‘House of the Dragon‘ has slowly become one of the most talked about shows of this year. People were initially apprehensive about it since it’s a prequel to ‘Game of Thrones‘, a show ruined by its terrible finale. However, viewers have been surprised by its direction, writing, and performances.
The eighth episode of the show, titled ‘The Lord of the Tides‘ has been touted as one of the best episodes of the entire show so far. Its director Geeta Vasant Patel recently talked about the details in a recent interview. Let’s find out what Patel said about the exciting episode.
‘House Of The Dragon’ Director Talks About Episode Eight
The eighth episode of the prequel show titled ‘The Lord of the Tides‘ has been touted as one of the best episodes of the entire show so far. (Spoiler alert!) It shows the demise of King Viserys I Targaryen.
Geeta Patel, the director of the episode, recently talked about the show in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. She was asked if the episode felt like a second pilot for the rest of the series.
“When I read it, it felt like to me like the culmination of a lot of setup for Viserys’ storyline that started from the beginning“, she said. “It felt like the end of a film and setting up the next piece. So I just remember being so happy I got to direct it.”
She also talked about how the character of Alicent Hightower needs to be liked after Olivia Cooke stepped in. “I didn’t like [Alicent] anymore. So coming into this episode, we needed to love her. We needed to feel her point of view. My feeling was: Let’s make this like a day in the life of a working mom. You see everything she’s dealing with. You see when she’s doing ugly things, but you understand her vulnerability. You understand she’s picking between two evils.”
Patel Talks About King Viserys
Patel elaborated on the scenes of King Viserys Targaryen (played by Paddy Considine) who is on his deathbed. “That scene was really challenging“, she said.
“We got to the point where Paddy walked down the aisle the first time and we’re all looking at our watches going, “Oh, we are screwed. We’re never gonna make this schedule because it takes so long for him to walk,” she recalled.
She continued, “The whole story is the exertion this man is giving towards his goal and that is happening as he’s walking. Everything that we built from the pilot is happening right there. Paddy’s back was hurting, he was pushing so hard on that cane.” Paddy, however, performed the scene beautifully.
The last two episodes of the show are slated to release on October 16 and 23 respectively. HBO has renewed the fantasy series for a second season.
