As everyone was starting to get over the atrocious Game of Thrones finale, HBO wasn’t done giving us adaptations of George R.R. Martin’s works. There came the idea of a prequel, a prequel that would tell the story of the infamous house that ruled over the Seven Kingdoms before Robert Baratheon and Ned Stark’s rebellion. The house whose people are closer to gods than men. The house that tamed the greatest power the world has seen- dragons. The house our Mother of Dragons – Daenerys Stormborn belonged to: House Targaryen or rather House of the Dragon. The show’s events are set 172 years before Daenerys Targaryen. The prequel focuses on King Viserys I’s rule. The rule that was going to give us the Dance of the Dragons. However, the show isn’t there yet.
The show is based on another book of George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood. The pilot of the prequel became HBO’s biggest debut and has since continued its glorious run with each episodes seeing a rise in viewership numbers. The latest report suggests that the show has an average audience of 29 Million per episode, making it the biggest hit after Game of Thrones. Episode 6 & 7 were both shocking as well as screenwriting genius. We got a lot of deaths, plotting, treachery, violence, politics… basically we got Game of Thrones. So after two back to back hit episodes, I was curious as what the GOT prequel has in store for us with its 8th episode. The trailer for the episode had an ominous vibe although when I watched the episode yesterday, it was rather heartwarming and emotional.
I mean there were ominous moments but for the most part it was heartwarming episode which is rare in the GOT universe. However, according to a new update one of the most heartfelt scenes of the episode was improvised on set.
House of the Dragon Episode 8: Viserys I and Daemon’s Scene was Improvised!
House of the Dragon Episode 8 dealt with the matter of Driftmark’s succession after Lord Corlys’ grim fate. While Viserys I doesn’t sit on the throne anymore, given his condition, Otto and Alicent deal with such matters. However, for his daughter-Rhaenyra, Viserys I is his degrading condition walks to the court and decides to sit the throne that day. Rhaenyra had requested Viserys I to defend her and her children as Driftmark’s succession is a trap to illegitimize her children. This moment itself was extremely heartfelt.
It brought tears into my eyes to see the kind of love Viserys has for his daughter. For her, he’ll do anything. This move had shocked everyone including Otto and Alicent. The direction was also brilliant as they placed Rhaenyra exactly in front of the throne, so it’ll seem like Viserys I is walking towards her rather then the throne. However, this is not the moment I’m talking about. As Viserys I was climbing the stairs to the Iron Throne, he was struggling. The King’s Guard tries to help him but he refuses to take their help.
However, after that as well he wasn’t able to climb the stairs and his crown falls from his head and he tries to fetch for it. Just then someone comes to help him. He refuses the help but as he sees who is it, he accepts the help. It is his dear brother Daemon. Daemon picks up the crown and helps Viserys I up the stairs. He makes Viserys I sit on the throne and then puts the crown on his head himself. This moment toyed with my heart. After everything that the relationship has been through it was so good to see this loving bond between the brothers.
I thought this was a great moment by the writers but it seems like they didn’t have any part in it. This moment wasn’t in the script, this moment was improvised on set. According to @gotinsider, this scene just randomly happened on set. The post says, “the crown fell off Paddy’s (Viserys I’s) head and Matt (Daemon) picked it up and we just kept going. We didn’t stop (filming)” Check out the post below:
House of the Dragon has an incredible ensemble cast that includes Paddy Considine, Matt Smith, Olivia Cooke, Emma D’Arcy, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Fabien Frankel, Sonoya Mizuno, and Rhys Ifans. Along with the main cast, the supporting cast of the show includes- Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, Savannah Steyn, and more.
House of the Dragon’s first eight episodes are currently streaming on HBO Max or Disney+. New episodes will debut on every Sunday or Monday on HBO and HBO Max or Disney+ Hotstar depending on the region you live in, at 9 pm or 6.30 am.
If you have any questions regarding House of the Dragon, feel free to ask in the comments below. For more content, stay tuned. As usual, like, subscribe and share our articles as we here are trying to build a community of people High on Cinema!
