the war among kin.

Related

When The House Of The Dragon Season 2 Finale Releases &amp How Many Episodes There Are

Following its premiere episode on June 16, the House of the Dragon season 2 finale will mark an epic occasion in the summer season 2024 Television slate.

Screen Rant interviewed Patel about her strategy to House of the Dragon season 2, episode 3. Patel revealed a lot of particulars about how the events of the most recent episode have an effect on Daemon, Rhaenyra, Alicent, and Baela. She also explained how reading the scripts for the season as a complete helped her lay the groundwork for moments that will spend off in a significant way down the line — in particular as she also directed the season 2 finale.

Harrenhal Reflects Daemon’s State Of Mind In House Of The Dragon Season 2

Screen Rant: You direct an episode early this season, and you also direct the finale of season 2. How substantially do you know of the finish when you happen to be operating on the starting? Do you get a significant image when you happen to be operating on moments, such as the introduction of Alys Rivers? Do you know exactly where that is going?

Geeta Vasant Patel: One of the factors I adore about operating on the show is the scripts are carried out just before we begin, so I was in a position to study the ending. I had all the episodes just before I began operating, and I personally never fully grasp why we never do that a lot more. I appreciate and respect HBO and Ryan Condal for pushing for that for the reason that, at the finish of the day, it really is a story.

The whole season to me is a film, and when we appear at film, we appear at the 3-act structure and the initially act and the third act need to have to mirror every single other. There demands to be a setup. The initially act has the setup, and the third act has the payoff — visually, overall performance-smart, and story-smart. A lot of occasions they say, “Write your ending before you write your beginning.” It’s so challenging to for me just have an episode and not know exactly where it really is going and what it really is setting up, even if it really is the middle of the season.

Everything was extremely intentional, and being aware of the finish pretty substantially influenced what we did as a group for episode 3, for the reason that there is a lot of setup in that episode that pays off all the way by way of the episodes that lead to [season 2, episode 8].

This episode is seriously the initially time that we get a appear at Harrenhal when it really is not in flames. What are the challenges of portraying Harrenhal and generating it really feel exceptional compared to the other castles we’ve noticed, as effectively as developing that haunting atmosphere?

Geeta Vasant Patel: It was surely a group work. Jim Clay is our production designer, and he was so fantastic at grounding the design and style of Harrenhal. None of us wanted the show to be fantasy that is not the tone of the show, so we’re usually generating certain that it is not as well unbelievable that it appears like a location that in fact does exist someplace. That’s Jim Clay, and that is the unique effects group with the dripping water and all of the rigs that we had in that set.

Then the visual effects group requires a step additional. We sat down and began pondering, “Okay, Daemon’s coming down the stairs. There’s a wall here, but in post, let’s open up that wall and make it a corridor. But let’s not make that wall open because we don’t want it to be too big.” It’s been a large function in progress all through the season, developing Harrenhal.

One issue also that was seriously significant was to make certain that Harrenhal was confusing and disorienting, so it would be big in areas and then tight in areas and go up and go down. That was a thing we have been continually checking ourselves on just that it was a metaphor for what was going on inside Daemon’s head. He was in a space he’d never ever been just before. I study the scene and believed, “There’s something really missing for me. I feel like there’s something more we can do with this scene that’s not on the page.” Matt [Smith] and I began speaking, and he felt the exact same way. “This is a great scene, but there’s something else. It’s not about Harrenhal.”

I ultimately woke up 1 morning and realized, “Wait a minute, it’s about Daemon’s relationship with Rhaenyra. It’s about Daemon and where he just came from.” This is not an isolated scene for the reason that, if it really is just him arriving in Harrenhal, you can place it anyplace at any time. But what is significant is that Daemon gave his heart to Rhaenyra. He married her when he’s not a marrying type of guy. He does not let anybody in, but he let her in. And she, in episode 2, pushed him away and told him he was dirt he was ugly. That hit him like a bullet, and he does not take bullets.

The way he processes discomfort is anger, so I went back by way of the scene with Catherine [Katie] Goldschmidt, who’s our brilliant cinematographer, and Jason Rickwood, our AD. We all type of sat down and went by way of line-by-line with this in my head. The initially issue is the dragon goes by way of the air, and we had a notion — but neglect that. Daemon is a guy who just broke up with his wife. She’s referred to as him each name you could consider of, and he’s drinking he’s angry. He desires to reduce somebody, or possibly he desires to reduce himself. He’s carried out. He’s wasted, and the dragon’s wasted, so we referred to as it the “Drunken Dragon” scene, and we worked with visual effects to generate the movement and the ambiance so that it feels like it is that type of evening. He’s drunk and driving by way of a storm.

