‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Surprise Cameo Harbors a Much Darker Truth About Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen Than Meets the Eye
Spoilers Ahead for Episode 3
Created by George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal, HBO’s House of the Dragon, starring Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cook, and more, is one of the biggest and most popular television series. The show that is already in its second season is the prequel to Game of Thrones and is also the second series in the A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. House of the Dragon is based on Martin’s novel Fire & Blood and is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.
House of the Dragon instantly captured the audience’s attention when it premiered in August 2022. Fans who were already in awe of the characters from GOT now find themselves in awe of the characters in HOTD. The actors were highly appreciated for their exceptional acting skills, and this has continued for the second season as well. A familiar face from the past recently appeared in the latest episode, which has surprised the audience.
Milly Alcock makes a surprise appearance in House of the Dragon Season 2
The younger version of Rhaenyra, played by actress Milly Alcock, was highly appreciated by the critics and the audience. The young actress not only played Rhaenyra beautifully on-screen but her chemistry with actor Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen on-screen, cannot be missed. At one point, the creator and the showrunner, Ryan Condal felt that it was a risk to let go of the younger versions of Rhaenyra and Alicent, take a decade-long jump, and showcase Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke as the characters.
However, the actresses D’Arcy and Cooke, like Alcock and Emily Carey, grew up on the fans and once again became fan favorites. After the time jump, fans never expected to see the young actress on-screen in the same setting, but in season 2, episode 3, Milly Alcock makes a brief appearance.
The young actress was shown in a flashback sequence as the audience was taken into Daemon’s fragile mental headspace. A lot of fans considered this fan service as they loved the pair on-screen and expected to see more of them. In the scene, Daemon believes that an unknown person is trying to break into his room, and he draws his sword to only find the young Rhaenyra sitting by the fireplace, she says, (via BI)
Always coming and going, aren’t you? And I have to clean up afterwards.
The dream sequence is said to be a nod to the Rhaenyra feelings used by Daemon and how she has always tried to fix the mess and destruction that he leaves behind. Pointing toward Daemon’s order to kill Aegon II’s son, Jaehaerys Targaryen. While speaking to EW, the showrunner said,
It was very easy in terms of will. We were excited about the prospect. Milly was eager to come back, and everybody was excited to have her back.
Condal added that the young actress is busy these days as she is gearing up for her role as Supergirl in DC. He added that it was tricky to navigate around the schedule, but they made it work.
Alys Rivers predicts Matt Smith’s character Daemon Targaryen’s death
After hallucinating the younger version of his wife and the child who was murdered on his orders, Daemon Targaryen, who acquired Harrenhal and was planning on how to take down House Green, stumbled upon Alys Rivers.
Considered a witch queen by some, Alys Rivers, played by Gayle Rankin, could allegedly see a vision of the future, and after meeting Daemon, she says,
You will die in this place.
The sequence of Daemon dreaming of younger Rhaenyra and then Rivers telling him that he’d die in Harrenhal goes on to make the audience understand Daemon. It’s true that now husband and wife Rhaenyra and Daemon harbor feelings for each other that are not appropriate, but younger Rhaenyra’s appearance highlights that the war is brewing within him.
Daemon’s loyalties lie with his wife and queen and no one can question that, but he is also torn between his actions to gain power. River’s prophecy for his future hints that he might never be able to reconcile the split he has inside. Director Geeta Vasant Patel shared this with Screenrant.
We just worked on the look—the meaning that comes from all the episodes before she looks at him and cuts him. She says, ‘Hey, you killed a boy. You don’t do that.’ People have said that to him all the way through. But when young Rhaenyra says it to him, it’s the first time he feels it. It’s the first time he processes his action. We see how he feels.
Season 2 of House of the Dragon is playing on HBO Max.
