During a new audience withIndieWire , House of the DragondirectorGeeta Vasant Pateldiscussed the turbulent story of Rhaenyra and Alicent ’s labored relationship . In her own run-in , “ I always recollect about the metaphor for it as two lover that have been divorced and still bang each other . Part of it is that they both want to be with each other in a waythey ca n’t realise and ca n’t explain – it ’s like first love . ”
As she confirms in the clause , the character ’s shared chemical science has been for the most part subtextual . “ For exemplar , first season , I was tell that the integral Episode 8 was about Rhaenyra and Alicent ’s relationship and how they miss each other . Okay , is that on the pageboy anywhere ? No , not once is it on the pageboy . In fact , it ’s almost the reverse the whole way through , they constantly bicker . So I had to figure out , with Katie [ Goldschmidt , House of the Dragoncinematographer ] , how to make it tangible that they miss each other . There ’s certain ways , through cinematic devices , framing , body structure , transitions , we moved scenes .
Patel break she took visual inspiration from cloak and dagger spy motion-picture show to convey Rhaenyra and Alicent ’s first surreptitious group meeting earlier this time of year .
© HBO
“ In Episode 3 , Rhaenyra sneak into King ’s landing place to talk to Alicent . On the varlet it was about three lines . Ryan [ Condal , House of the Dragonshowrunner ] came to me and said , ‘ Hey , I really want this to be suspensive . I do n’t want it to just be take the air in , have a conversation . ’ I had to ride down with Katie and the production squad to figure out how , in the little time we had , we could make it more like inMission : Impossible , where she ’s trying to sneak in , there ’s a near miss – all of the things that Ryan want , we just had to figure out visually how to pump it all up and give him alternative in edit , ” Patel said . “ So what was three lines on the page was an intact day of shot , where you had Emma and Olivia near omit each other . One ’s up on the stairs , one ’s behind . It was this rarefied anatomical structure . A film that really inspired me for that moment , wasThe Conversation , where there ’s a big , wide overhead shot of the court and you see this whole thing act out , and it just gives it CRO . ”
In this way , Patel made certain everything was perfect to meditate the same in the character reference ’s tense second meeting in the season finale . “ We were constantly looking at the two of them . You have sex when you get your haircloth cut and they make certain both sides mate ? It ’s kind of like that . We maintain weighing both of them and just making sure that the shift was strong and that there was a mirroring , there was a reason and effect . All the strengths of storytelling were there between the two scenes , and then Ryan and Sara[Hess , executive manufacturer and writer]were incessantly pull off little moments , either in permit me jazz what they were feeling for behaviour or block , or having conversations with the actor , ” Patel say .
“ A lot of attention was put on those two scenes , knowing that they were tentpoles for the time of year in a way of that relationship . Those are the two meter you see the two of them together … Katie and I posture down and immobilise everything Episode 3 to match what Greg Yaitanes did in Season 1 when they were young cleaning lady . We added some brandish for the scene itself in Episode 3 to make it distinct in other ways , with some of the wide shots . We of course tip into the tongue present moment , which was something they did n’t have when they were kids , so there were a few thing that were different , but yes , we wanted to make it almost like deja vu . ”
Patel also praised Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke ’s pick as performers to convey the unspoken torment between them , reflecting on both Mily Alcock and Emily Carey ’s character in season one as the young Rhaenyra and Alicent .
“ I cogitate what was so beautiful about this scene is it ’s relatable to all of us in that when you see someone that you have had a very long kinship with and a fraught kinship with , like a sister or brother or a fan , and that human relationship started when you were younger – when you see them , you immediately revert to whatever age that was , and you ’re reserve to be infantile . Even if you ’re President of the United States , you are immediately a 15 - year - old . The way that the two of them portray that quality gave away the most emotionally , ” Patel lend .
“ You examine Rhaenyra ’s face contort in a room that we do n’t normally see . The was pretend these case and these gestures and saying things that were quite juvenile . Alicent was implausibly emotional , but also became the child she used to be . It was such a great choice that Olivia bite her nail . We all know that quality had n’t come out in a long fourth dimension , and I think it was a choice on her part not to bite her nails through many episodes of the season in social club to check that that when she did , it was a sentence when she dead had to go back and was feeling like a child . ”
peradventure in part to last twelvemonth ’s author ’s strike , the production arm ofHouse of Dragonwere pass on to parse much of the serial publication ’ framing and character details to themselves rather than any further modification to the deliver scripts – a quandary that , as seen in the past , does n’t always conduct tosubtle and restrained alternative . Patel , however , empathise the naming . “ I felt a large horse sense of responsibility . I felt quite prestigious to be able to those two scenes . I felt up a responsibility to Emma and Olivia , Ryan and Sara , who had entrusted me to shepherd the shooting of it , and take it very seriously . ”
Want more io9 news ? agree out when to anticipate the latestMarvel , Star Wars , andStar Trekreleases , what ’s next for theDC Universe on film and TV , and everything you call for to bonk about the future ofDoctor Who .
Game of ThronesGeeta Vasant PatelHouse of the Dragon
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , skill , and acculturation news in your inbox daily .
newsworthiness from the hereafter , deliver to your present tense .
You May Also Like