And then when he’s in Harrenhal, it really is the exact same issue. Matt and I talked about how he just came from getting pushed away by the 1 particular person he let in. He’s embarrassed he’s hurt. He told himself he would never ever let himself really feel this once again. As he’s going by way of the hallways, it really is not about, “What’s going to come around the corner?” It’s, “I don’t know where I am anymore on the map. I don’t know who I am anymore. I hate myself. I hate my life. I hate that she did this to me. I want to kill her.” Just all this madness that we’ve all been by way of. And then there is a guy down the hallway, and it really is scripted that the guard sees him and then runs away. Matt did it, then he came up to me and goes, “I just want to beat the hell out of that guy.” And I stated, “Okay, I want you to.” He stated, “That’s me. That’s Daemon.” We did not have a lot of time as usual, so we did it the way it was scripted, but then we did it this way as effectively. And it wasn’t just, “Beat the guy up.” It was, “Feel everything you want to feel. Where you came from.” He just kept going, and that is what created the reduce in the finish.

Those are the factors I consider are the subsequent step when a script goes to the directors and actors. We know what the story is that the writers have entrusted us with, but what is fantastic about the show is they never create exposition. They create story, and they permit the actors and the directors to bring the exposition into the spaces. I loved that about season 1. In episode 8 [which I directed], you never ever see Alicent and Rhaenyra saying, “I miss you. I’m thinking of you right now.” We had to figure out a way to make that come about, and it really is seriously entertaining.

Milly Alcock’s Appearance Reveals This Significant Truth About Daemon &amp Rhaenyra’s Relationship

Daemon in fact sees Rhaenyra in this episode, but it really is Milly Alcock. Is the intentionality behind her look that this is when she looked up to him, rather than looked down on him?

Geeta Vasant Patel: You’re certainly correct. At least in my eyes, that is what it was. “That’s the Rhaenyra I know.” And in that dream, she appears at him — and the way we talked about it is she does not need to have to say something. We just worked on the appear the which means that comes from all the episodes just before she appears at him, and she cuts him. She says, “Hey, you killed a boy. You don’t do that.”

People have stated that to him all the way by way of. But when young Rhaenyra says it to him, it really is the initially time he feels it. It’s the initially time he processes his actions, although he’s been killing persons left and correct because the starting. This is the initially time we see him regret. We see him really feel. We in fact kept speaking, in among requires, about how this is a thing we’ve never ever noticed just before in Daemon.

There was a take exactly where Matt went in, and he just kept saying, “No, I need another take. I need another take.” He was seriously such a hardworking actor on this, and all of a sudden I saw his face break soon after Milly looked at him. I just saw his hands loosen, and I saw the tear in his eye. Then I had a tear in my eye for the reason that we each felt it. Even the crew got emotional at that moment. And it wasn’t about House of the Dragon, it was about generating a error that you deeply regret that hurt somebody else. It’s just that basic. That’s what I adore about operating on this show. I like to consider that it is a documentary with dragons. We usually attempt to make it really feel true like a thing we can relate to.

Aegon’s Dream Is About Rhaenyra &amp Alicent’s Egos More Than It Is About The Fate Of Westeros

Rhaenyra and Alicent reuniting onscreen is a large moment for the story. How did you and the actors strategy a moment with so substantially weight behind it? How do you reach the correct balance of dormant affection and active worry?

Geeta Vasant Patel: When the two females came with each other at the finish of this episode, we just felt like, “Wait a minute, this isn’t about stopping the war. This is about these two women and their relationship. This is about Rhaenyra’s relationship with her father.” And so, we stopped for a minute and walked by way of episode 8 from final season, which we had all worked with each other on.

In episode 8, these two females had been fighting, fighting, fighting, and then ultimately promised every single other that they would be close friends. And Alicent tells Rhaenyra, “You are the queen.” This is the initially time they are coming back about and seeing every single other face-to-face, and it is a reckoning for each of them. Alicent saw what she saw, and Rhaenyra feels betrayed by her sister.

The other issue that we realized was that, once again, Rhaenyra is not there to make a deal. Why is she seriously there? In my thoughts, and this is what Emma [D’Arcy] and I talked about, she’s there for the reason that her dad walked down that aisle in episode 8 and told her, “I love you, and I choose you.” He had not selected her just before no one had selected Rhaenyra. That was a significant moment for her, and now all the things that occurred is thrown away for the reason that apparently he stated, “No, no, I take that back. It’s not her. It’s this other guy.”

Rhaenyra was there to ask, “Did my father love me? Did he lie to me?” And that is what that moment’s about. That’s exactly where, in the scene, you are going to see that is exactly where Rhaenyra is most emotional. And that is exactly where I consider we did most of the function in that scene as a group.

