House of the Dragon season 2: Matt Smith on an ‘unraveling’
With the second season of House of the Dragon premiering next month on HBO, it only feels right that we hear more from the cast. There is such an attachment to these characters and the world, but there is no denying that season 2 had its fair share of challenges — take trying to surpass the sky-high expectations from season 1, or working amidst the difficulties of 2023 that included multiple industry strikes.
For those unaware, much of season 2 was shot amidst the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in America; scripts were written far in advance, and actors in the UK were governed under a separate Equity contract. With that, they could not strike. It made for a production period more challenging than most, but the show had to go on and in season 2, the stories will become all the darker and intense for several characters. This includes Matt Smith and his role of Daemon.
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Moving forward on the HBO series, the primary thing to note is that Daemon and Rhaenyra are going to lead the charge of the Blacks. However, they do not have a clearly-defined power, and they must fight for whatever they can. Daemon loves to be the rebel in his family, and you will see that further — however, what happens when some of his rebellious ways do not work? This is a further story you will see explored.
Speaking on this matter further to Variety, Matt Smith attempts to explain his character’s methods with the following:
“In his perverse way — and it is deeply perverse — Daemon thinks he’s doing the right thing,” Smith says. “And sometimes he’s just doing it because he likes that feeling of being the black sheep … We start to see the mask slip. Life becomes more difficult, and he gets soft around the edges. He starts to unravel.”
When this happens, who will Daemon turn to? It makes sense for Rhaenyra to be high on any prospect list, but remember the following: Emma D’Arcy’s character has plenty of separate problems.
What do you most want to see moving into House of the Dragon season 2 over on HBO?
Share right now in the attached comments! We will be back soon with a lot of other updates on the show as we inch closer to the premiere.
This article was written by Jessica BunBun.