One of House of the Dragon's most compelling moments was actually an improvisation by Matt Smith. According to a recent interview with Emma D’Arcy, it was Smith who suggested the camera silently follow the two as Daemon tells Rhaenyra of her son’s, Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), demise.
Both Smith and D'Arcy were among the standout performances in the first season of House of the Dragon. The two understood their characters intimately, and their chemistry was undeniable. D'Arcy's fierceness in the final scene of the season finale was an act of brilliance, and it communicated so much of what is to come with just a glance. And Smith's portrayal of Daemon Targaryen was full of charisma (he was one of House of the Dragon's most charismatic characters) and swagger that carried his character - despite his many flaws - into quickly becoming a fan favorite.
In an interview with GQ, D'Arcy recalls, “it was Matt Smith, in a turn of f****** genius, who offered the idea that Daemon should give Rhaenyra the news while we're both walking away from camera, towards the fireplace.” The original scene, as depicted in the Fire & Blood book, features a very distraught Rhaenyra rather than the stoic, coldly vengeful one in House of the Dragon. D'Arcy went on to praise their co-star for the choice, saying, “It was a sublime choice, and I could see it instantly. We've sort of touched on it, but I think losing a child, losing her son, it reframes grief immediately.”
In the interview, D'Arcy also touches on their conversations with Smith about a controversial House of the Dragon scene in which Daemon chokes Rhaenyra. D'Arcy states that the two discussed the scene beforehand, and concluded both Daemon and Rhaenyra were both grieving, though Daemon was grieving “a touch less eloquently”. “I don't actually think he's been violent to her before, although I think there's been a lot of conflict. But fundamentally, when Rhaenyra realises Daemon was never taught the prophecy, she suddenly gains legitimacy. Because she understands that it was her, she was chosen for this,” they clarify, before later on stating, “I think in this scene, she gets a message from beyond the grave the moment that she understands that Damon wasn't chosen. ‘Wow, it was never you.’ Simultaneously, Daemon gets shafted from beyond the grave by his brother, who he loves more than any other character in the show. On the one hand, he can say that he doesn't believe in prophecies. But he was never trusted to anyway.” The scene is one of the changes House of the Dragon made from the books - Daemon is never violent with Rhaenyra in Fire & Blood.
The interview frames D'Arcy and Smith eruditely. The two clearly had some very long and deep conversations about the characters they were portraying in House of the Dragon. Both are “dragons”, but they are very different kinds of characters. At the end of the day, though, Smith's suggestion that the crew film the final scene and frame it in such a way that focuses on Rhaenyra's grief suggests that the two have such good chemistry for another reason: they both understand the other character on a very deep level, even if they are not portraying them.
Smith had previously been credited with adding in another emotional scene into House of the Dragon episode 8. It was an accident, but when Viserys' (Paddy Considine) crown falls to the floor, it is Daemon who helps him retrieve it and helps him ascend the throne. In that light, the decision for Daemon to be even more devastated by the news that his brother never actually viewed him as his heir or took him seriously at all hits even harder. Daemon's last action with his brother was one of love, but now Daemon's remembrance is tainted by the knowledge that he never did, and never will, have his brother’s respect and approval.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO and HBO Max.
Source: GQ