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Did Rhaenys make the right decision? |
After this week's episode you, like many others, might be asking - why did Rhaenys not take her chance to kill the Hightowers and stop the civil war before it begins?
House of the Dragon co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik provided some insight into Rhaenys' motivations. On HBO's Inside the Episode featurette, Sapochnik gave his thoughts on this pivotal moment.
"We really wanted to make sure that there was meat on her character. Rhaenys was not passive, and it felt this was an incredibly valuable moment to - rather than have her just bear witness to something - be able to take part in it. But her moral standpoint become the reason for inaction rather than action."
Despite her support of Princess Rhaenyra, she takes a moral stance against violence and does not murder Alicient and her children with dragon fire.
Actress Eve Best also opened up about why her character chose mercy instead.
Best said: "In a way, it's also the most merciful and most graceful act. It's because she's so intelligent and in the end chooses to do the right thing, which is not to destroy.
"It's a truly forgiving moment and sort of a loving moment, in a weird way. She has all the ammunition, and the desire for revenge is so great.
"She's suffered so much loss, and for her own sake and on behalf of so many others, the urge to destroy is so strong. And yet the choice not to destroy becomes even stronger."
Rhaenys' choice is one of the most important in the season so far and could have far-reaching consequences. What happens when Rhaenyra finds out she showed mercy? Is civil war inevitable now? Will we see more of the dragons? We'll just have to wait for the final episode of season one to see how this plays out.
Should Rhaenys have shown mercy to the Hightowers, was it the right call? Email us your thoughts.
You can read more about House of the Dragon here. |
Director addresses creepy foot scene |
House of the Dragon's latest episode took a rather bizarre turn after it's revealed that creepy Larys Strong, also known as "the Clubfoot," has a strange fetish.
Strong is the son of the Hand of the King, Lord Lyonel Strong and has quietly been lurking around the Red Keep amassing power and influence. He has ingratiated himself with both Queen Alicent and the Hand of the King as he seeks to further his own agendas.
His unique relationship with Queen Alicent has a cost though as it's made clear in episode nine that he will provide her with intel if she facilitates his foot fetish.
Poor Alicent has to remove her stockings and place her bare feet on the edge of the table in order to get information from Larys about the alleged 'Ring of Spies' in the Red Keep. He then disturbingly pleasures himself with the sight of the Queen's feet.
The scene caused shocked fans to take to social media to share their horror and dissect what the scene means.
Clare Kilner, who directed the episode, revealed that executive producer and writer Sara Hess came up with Larys's foot fetish.
Kilner said: "It's so intrusive and invasive. It's a really dirty scene."
Find out more about this scene and Larys Strong here. |