1
00:00:01,251 --> 00:00:03,670
SPEAKER: Duty is sacrifice.

2
00:00:05,213 --> 00:00:07,173
It eclipses all things,

3
00:00:07,882 --> 00:00:09,092
even blood.

4
00:00:10,927 --> 00:00:12,012
In the making of season one,

5
00:00:12,095 --> 00:00:14,014
we knew half that season
is a prologue

6
00:00:14,139 --> 00:00:16,306
and half of it
is the first act of this war.

7
00:00:16,433 --> 00:00:18,685
To have season one land
the way it did,

8
00:00:18,768 --> 00:00:20,478
with a rabid audience,

9
00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,148
fans of George and his books
the way I am.

10
00:00:23,231 --> 00:00:24,399
We were excited to get into it

11
00:00:24,482 --> 00:00:27,360
because this is the juicy part
of the drama.

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00:00:27,861 --> 00:00:29,529
♪ (SOMBER MUSIC PLAYS) ♪

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SPEAKER:
The North owes a great duty
to the Seven Kingdoms,

14
00:00:36,077 --> 00:00:38,079
one older than any oath.

15
00:00:38,621 --> 00:00:41,124
Winterfell is the one place,
the one corner of this world

16
00:00:41,166 --> 00:00:43,668
where news of Luke's death
has not yet reached,

17
00:00:43,710 --> 00:00:48,423
and it is this hearkening back
to a simpler time.

18
00:00:48,506 --> 00:00:51,634
I wanted to go to a place
where we could experience that,

19
00:00:51,676 --> 00:00:52,552
if only briefly,

20
00:00:52,844 --> 00:00:55,388
and the North just felt
completely the right way to go.

21
00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,224
Ryan, when we did speak,
it really, really helped me out

22
00:00:58,308 --> 00:01:00,518
because we would have
conversations

23
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about how important
these negotiations are

24
00:01:03,480 --> 00:01:04,272
for Team Black

25
00:01:04,438 --> 00:01:07,025
and the difference it makes
in the war.

26
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War is coming to the whole
of the realm, My Lord.

27
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We cannot wage it without
the support of the North.

28
00:01:12,822 --> 00:01:14,407
HARRY COLLETT: Well,
it was all about history.

29
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There were pledges
that were made back in the day,

30
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and Jace is sent to remind
Cregan Stark of those pledges.

31
00:01:21,748 --> 00:01:24,209
If your greybeards can fight,
the Queen will have them.

32
00:01:24,417 --> 00:01:27,712
They will fight hard,
like Northerners.

33
00:01:30,298 --> 00:01:32,801
ALAN TAYLOR: Rhaenyra heard
the news that Luke has died

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00:01:32,967 --> 00:01:34,219
on a mission
that she sent him on,

35
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so there's guilt involved.

36
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And she's a mother
who's lost a son

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and has to go through

38
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the sort of necessary
grieving process

39
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that Daemon, her husband,

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can't really appreciate
or understand.

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She goes and tries to make peace
with Luke's demise,

42
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but she cannot settle in it

43
00:01:50,193 --> 00:01:51,444
because it is
unsettled business,

44
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until part of Arrax
washes ashore.

45
00:01:54,114 --> 00:01:57,575
Going in search of evidence is

46
00:01:57,616 --> 00:01:59,327
quite fundamentally important
to her.

47
00:01:59,411 --> 00:02:03,748
I guess one of the sort of
maddest things about death

48
00:02:03,790 --> 00:02:05,250
is that it seems
sort of impossible,

49
00:02:05,583 --> 00:02:08,836
especially because really
the overriding feeling often is

50
00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:10,213
you just sit with the absence.

51
00:02:10,295 --> 00:02:13,133
And so, anything that has, like,
a tangibility about it

52
00:02:13,216 --> 00:02:14,759
I think is vitally important.

53
00:02:14,843 --> 00:02:18,138
Her son's cloak,
the wing of his dragon,

54
00:02:18,221 --> 00:02:19,723
I think it's devastating,

55
00:02:19,764 --> 00:02:24,102
but I think it galvanizes
a vengeful feeling,

56
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one that maybe she hasn't
paid so much mind to previously.

57
00:02:27,939 --> 00:02:30,150
(SYRAX ROARS)

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EVE BEST:
I think that Rhaenys is probably
one of the few people

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that Daemon knows
he can't mess with,

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although I suspect
probably wants to.

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00:02:39,451 --> 00:02:40,952
We're going to King's Landing.

