♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS) ♪ RYAN CONDAL:<i>
I really love this episode.</i> <i> We were already in
a very tenuous place,</i> <i> but there's now been
the murder of a child,</i> <i>and it's meant to be a harbinger
for things to come.</i> This is starting
to become a pure<i> Game of Thrones</i>
story now, <i>where everyone's struggling
with the legacy</i> <i> that they've been left
by their parents.</i> In episode two,
any kind of stability for Aegon has now been ripped out
from beneath his feet. I am the king! RYAN:<i> We always knew
that Aegon was gonna get rid</i> <i> of that Valyrian model,</i> <i>and it's a really powerful
dramatization</i> of how there is a new sheriff
in town, and Aegon's reign as king
is very different than Viserys. I declare war! TOM GLYNN-CARNEY:<i>
The aftermath is grief
like you just never,</i> ever want to experience. <i>Aegon feels completely alone,</i> like no one really understands
or appreciates the pain he's in. <i>And I think we see why Aegon's
respect for Helaena grows,</i> because she's the only
other person in this environment that really knows
what this pain is. <i> And seeing that look
in Helaena's eyes</i> <i>when they cross on the stairs,</i> <i> they don't say much
to each other,</i> <i> but they communicate
through pain.</i> PHIA SABAN:<i>
I think everything's just so
traumatic at that moment</i> that for Helaena,
time stands still. <i> I think the noise
and everything</i> <i>goes under the radar for her.</i> I think she's feeling it
in the most raw and visceral way because she's not angry
over the loss of an heir, <i>she's bereft over the loss
of a child.</i> After Blood and Cheese,
Alicent is just <i> completely devastated,
and all she can think about</i> is if she wasn't in bed
with Cole, <i> then maybe he would have
been able to stop</i> <i> that horrendous murder.</i> OTTO HIGHTOWER:
We'll know who did this
soon enough. Who would do this save
the bitch queen of bastards? There she sits across the bay
on her rock, laughing at me. She's fucking laughing at me! RHYS IFANS:<i>
Otto doesn't think Rhaenyra
is capable of it.</i> He knows she's good,
and he knows that's a weakness, <i> and hopes to use that
to his advantage.</i> (FUNERAL BELL TOLLS) We were very interested
in the propaganda of it. <i> Not only the horror
of what's happened,</i> but also the way that it's spun <i> and how it can be used
to a political advantage.</i> It's a way of manipulating
the population with fake news. <i>And as cruel as this society is,
no one likes a dead baby.</i> <i> So in Otto's job,
it's a weapon to employ</i> in terms of public opinion. Otto is forever the pragmatist
thinking about how to make the best of every
possible situation, <i> and it seems to me
he's a character</i> who's completely able
to compartmentalize his emotions,
and that makes him seem cold <i> and calculating.
But the child is dead.</i> <i> How can we use this
to our advantage?</i> Somebody once wisely said, "Never let a crisis
go to waste." <i>Otto is exploiting the moment
to extract maximum</i> <i> political value,
but it's a very effective</i> political tool because
these people that are seen by some
of King's Landing <i> as the usurper
are now suddenly embraced,</i> and that's why it's diminished
Rhaenyra's position so badly. And they are accusing me
of having a hand in this. EMMA D'ARCY:<i>
I think the death of the prince
is a paralyzing event</i> <i>in the story for Rhaenyra.</i> It marks a reckoning
with what her desire can do. <i>Her vengeful feeling caused
the death of another child.</i> <i>And causality suddenly starts
to feel threatening,</i> like one can set things
in motion that one would never anticipate. <i> As for Daemon,
I think she has never really</i> <i> trusted him wholly.</i> I think the question will become
how important that actually is. Like with anything between them,
it's utterly complex. <i>And the thing with Daemon
is his sense of morality.</i> <i>Although it's perverted and mad,</i> he thinks he's doing
the right thing. Do you accept me
as your queen and ruler? CLARE KILNER:<i> Emma and Matt
are incredible actors.</i> They really search
for the feeling of a scene, and they find ways
to really pace themselves through the scene,
so they're not coming in raging, <i> as might be
