House of the Dragon had its most emotional episode yet in the form of "The Lord of the Tides." With King Viserys (Paddy Considine) having grown increasingly ill over the course of the season, the episode saw him grow frailer than ever. One of the most poignant moments in this episode occurred as King Viserys struggled to climb up the throne, which also contained a small touch that wasn't in the script.
House of the Dragon featured its final time jump in "The Lord of the Tides." In the six years since "Driftmark," Daemon (Matt Smith) and Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) have settled into a comfortable marriage and have had two children, Prince Aegon and Prince Viserys. Meanwhile, King Viserys has been growing weaker in King's Landing, with Alicent (Olivia Cooke) ruling in his name. This poses a problem for Rhaenyra because when Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) has been injured in battle, the succession of House Velaryon is called into question. Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) would prefer for the Driftwood Throne to pass to her granddaughter Baela (Bethany Antonia). Rhaenyra's son Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) is legally the heir, but his parentage is in question, and Corlys' brother Vaemond (Wil Johnson) wants the Lordship for himself.
In a grand display of love for his daughter, Viserys enters the Throne room as deliberations and arguments are being made to secure Lucerys' place in the succession. But as he ascends the steps to the throne, his crown falls off his head. In a moment of brotherly love, Daemon Targaryen helps his brother up the steps and places the crown on his head. Geeta Patel, who directed the episode, revealed to Entertainment Weekly that this moment was actually unscripted. "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. "So then the three of us got together and they were like, 'We felt this. This felt like the turning point in our relationship.' It's just a silent moment. And then we thought to ourselves, 'We have the dinner coming up where Daemon's gonna then give a speech. Are we gonna undercut that moment?'"
As it turns out, Daemon's speech, as referred to by Patel, ended up on the cutting room floor, and the crowning of Viserys remained instead. It seems that this House of the Dragon moment did what words cannot by demonstrating deep character development and connection between two brothers who have been at odds all season. Daemon's flaws are many, but the emotional moment showed off one of his virtues: Daemon's love for his family is absolute, and that includes Viserys.
The scene is absolutely full of symbolism, and hearing that one of its defining moments occurred only due to happenstance is surprising. It was a good call to use it in the final episode. Smith and Considine's performances have made Daemon and Viserys some of the most charismatic characters in House of the Dragon. Their natural chemistry, both together and apart, is undeniable.
Considine's performance in particular is heart-wrenching, as this House of the Dragon episode 8 scene ends up being his final ascent to the throne. As he sits on it, the Hightowers stand to the side of his face that is masked and ravaged by disease, while the Targaryens and those who love him are in Viserys' field of vision. Such a small moment ended up elevating the episode.
House of the Dragon airs every Sunday at 9 PM EST on HBO and HBO Max.
Source: Entertainment Weekly