Nanna Blondell initially thought fans were going to hate Laena for her death scene

The sixth episode of Game of Thrones prequel House of The Dragon featured the biggest time jump of the first season. A number of characters grew up into their older versions: Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan), and Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell), and we hade the first look at Vhagar, the biggest dragon in Westeros in House of the Dragon. Sadly, we lost Laena in that episode. We had talked about this possibility, and it happened in a way much different from the one depicted in Fire & Blood, which shocked a lot of fans.

Nanna Blondell recently appeared on the official Game of Thrones podcast and talked about the significance of the tragic death scene:

“I remember when I first read it, I was like, “Oh my god, is she sure the baby’s really dead?” That’s crazy to go burn yourself. But then I talked to Sara Hess, the writer of the episode, she explained to me when you see the whole show, and you are gonna have the first episode in the back of your head, you’re gonna understand why she wants to take control of her life.”

“Because also we get to see so little of her character, I think they really wanted to give her a bang ending. I think it’s a beautiful scene. But I must admit in the beginning, I was like, “This is crazy, they are gonna hate her.” I thought people are gonna hate the character for doing that.”

What do you think of Nanna’s portrayal of Laena Velaryon? Tell us in the comments below!

Read Next: Emma D’Arcy says Rhaenyra’s Targaryen fire will be out of control in Season 2 of House of The Dragon

 

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