The other issue about that scene that wasn’t clear to me till we began shooting how Rhaenyra came in to cease the war and confront Alicent to be like, “Hey, we can stop this.” Alicent’s like, “Okay, what are you going to give me? How are we going to compromise?” And Rhaenyra is like, “Well, no, I have nothing to compromise on.” You understand that there is going to be a war for the reason that neither of them is prepared to compromise. I consider there is a thing seriously profound that is taking place with Rhaenyra, for the reason that she is somebody who in the previous has compromised. But in this moment, I think — and this is me as a fan — there is an ego increasing in her.

When we shot the scene exactly where she says goodbye to her little ones earlier, and in order to connect the tissue of this ego increasing, Katie and I had this arcing shot at the pretty finish of that scene. You see Rhaenyra say goodbye to her little ones, and every person knows that moment of saying goodbye to somebody you adore, but then the camera arcs about, and the light adjustments. We had the sun setting, and you see a shift on her face exactly where all the things becomes strong and steel. There is an ego forming, and I consider that seriously assists create the finish of the episode exactly where you really feel the ego once again. Alicent is spinning from all the things she’s just heard, but her ego keeps her from saying, “Okay, you’re right. I’m wrong.” Instead, she’s just like, “No, I’m sticking to my guns,” so Rhaenyra’s galvanized to push the button.

How substantially value would you say really should be placed on Aegon’s dream right here? Are there larger implications for the season, and for the franchise as it expands, or is it a lot more about Rhaenyra as ruler vs. the present Aegon in the show?

Geeta Vasant Patel: In my opinion, it is a indicates to an finish. I consider in this season, it really is about characters’ fate. The factors that have occurred just before episode 3 have informed the trajectory from episode 3 to episode 8. It’s not Aegon’s dream that is motivating every person. It’s just accommodating their egos.

Despite Not Showing The Battle Of The Burning Mill, House Of The Dragon Highlights The Horrors Of War

This episode had the Battle of the Burning Mill, but it occurred mainly off-screen. Was that usually the case? Was that a story-driven, “let’s keep the powder dry for bigger battles” choice, or was that budgetary?

Geeta Vasant Patel: You’d have to ask HBO and Ryan. I in fact never ever asked that query, but it really is an exciting 1. I adore shooting action for the reason that I’ve worked in a war zone, so this is a thing that feels pretty familiar. I adore movement and choreography, so when I study the scene, I was like, “Nooo!” I could not think I did not get the action right here.

But then I study it once again, and I loved it. I felt the challenge of what I necessary to provide as director, and what we necessary as cinematographers, actors — everyone as a group. Because in that scene, you have two boys, and you never even know them. We’ve never ever introduced them in the show. They have a conversation, and then we reduce to every person dead. So, you have to in fact knowledge the battle that you did not get to see. It has to really feel like a thing you have seasoned just before.

So, I sat down with the two young actors, and we talked about the truth that this is a thing they in fact can really feel pretty conveniently if they bring it household. I told every single of them to consider of the particular person they adore the most and think about if the other [actor] brutally killed that particular person. We took a minute and straight away rehearsed the scene, and how they acted in that scene is quite substantially what you see at the opening of this episode. Because that is why wars go on that is sadly the “eye for an eye, and the whole world is dead” of it all. Anyone who says, “Why can’t they just stop fighting?” does not fully grasp the guts of these circumstances.

You stated this show is a documentary with Dragons to you, which tends to make me consider that your strategy to the realism of Under the Bridge should be related to your strategy in House of the Dragon. What is your North Star as a director to make certain that you happen to be genuine in the feelings brought forth?

Geeta Vasant Patel: When I began directing, I worked for a screenwriter who did production rewrites, so we worked on significant-price range films like The Fast and the Furious and Blue Crush. I’ve usually been somebody who’s independent-minded, and it was seriously fantastic for me for the reason that I understood Aristotle’s 3-act structure and why storytelling operates when somebody just sits down and is like, “Let me tell you a joke. Let me tell you a story.” That is a seriously difficult issue to do, and I consider operating in industrial storytelling permitted me to fully grasp the fundamentals.

Then I created a documentary [Meet The Patels] with my family members, specifically my brother who is a comedian. I had never ever worked with actors just before, but my brother, Ravi, is my North Star. He is a stunning actor, a stunning comedian, and what tends to make his function so stunning is that he improvises and finds it inside himself. He does not project overall performance, he finds it from inside. Working with him is how I knew I wanted to function with actors. There are miracles usually taking place.

What I bring to all the things I do, specifically in genre, is attempt to just break it down to true life. And the way I do it is a lot of improvisation. People say, “I don’t improvise,” but I never think it. It’s like when persons say, “I don’t dance.” Everybody can dance, just like they can improvise, for the reason that it really is just who you are. If they bring who they are to every single line, every single character, and every single story, that is their most effective function. People can argue with me on this, but I really feel that the greatest actors I’ve worked with, that is what they do.