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-To what end?
-Killing Vhagar.

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When those two meet,
it's kind of like

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a panther meets
a kind of electric eel.

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Really dangerous combination.

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He's essentially ready
to go to war and get payback.

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RYAN CONDAL: It was nice
to throw those characters

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into conflict with one another.

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I think you can tell
from even her demeanor

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the way Rhaenys
thinks of Daemon.

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Daemon believes that he's,
of course,

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completely in the right

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and has the power
to order Rhaenys around.

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Fly with me.

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It is a command.

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Would that you were the king.

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AEGON II TARGARYEN:
Where is Jaehaerys?

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What do you need of him?

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I'm taking him
to the Small Council.

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He'll be king one day.
He must begin his instruction.

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What if he does not want
to be king?

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00:03:27,832 --> 00:03:28,667
(WHISPERS) Where is he?

83
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One of the things I loved
about Game of Thrones

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was the character humor.

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And, you know,
we can spend a lot of time

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being dour in this world,

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and it's so important
to have humor.

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And when I first saw

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what Tom Glynn-Carney was doing
with Aegon,

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I thought, "He's finding humor
where I didn't know it existed."

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And it's painful,

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a guy who's way in
over his head,

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who really wants to do well

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but just can't make
a right move...

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(LAUGHS)
...no matter what he does.

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SPEAKER 2:
Aegon the Magnanimous.

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00:03:51,898 --> 00:03:53,441
Hail King Aegon!

98
00:03:54,359 --> 00:03:55,694
The Magnanimous?

99
00:03:57,529 --> 00:03:59,864
I think Aegon is
the kind of father

100
00:03:59,906 --> 00:04:02,742
that encourages bad behavior
because he finds it funny.

101
00:04:02,826 --> 00:04:03,868
He loves his kids.

102
00:04:03,952 --> 00:04:05,370
I have no doubt about that.

103
00:04:05,412 --> 00:04:06,663
He loves his kids dearly.

104
00:04:06,705 --> 00:04:09,290
But he's not one
to discipline them.

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If anything, he's, you know,

106
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having competitions
with his children

107
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to see who can be
the most rebellious.

108
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And Aegon often wins.

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He took my piece.

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Is the heir to the throne
bothering you, Tyland?

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We see him come into
a Small Council meeting

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with Jaehaerys,

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and, you know,
he's spurring him on.

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He's wanting him to be
more of a-- more of a rebel,

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00:04:29,894 --> 00:04:32,564
more of a nuisance,
just like his old man.

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-I think he wants a ride.
-ALICENT HIGHTOWER: Your Grace.

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-TYLAND LANNISTER: A ride?
-A pony ride.

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Wouldn't that be fun,
Jaehaerys?

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Should the Master of Coin
be your royal steed?

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(ALL CHUCKLING)

121
00:04:43,116 --> 00:04:44,576
It's meant to be
a moment of fun, a bit.

122
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And yes, like Aegon brings
his four-year-old to work.

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But I think on a perhaps
nuanced character level,

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this is the thing that Viserys
never did for Aegon.

125
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And Aegon did not study
at the feet of his father.

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His father had his male heir
and then essentially said,

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"Well, that box is ticked."
He was ill.

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I think he enjoyed having a son,

129
00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,053
but didn't put in the work
the way he did with Rhaenyra

130
00:05:03,136 --> 00:05:04,179
when he was a younger man.

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And I think Aegon resents that

132
00:05:06,139 --> 00:05:07,557
and feels that
part of the reason

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00:05:07,599 --> 00:05:09,225
that he's not seen
as being suited

134
00:05:09,267 --> 00:05:11,394
for the crown
or the throne

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is because he didn't get
that training from his father,

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so now he's going to
make up for that tenfold

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with Jaehaerys.

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ALAN: Alicent's been
in a marriage that was loving,

139
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but not exactly romantic
or physical for quite some time.

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Cole has got a lot of issues.

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One thing I love
about the character

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is that he is a knight
in shining armor

143
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and sort of classically handsome

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00:05:33,582 --> 00:05:35,710
and probably the most
messed up person in the story

145
00:05:35,794 --> 00:05:36,586
in many ways.

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You know, clinging to notions
of purity and duty

147
00:05:38,755 --> 00:05:41,383
and just flagrantly
breaking them left and right.

148
00:05:41,758 --> 00:05:43,093
So, there's a lot
of complex things

149
00:05:43,176 --> 00:05:44,969
driving the moves
closer and closer

150
00:05:45,011 --> 00:05:46,137
between Alicent and Cole.

