“Normal thing for Targaryens”: Matt Smith and Eve Best’s Red-carpet Kiss is a Wild Moment No ‘House of the Dragon’ Fan Expected to Witness
- Matt Smith subtly corrected pronouns for co-actress Emma D'Arcy.
- Smith's little peck on Eve Best's lips at the London premiere surprised the fans; reminded them of Cersei and Jamie Lannister.
- Eve Best says Rhaenys Targaryen felt like a samurai when she went to the battle for Team Black.
HBO’s fantasy-adventure drama series House of the Dragon, created by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin, is one of the most popular and successful shows currently. Based on the part of Martin’s 2018 novel Fire & Blood, the series starring Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Eve Best, and more follows the events that lead to the decline of House Targaryen.
The prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, currently airing its second season, has received positive responses from the audience and the critics. The show has been appreciated for the character development, performances of the actors, storyline, direction, and score. Apart from the premiere of season 2, fans were stunned to witness this on the red carpet of House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon fans surprised to witness Matt Smith & Eve Best’s ‘red-carpet kiss’
Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon worldwide, a cast including Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Ewan Mitchell, Eve Best, and more, graced the red carpet at the Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London on June 10, 2024. Speaking to Sue Perkins, Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen on the show, very subtly corrected the interviewer about the pronouns of Emma D’Arcy, who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Deadline reported that Perkins had referenced an earlier interview where D’Arcy gave the credit to Matt Smith for the final scene in Season 1. Perkins said, ‘She gave you all the credit’, to which Smith subtly mentioned,
I can’t take the credit, but I have to say, aren’t they brilliant? They are absolutely brilliant, and you’re in for a real treat with Emma this year. I think Emma’s put in a really great performance.
D’Arcy’s preferred pronouns are ‘they/them’ and identifies as a trans-masc presenting person.
At the same premiere, fans noticed that Matt Smith gave a sweet peck to fellow actress Eve Best, who plays Rhaenys Targaryen on the show while appearing for a group picture. Now that is ironic because neither of their characters like each other on the show despite being first cousins. She also dislikes him because she believes that Daemon and Rhaenyra killed his son.
Fans were quick to notice and commented under the video that was shared online that it’s a ‘normal thing for Targaryens’, hinting that it’s normal for the family members to kiss each other [flash back Cersei & Jamie Lannister]. Others took a dig at the fact that Steve Toussaint, who plays Lord Corlys Vaelaryon and Rhaenys’ husband on the show, was standing behind the two.
A fan wrote, ‘This little shy kiss was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.’ Some wrote that it’s just a British thing.
Eve Best talks about Rhaenys Targaryen’s death in House of the Dragon S2
Eve Best, who plays Rhaenys Targaryen in the fourth episode of HOTD season 2, decided to go up against Aemond Targaryen played by Ewan Mitchell, and Aegon Targaryen played by Tom Glynn-Carney in the first battle between Team Blacks and Team Greens.
Unfortunately, Rhaenys couldn’t survive and spoke with Variety about her character’s demise on the show. She was asked about how she managed to communicate the emotional state of her character while filming the scene of her death. Best shared,
It was a very, very intense journey for her. That was challenging to try and hold onto that. I spoke to Alan Taylor, and we had a session where we talked about what was going on with her emotions because I felt very strongly that there were these really important beats that we needed to mark. In particular, the knowledge of the fact that it’s very like a kamikaze mission.
The actress continued that it is her character who is starting a nuclear war, even though she has been the one character throughout who has done everything to stop the war. Best acknowledged that she understood that it was Rhaenys who proposed to go to Rook’s Rest because she knew that if someone had to take the weight, it should be her.
Eve Best lastly added that for her to return to plunge in with Vhagar was an absolute kamikaze mission, and according to the actress, at that moment, Rhaenys Targaryen felt like a samurai. She added that the character finally finds peace in the back of Meley in her final moment.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.
