House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5 showcased the intricacies of grief, loss, and the urge to take action. After Rhaenys valiantly gives her life for Rhaenyra’s cause, the Blacks are left with a huge dent in their assets. Rhaenyra herself feels lost. However, this is not to say that the Greens walked away scot-free from the Battle of Rook’s Rest. The King of the Seven Kingdoms Aegon II faced severe burns across his body and is in a dire state health-wise.
While the maesters try to revive him and get him back alive, a behind-the-scenes video for the episode shows how difficult it was for actor Tom Glynn-Carney to get into the makeup required to showcase the deadly burns. It took him and his team over 6 hours to get the burns painted and somehow pasted on his body.
BTS of Tom Glynn-Carney ( Aegon Targaryen) doing makeup of his burns for #HouseOfTheDragon Season 2 Episode 5 🔥🐉 pic.twitter.com/O6eXJrx9IE
— Wiki of Thrones (@WikiOfThrones) July 15, 2024
Since the wounds were fresh, the makeup artists had to keep in mind various nuances that made his state look natural and believable. It’s said that Aegon II is alive and well, but we’ll have to wait for more episodes to know his true condition.
Steve Toussaint improvised shedding a tear in the Hall of Nine scene
Credits: Ollie Upton/HBO
Director Clare Kilner who helmed House of the Dragon season 2 episode 5 shares that Corlys’s scene in the Hall of Nine turned out a bit differently than she anticipated. She admires Steve Toussaint’s ability to infuse great emotion in every scene, but what he did in the opening scene of the episode surprised her pleasantly.
“Steve is an incredible actor he has such a deep soul to all of his performances when you’re dealing with grief I don’t really talk to them that much about it it’s such a vulnerable place to be mining the grief of your own personal life which is kind of what you have to do and then let them find it and you see what they bring. I had no clue that he was going to have this tear like this silent te roll down his face it was incredibly moving to see, it that was a beautiful scene.”
Toussaint further shares how his character deals with one loss after another in the show. Now, he’s left completely alone as all his human companions, especially his wife and children, have passed away.
Also Read: Steve Toussaint (Corlys) initially wanted to be in Game of Thrones’ canceled prequel ‘Bloodmoon’
“People of King’s Landing see the beginnings of nuclear warfare,” says Freddie Fox
Credits: Liam Daniel/HBO
In the episode, while Criston Cole expects the masses to rejoice with hearty pleasure on seeing Meleys’s head on a cart, something different altogether happens. As Gwayne Hightower claims as well, it’s a strange victory where the common people are shocked and speechless at this display of power. Cole’s strategy turns sour since people don’t like seeing their symbols of power and godly might be reduced to death. To this, actor Freddie Fox claims,
“It’s sort of grotesque it’s also a reminder of a battle gone bad and also Cole perceives quite quickly has the reverse effect of what is intended. It’s intended to be a sort of rallying call to the people of King’s Landing to look at how we’re doing but of course, the people of King’s Landing see the beginnings of nuclear warfare and they’re like I want to get out.”
The Greens need to rethink their strategy on how to get the masses excited because as of now, they’re in a very critical state. People are disappointed in the crown for the lack of food and grain while no progress is being made on ending this senseless civil war. The common people are being crushed under the weight of the royal family’s ambitions.
Matt Smith loves shooting at grand outdoor locations
Credits: Ollie Upton/HBO
One of the biggest challenges in portraying dragons is not the VFX intricacies but scaling the dragon to size. In most real locations including castles and palaces, dragons will not fit inside the four walls. Here’s where it gets fun for the cast of House of the Dragon as they get to shoot scenes in vast expanses of lands where the weather can be really unpredictable. Especially Matt Smith loves shooting outdoors and not in the dim hallways of some castles.
“I just love being in a big grand location like that it was lovely to be outside and it was raining and I was on a plin and it was like sideways rain I think that’s what really gives us the proper kind of scale those beaches and those dragons,” says Daemon actor Smith.
Most of the open field scenes are shot in Wales in England where it rains and the weather worsens as if on its own will. Dragonstone, Riverlands, and Crownlands are showcased in North Wales. Moreover, the scenes with King’s Landing and its crammed streets are shot in Spain.
Also Read: Steve Toussaint talks facing racial abuse for being cast as Corlys Velaryon in House of the Dragon
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