‘House Of The Dragon‘ season 2 episode 4 has left many with broken hearts in its wake. The first battle with dragons was bloody and killed off characters we may not have imagined would be eliminated so soon.
The Battle of Rook’s Rest was brutal. The greens had planned to trap one of Queen Rhaenyra’s dragons and then attack with Vhagar. However, things get a bit complicated when Aegon shows up on Sunfyre. Princess Rhaenys also shows up on Meleys at the battle. Actress Eva Best, who plays Rhaenys, has opened up about her experience of filming the epic scene during an interview with Vulture. Here’s what she said.
Eva Best Explains The Battle Scene Between Rhaenys, Aegon And Aemond
Rhaenys Targaryen is the most experienced dragon rider among the lot with Meleys, the Red Queen, her steed. During the said fight, Rhaenys commands Meleys to attack the enemy, but does not give the fatal, golden command, “Dracarys”. This is despite Aemond and Aegon both using the command more often.
Shedding light on her character’s choice to do so, Eva Best explained, “They’re just like boys with guns; they want to maximize the amount of carnage. And there’s something very … I don’t want to generalize, but, you know, it’s very male.” She continued, “Whereas she’s very specifically going for the dragon: Let’s take out the weaponry, and don’t burn everybody else randomly.”
Eva Best further explained Rhaenys’ feelings, stating, “There’s a gritted-teeth-ness about it, because these guys are her nephews, however appallingly badly they’ve behaved and are behaving and however dangerous they are.”
“Aemond is responsible for Lucerys’s death. At the same time, they’re her family, too. There was a lot of reluctance and the knowledge that they’re effectively pushing the red button,” she further explained.
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Eva Best Calls The Epic War A “Kamikaze Mission“
In the Battle of Rook’s Rest, Rhaenys successfully defeats Aegon and Sunfyre. Sunfyre is further damaged by dragon fire from Vhagar while Rhaenys and Meleys successfully get out of it. However, Rhaenys turns around to further fight Vhagar. During the interview, Eva Best said this has a huge significance for Rhaenys.
“The responsibility of that is so huge that it has to be a kamikaze mission, because how can one live with it?” Eva Best explained during the interview. “And that sort of samurai thing of when she comes back in — she could have escaped, and she turns around,” Best further explained.
“To me, that’s pure whatever she is — Arthurian knight, Lancelot, samurai. It’s the noble warrior thinking, No, I’m not just going to save myself. I’m going to finish this,” she added.
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