House of the Dragon season 2: Eve Best on Rhaenys’ death scene
Many book readers entered Sunday’s House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4 likely knowing that Rhaenys would die. However, there was still that question and/or concern as to how it will end up happening.
As it turns out, the loss of this beloved character was every bit as devastating as you would have expected going in, as we saw the character descend to her demise after a lengthy (and chaotic) battle at Rook’s Rest. Her fall was dramatic, but accentuated perfectly by Eve Best as her character fell down from the sky.
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So how much of that death scene was the actress’ decision? Speaking further on the matter to Deadline, she shares quite a few details that help set the stage further:
It was my call. I think they wanted a moment of hanging on and then letting go. It felt like a very natural thing, actually. It was sort of a peaceful moment after all that. When we were shooting it, there was a lot of buildup. It happened to be the last thing that I shot. We were doing that whole sequence at the end of the shoot. It was a special day and then [showrunner] Ryan Condal came in and gave a speech. It was so lovely. But it was pressure. I was like, ‘please don’t make me cry now. I’ve got to just get on and shoot this very significant piece of film.’ Anyway, it was a long buildup because they had to prep the camera for this move, which was quite complicated. I had a lot of time and I was getting more and more nervous. And we did it in two takes! I was like, ‘no, what?’ And the director was like, ‘no, that’s great. I’m happy.’ She lets go literally and spiritually. It was a real surrender.
Rhaenys made the decision to go to Rook’s Rest aboard her dragon Meleys, so she likely was prepared for a possible death in the way others were not. What makes this so hard is that she and her husband Corlys had such a wonderful love story and now, he must move forward without her — and in the process, Rhaenyra has lost someone who was fully on her side.
Related – Be sure to get some more news on the next House of the Dragon episode
What are you going to miss the most about Rhaenys on House of the Dragon?
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This article was written by Jessica BunBun.