their first instinct.</i> EMMA:<i>
Claire gave us such freedom,
and something I spoke to Claire</i> about was women's rage. <i>And I think we saw Rhaenyra
in season one</i> <i>keep a lid on intense feeling,
and I was really excited</i> to find out what happens
when you take the lid off that. He was not afraid of you,
Daemon. He could not trust you any more
than I can trust you. They have a really
interesting relationship, and we love writing for them. <i>They have a connection that
nobody else on the show shares.</i> <i>They are the same person,
almost, in different bodies.</i> The difference that Daemon
was a man and gets to do whatever
he wants... Father? ...And Rhaenyra has to wear
a dress and stay cooped up in a castle,
and so feels that frustration. At the same time, <i> Daemon was the heir
to the throne,</i> <i> and it was taken away
and given to Rhaenyra.</i> And there's just no way
that you're not angry and resentful about that. <i>And so we wanted to delve
into the fact</i> <i> that they have
a deep connection.</i> <i>They have each other's back,
but we're not sure</i> <i>where they're standing and how
everything's gonna play out</i> <i> in the end.</i> I don't think she realizes
how bad this is for her at the moment,
because so much of her claim <i>is wrapped up in the realm's
assurance that,</i> yes,
Rhaenyra will be queen, but at least she has
Daemon Targaryen at her side. <i> And now she doesn't,
and she will have to reap</i> <i> those consequences
in the episodes to come.</i> SARA HESS:<i> Cole is wrapped up
in his own guilt and shame,</i> because he was
in the queen's chamber when all this was going down. If you please, my lord. He's been commander
for five days, and there's been
the most catastrophic thing
that's happened. <i> So I think he loses it
a little bit,</i> and he feels so guilty, but he can't admit the guilt
to anyone. <i> And so he needs
to externalize it,</i> it sets him on this mission
that he deep down knows is a fool's errand. LUKE TITTENSOR:<i>
From the perspective of
Arryk and Erryk,</i> they're very honorable,
very diligent. <i>And Arryk respects the fact
that Criston</i> <i> probably comes
from a similar background,</i> <i>but he's not very honorable
with his oath.</i> <i>So there's a little bit of an
underlying tension there.</i> You will go to Dragonstone
and strike down Rhaenyra in her own halls. Arryk thinks
it's a terrible idea. <i> The only things Arryk
and Erryk had was duty</i> <i>and their love for each other.</i> <i>So it's putting those things
together and making him choose.</i> As you command. RYAN:<i> The Erryk and Arryk duel
is a giant moment</i> <i> in Westerosi history.</i> And of course,
Arryk infiltrates the castle successfully,
uses the uniform and the helmet <i>that makes them all look alike
to his advantage.</i> We always love that moment
of these two brothers who love each other
more than anything also being set
to kill each other, <i> and there's a very
American Civil War</i> <i>brother-on-brother aspect to it.</i> Why are they doing this? It's because these nobles
have decided that they're mad at each other,
and now these guys <i>have to battle it to the death.</i> <i> But Elliott and Luke
are phenomenal in that scene.</i> It was a really incredible
moment on set. Ser Arryk. Believe me, I had no choice. Brother! ELLIOTT TITTENSOR:<i>
We must have done
over 30 hours of rehearsals</i> <i> on the fight scene.</i> <i> We wanted to put
all our energy into it,</i> and I feel like in the midst
of the aggression of it, I think it should be
quite a beautiful scene. <i>And it was super emotional
as well,</i> <i> and hopefully
we can capture that</i> <i> for the audience anyway,</i> because it'd be wicked
if they could get a sense of how we felt on the day. I can hardly talk about
the fight between Arryk and Erryk,
because it's heartbreaking. <i>But it's an incredible scene.</i> <i> And I know it sounds
completely opposite to it,</i> but this is a love story. This is a story about how much
these brothers love each other. <i>So, what are the questions?</i> <i> What are they saying
to each other?</i> Why is it so hard? It's because they love
each other so deeply. <i> So for me,
this was a story</i> <i> about brotherly love
like no other.</i> (GRUNTING) (CRIES SOFTLY)
