‘House of the Dragon’ Director on If Alys Is a Ghost and Rhaenyra Kiss

[This story contains spoilers from the sixth episode of House of the Dragon season two, “Smallfolk.”]

An surprising romance. A brand new dragon rider. A roasted Darklyn. A riot within the streets. These had been a few of the key moments from the newest episode of HBO’s fantasy drama Home of the Dragon, which has marched in direction of its ultimate two episodes of the yr.

Beneath, newcomer to the franchise and Emmy-winning Succession veteran Andrij Parekh seems to be again on directing the episode and solutions some burning questions — together with whether or not that seemingly all-knowing Harrenhal healer Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) is a ghost — and divulges a Succession-style contact he added to at least one specific scene.

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You directed some nice episodes of Succession — which, again within the day, was described as being “like Recreation of Thrones, however helicopters as an alternative of dragons” — and now you’re really on the dragon present. I’m positive its wildly totally different in some ways however, what has it been like going from that acclaimed HBO drama to this one?

The circumstances are totally different, nevertheless it’s nonetheless about household. That’s what attracted me to doing Home of the Dragon. It’s actually about household and household conflicts and, in some ways, was an extension of Succession.

How was the expertise like what you anticipated and what was totally different than you anticipated? 

It’s large scale. I used to be slightly bit shocked by strolling onto these units. You then remind your self that these units had been constructed by [production designer] Jim Clay who did simply masterful work. It was an honor and pleasure in that sense, as a result of if felt like there was no finish to the set.

I’ve been on that steady, multi-story Pink Preserve set and it’s so spectacular. It appears like an area the place you could possibly simply transfer in and stay there.

Completely. They really feel utterly lived-in and actual. What I like about capturing in New York is strolling onto location and it feels such as you’re capturing in an actual location, and this [felt similar]. It oftentimes felt like relocation. And also you’d simply go to lunch and see tons of of individuals consuming; it was like there was a military behind the military.

So if you first acquired the script, what excited you about this episode?

I believe what I cherished was that this episode is about Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) virtually being at their lowest factors of their lives. Alicent has been lacking one son; she’s being kicked off the Council. Rhaenyra’s husband has left her, she’s feeling utterly remoted and alone; she has all these males calculating [moves] with out essentially along with her enter. They’re each feeling extremely remoted as characters and a part of the problem with this episode, for me, was to maintain the strain alive of what was taking place in King’s Touchdown and what was taking place on this planet of Westeros, that are two worlds about to go to conflict. There’s a sense of desperation and imminent doom that’s totally different in each camps. We’ve seen the results of one battle. You understand what that conflict goes to be like.

There’s one other scene with Daemon (Matt Smith) and Alys (Gayle Rankin) this week. Are we imagined to be assuming she’s an actual particular person and never a ghost? Not asking for a spoiler. However simply curious what I’m imagined to be assuming as a viewer — as a result of I’ve been watching this pondering she’s not likely there.

I believe a wholesome quantity of doubt makes that rather more fascinating. She’s capable of enter Daemon’s thoughts and browse his thoughts. She’s positively otherworldly. I’ll depart it at that.

Which scene had been you most pleased with?

The scenes that had been difficult for me, for varied causes, had been the burning of Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan) when he tried to trip Seasmoke. And Seasmoke discovering his rider. And the kiss between Rhaenyra and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) — that was very difficult to make that really feel earned and actual.

That potential romance was form of hiding in plain sight, and it was a second that felt each surprising but additionally made sense.

I believe it’s a shock. However I additionally don’t need it to really feel prefer it’s an outlier and for it to suit into the emotional reality, which is linear, which is that Rhaenyra has been deserted by her husband. And that kiss hopefully feels prefer it’s earned, and actual and emotionalized.

When Darklyn tries to trip Seasmoke, this isn’t going to go nicely. How was staging that second?

Numerous that scene is spent on Rhaenyra. I really feel prefer it’s about her projection of chance, as ludicrous because it appears. She’s going to attempt to will this factor to occur. And hopefully, the viewers feels prefer it’s about to occur, after which out of the blue it doesn’t occur, in a fast and surprising means. We had an actual set that Jim constructed and that walkway is like 15 toes off the bottom. You possibly can positively fall off and it feels fairly harmful, so if you’re there it feels actual, though its towards a blue display.

Was there any delicate element from the episode {that a} informal fan would possibly miss?

I cherished Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) giving the ball again to Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) by pushing it into his wound and torturing him with it. He principally palms the facility again to him, however in a means that so who actually has the facility.

Home of the Dragon, like Succession, tends to have a variety of assembly scenes — I notably appreciated your dramatic intro shot of Aemond leaning throughout the desk on the Small Council assembly. What’s the key to maintain such scenes lively and fascinating when you have got a bunch of characters round a desk?

I simply suppose it’s nearly shifting the drama ahead. And I really feel like Aemond is so highly effective in that scene. You are feeling he’s very totally different presence than Aegon at that Small Council, in a radically totally different means. He’s instantly getting all the way down to enterprise and never asking anybody what they actually suppose, he’s telling them what they should do. In order that stage of command I discovered inspiring.

We additionally coated it in type of a Succession means — a shifting digital camera across the desk. That was one thing I cherished to do as a DP in Succession, but in addition as a director. I believe it retains it alive for the actors. It’s at all times great when the actors don’t know the place the cameras is. All of them are compelled to behave as an ensemble and you then’re principally creating filmed theater, and that’s when it feels actually alive to me — once they don’t know the place the digital camera is wanting, precisely. It provides a stage of uncertainty and electrical energy that I believe helps when it comes to efficiency.

Home of the Dragon releases new episodes Sunday at 9 p.m. on Max. Comply with together with THR‘s season two present protection and interviews.