House of the Dragon, the prequel series to HBO’s hit seriesGame of Throneshas been making quite a wave since it premiered. The series has already offered some iconic moments and stellar performances from the cast members, much to the audience’s admiration. The series aired its most emotional episode in its latest episode,The Lord of the Tides. The episode was filled with lovely moments and perhaps the most poignant came when an aged and sickly, King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) struggled to make his way up the stairs to sit on the Iron Throne. In his quest, his crown drops from his head to the floor and his brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) picks it up, helps him up the stairs, and places the crown on his head when he sits on his throne.
The pair of characters had suffered their differences all season long but at this moment, there seemed to be reconciliation and a show of genuine love. You would think all of it was planned out, it turns out, however, that the scene happened by accident.Geeta Patel, the episode’s director while speaking toEntertainment Weekly, revealed that the crown was not meant to fall. “When we were shooting that – I think the rehearsal again, the first day – the crown fell off of Paddy’s head and Matt picked it up and we just kept going. We didn’t stop [filming]. There was a discovery there of this moment,” Patel said.
Patel said that after that take, she and the pair of Smith and Considine came together and decided to do it for real this time. “We decided to shoot it both ways with the crown falling off and with the crown not falling off. Every time the crown fell off, all of us just caught our breath,” she said. A stroke of creative genius I might add.
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The director went on to state what filming the scene that way meant for her as it showed the brothers coming full circle in their relationship with each other. “I was so thankful that accident happened, that the crown fell off because it proved to be, at least for me,” Patel said. “Quite a heavy moment and quite a turning point for a storyline that had started in the pilot: Hey, I want your crown and by the end here I’m gonna put the crown back on your head and I’m gonna help you to your throne.”
King Viserys would go on to close his eyes in eternal sleep later on in the episode but that was after he had seen his family all together again. Sadly, in his final moments,his ramblings about Aegon the Conqueror’s dream,The Song of Ice and Fire,has triggered his wife, Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) to kick off a civil war. However, Paddy’s portrayal of King Viserys has been nothing short of spectacular and his steady hand will be missed as the dance of dragons begins.
House of the Dragonairs on Sundays on HBO. Episodes are also available to stream on HBO Max.
