House of the Dragon became an overnight success for HBO. The new series is a prequel to its previous hit, Game of Thrones, and centers on House Targaryen.
Heading the clan at the start of the season was King Viserys (Paddy Considine). Still, by the season’s close, his daughter, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, was now expected to rule over Westeros in his stead.
His wife, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), had different ideas after a miscommunication and declared their son, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), the supreme ruler.
Season 2 will now focus on this battle for the Iron Throne as two sides of the Targaryen family battle each other.
When Season 1 began, Rhaenyra was portrayed by Milly Alcock, but as the series progressed and time marched on, Emma D’Arcy then took over as the older version of the princess.
And, for Emma D’Arcy, it was a nerve-wracking experience to take over the role in Episode 6.
Emma D’Arcy was ‘anxious’ taking over as Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon
Recently, Emma D’Arcy spoke to The Guardian regarding their role as Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
During the interview, the actor revealed just how scary it was to take over the role from Milly Alcock, who had portrayed the character for five episodes and had established a fanbase as her among viewers of House House of the Dragon.
“It is a weird thing,” Emma stated.
“We shared custody of this person. As we got closer to episode six I was quite anxious; people had just lost actors they’d spent five hours with and connected to.”
Of course, the celebrity had nothing to worry about as fans quickly fell in love with the aged-up version of Rhaenyra.
Emma D’Arcy addresses Daemon as a ‘problematic character’
Emma also addressed Rhaenyra’s love affair and marriage to her uncle, Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).
In House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, it is common for Targaryens to marry within their family, so it was no surprise the new series would contain this storyline. However, Emma reveals that while everyone seems to be thirsting for Daemon, he is a very “problematic character.”
“I think he is a deeply problematic character,” Emma said. “Getting to see Rhaenyra being groomed as a child by her uncle confirms it and refuses to allow an audience to wholly ignore the problematic nature of their relationship.”
And while fans may love Daemon, Emma hopes the TV show continues to explore just how troublesome his character is.
“Within cinema, there is a long history of creating love interests out of problematic – particularly male – characters. What’s interesting in House of the Dragon is that it utilizes that same trope. You know, like audiences have responded to Matt playing Daemon as this ‘very sexy, masculine love interest’, but simultaneously, I hope that the show is continually acknowledging the problematic nature of it all.”
HBO has not yet set a release date for Season 2 of House of the Dragon.