‘House of the Dragon‘ has slowly become one of the most talked about shows of this year. People were apprehensive since it’s a prequel to ‘Game of Thrones‘, a show butchered 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 well received. It shows the character of King Viserys (played by Paddy Considine) giving an emotional speech amid his terrible illness. Considine recently talked about the character and that episode.
‘House Of The Dragon’ Star Paddy Considine Talks About King Viserys
Paddy Considine has received praise for his portrayal of King Viserys Targaryen in HBO’s ‘House of the Dragon.’ The eighth episode of the show, titled ‘The Lord of the Tides‘ has been the talk of the town.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Considine talked about playing an ill King who is desperately trying to convince his feuding family to set aside their differences and prevent a civil war.
“I think it’s very noble and dignified how he goes,” Considine said. “He’s suffering terribly from an affliction. He basically gets a form of leprosy that creeps into body, his bones start to fail him. His lungs start to fail him. He’s just dying a slow and horrible death.”
He called it a metaphor for “what power does to people, even though he doesn’t use it for his own personal gain.” Considine said that the “demands of being a king take their toll on the physical body.” The actor believes that Viserys shouldn’t have been the king. Instead, he should have given the throne to Rhaenys.
Director Talks About Episode Eight
Geeta Patel, the director of the eighth episode, recently talked about it. 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.”
Patel 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,” she continued.
