Emma D’Arcy teases a “very hateful” Rhaenyra born out of grief in House of the Dragon Season 2

The history of the Targaryens is as convoluted and twisted as it comes. There is good reason to fear this fabled family—they are notorious for their incest, internal strife, and constant backstabbing. The Blacks and Greens, who formed the once powerful House of the Dragon, split apart and are taking up positions on opposing sides of the battleground. And Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra, leading the Blacks, will be seen in a completely different form.

Rhaenyra’s sense of betrayal in House of the Dragon Season 2

After witnessing a series of deaths and betrayals, Rhaenyra is in a deep state of mourning. D’Arcy, in a recent interview with the ES magazine, states, “Those who’ve watched the first series will know that we left Rhaenyra having just received the news of her son’s murder. We pick up in series two about two weeks later, so that loss remains very raw. The person that we meet is a woman who is devastated, she’s lost an unbelievable amount — her son and her father. She suddenly finds herself usurped, robbed of her inheritance.”

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Rhaenyra will turn “hateful” after her losses

D’Arcy goes on to explain how the grief will turn Rhaenyra into a grateful person, “I think she’s very hateful. Grief can completely dislocate you from your family, friends, colleagues, peers. It’s almost as though the bereft person remains with the dead, somehow.’

The journey through the series will see Rhaenyra ‘travel back to the land of the living. She has to find a way to deepen her relationship with her family, her allies and her colleagues — not only so that she can heal this great wound, but also so that she can then fight for her throne.”

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