Interview
Emma D’Arcy says Rhaenyra’s Targaryen fire will be out of control in Season 2 of House of The Dragon
Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon is a choke-full of repressed emotions, and there are many occasions we have seen them overflow. After the gut-wrenching and heart-breaking Season 1 finale, fans are anxiously waiting for the second season to arrive, which will begin with Dance of the Dragons, the civil war from Fire & Blood that destroyed most of the Targaryen line as well as their dragons. Emma D’Arcy, who plays princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on the show, shed some light on what’s to come in Season 2.
D’Arcy told The Guardian, “She is trying to navigate her own Targaryenism. She has been trying to work out how best to mitigate that very volatile fire in her blood. But when Luke dies, the control required to dampen that inner fire suddenly runs out. It’s a good old antihero storyline. What a privilege to follow that all the way to the end.”
They also talked about how they felt about Rhaenyra and Daemon’s relationship. “I think he is a deeply problematic character,” D’Arcy 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.”
“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.”
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