House of the Dragon’s Holistic Approach To The Season Led To Minor But Important Changes for Baela

From a fan point of view, Rhaena is sent to the Vale with dragon eggs and even told to go to Pentos. Naturally, fans have currently speculated that we will see Daenerys’ dragon eggs in the series. Do you strategy scenes like that with Game of Thrones show callbacks in thoughts, if not the actual speculations themselves?

Geeta Vasant Patel: I am a fan, and so is Catherine Goldschmidt. We each have had these moments. We’ll be like, “Oh my God, it’s the eggs!” But it really is funny for the reason that, and we’re all fans in the crew, so it really is seriously a entertaining job for the reason that a bunch of fans are generating the show.

But then we’re quite substantially like, “I need to do my job, and it’s always about the story.” Then it really is just a matter of, “Do I really need to see the eggs? How long do I need to see them? What is this really about?” Because otherwise, we’re just going into this path exactly where we’re heavy on exposition. So, it really is a fleeting, excellent moment, and I pinch myself each time. I try to remember when I saw the eggs, I was like, “I can’t believe my dream came true, and I’m working on this show.” I wanted to function on the show for years and had worked pretty difficult to attempt to get even an interview on the show, so it really is not lost on me that I was provided this chance and now continue to function on it.

This episode is the closest and longest appear we’ve gotten at Baela and Moondancer and how they fly with each other. How substantially input did you have there?

Geeta Vasant Patel: Ryan is an extraordinary showrunner, and he seriously charges us with difficult the script and generating all the things as fantastic as he desires it to be. When I study the script, I usually send this extended list of my notes, and 1 of the most significant notes I had was, “I don’t understand why the scene is here with Baela chasing these guys down. I just don’t get it. If I take it out, everything’s still fine.” It bothered me, so then Ryan took it out, and I was like, “Whoa, I didn’t mean to take it out. I mean, let’s make it make sense.” It was seriously funny.

We sat down with the writers. It was myself, Katie, Jason Rickwood, and then the writer of the episode, David Hancock. We asked David, “What is this supposed to tell us? What is this supposed to be?” And we realized that it is there, but we just need to have to push it up. One of the factors that I felt pretty strongly about is that, in order to care about the scene, you have to care about Baela. And we’ve never ever recognized her we did not know who she was.

We necessary to introduce Baela right here, but as usual, we had to do it devoid of words. That’s what we do on this show we never do exposition, so the bar is pretty higher. I sat down with the actors who played Baela and Rhaena, and we did this improvisation exercising for a pretty extended time exactly where they each had to go back to who they have been as little ones. I pitched them the thought that Rhaena usually straight straight A’s but never ever got a dragon, when Baela has never ever carried out something correct and has usually been an iconoclast, and she got a dragon. That’s not fair.

Then they began developing their characters and how they have been as little ones, and we all began pitching suggestions to the writer. We began seriously crafting with the writers and the producers, and it was a excellent war space of all of us crafting the layers of Baela and Rhaena that we necessary to make them human and to have them every single have this pivotal dramatic discomfort in their childhood. I will not inform you what it is, but they each constructed it. When we got to Baela on that dragon, it wasn’t about, “I’m on a dragon, and I see these guys below.” It was about a lot more than that.

Ryan and the writers’ group seriously took it to heart as far as introducing Baela, and they went across the whole season adding one more layer of her just tiny finesses. And so did Bethany [Antonia], the actor who plays Baela we have been all operating with each other. She also began chiming in, “Well, this is what I think I would do here.”

The most significant issue we need to have to do for this scene to remain in the script is set up and spend off, so we created it a lot more clear that Rhaenyra says, “Go check this out, but don’t get close.” We attempted to drive that household, so when she gets close and breaks the guidelines, she’s Maverick. Then she reports back and says, “My God, you guys, I saw them. They’re going into the woods.” Rhaenyra’s like, “Wait a second. How’d you see them? And she goes, “Well, I just went in close.” We necessary that sentence to have a starting, middle, and finish there.

All these factors are just such a entertaining aspect of when the directors and actors come on, for the reason that these guys have slaving away to make all the magic, and then we come in and go, “But what about…?” And it really is actually all there, but you happen to be just attempting to lift it off the web page.

About House of the Dragon Season 2

Based on George R.R. Martin’s “Fire & Blood,” the series, set 200 years just before the events of “Game of Thrones,” tells the story of House Targaryen.

Check out our roundtable interviews with the cast and creators of House of the Dragon season 2 as effectively.

House of the Dragon

Cast

Fabien Frankel , Graham McTavish , Olivia Cooke , Gavin Spokes , Sonoya Mizuno , Steve Toussaint , Matt Smith , Matthew Needham , Rhys Ifans , Emma D’Arcy

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Seasons

1

Franchise

Game of Thrones

Filming Locations

Spain, England, Portugal, California

Production Company

Bastard Sword, Cross Plains Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO

Number of Episodes

10

Expand