151
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And it takes a leap forward.

152
00:05:47,681 --> 00:05:48,848
But nothing is simple with them,

153
00:05:48,973 --> 00:05:50,850
so for every leap forward,
there's a push back.

154
00:05:51,142 --> 00:05:53,728
We cannot... again.

155
00:05:54,020 --> 00:05:55,730
ALAN: There's a lot
of wonderful tension there.

156
00:05:55,814 --> 00:05:58,900
I mean, I think there's love,
but there's a lot of mess too.

157
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(LAUGHS)

158
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-Your Grace.
-Good day.

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FABIEN FRANKEL:
I think, ultimately,

160
00:06:03,613 --> 00:06:08,827
they're two very lost people
in a pretty unforgiving world.

161
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And I think there's always been,

162
00:06:11,496 --> 00:06:13,498
you know,
since the very first episode,

163
00:06:13,623 --> 00:06:15,417
Alicent, you know,
had her eye on Criston Cole.

164
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And then she was a young lady,

165
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and now she's
the Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

166
00:06:21,339 --> 00:06:23,800
OLIVIA COOKE: It's paramount
that she keeps it a secret

167
00:06:23,883 --> 00:06:27,012
because not only
would her respect

168
00:06:27,095 --> 00:06:29,139
completely disintegrate,

169
00:06:29,180 --> 00:06:31,599
but her stay in the castle.

170
00:06:31,683 --> 00:06:34,352
And Aegon is so unpredictable.
Who knows what he would do

171
00:06:34,436 --> 00:06:38,189
if he found out
that his mother was having sex

172
00:06:38,273 --> 00:06:40,400
with his
Commander of the Kingsguard?

173
00:06:40,525 --> 00:06:42,277
I mean, not only is it
an embarrassment,

174
00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:45,947
it would bring deep, deep shame.

175
00:06:49,534 --> 00:06:52,162
I want Aemond Targaryen.

176
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Rhaenyra has literally one line
in the first episode,

177
00:06:56,374 --> 00:06:57,542
and the one line she says,

178
00:06:57,876 --> 00:07:00,003
Daemon takes
as pulling the trigger.

179
00:07:00,211 --> 00:07:02,881
In our first episode,
we see him unleash something

180
00:07:02,964 --> 00:07:05,383
that is sort of famous in
the lore of House of the Dragon,

181
00:07:05,550 --> 00:07:07,594
a nasty event that he triggers.

182
00:07:08,053 --> 00:07:11,765
When Rhaenyra declares
that she wants Aemond,

183
00:07:11,890 --> 00:07:16,728
I think it's an admission
of a possibly shameful desire,

184
00:07:16,853 --> 00:07:19,856
and I think that admission
is made directly to Daemon.

185
00:07:20,023 --> 00:07:23,026
I think it's also an admission
of their similarity.

186
00:07:23,109 --> 00:07:26,071
She sort of discloses
another way in which

187
00:07:26,154 --> 00:07:28,907
they actually share a darkness.

188
00:07:29,574 --> 00:07:32,409
"I want Aemond Targaryen"
becomes the battle cry

189
00:07:32,494 --> 00:07:34,704
that then resonates
across the entire season

190
00:07:34,788 --> 00:07:37,374
because that is
the next domino to fall

191
00:07:37,457 --> 00:07:40,001
in this back and forth
that sets in motion

192
00:07:40,085 --> 00:07:41,961
a horrible attack
and counterattack

193
00:07:42,045 --> 00:07:42,837
that continues,

194
00:07:43,171 --> 00:07:45,548
and the atrocities grow worse
and worse as they go.

195
00:07:46,049 --> 00:07:47,759
ALAN: In our story,
it's Mysaria,

196
00:07:47,801 --> 00:07:49,928
who has got her tentacles into
every part of King's Landing,

197
00:07:49,969 --> 00:07:52,055
who is able to provide
the connections

198
00:07:52,138 --> 00:07:54,432
for Daemon to exact revenge.

199
00:07:54,516 --> 00:07:56,101
I think it really is a big deal
for the fans

200
00:07:56,142 --> 00:07:57,435
because it keeps
getting referred to.

201
00:07:57,560 --> 00:07:59,521
And I don't know
the characters' actual names.

202
00:07:59,604 --> 00:08:01,773
They're forever in lore
as Blood and Cheese.

203
00:08:01,856 --> 00:08:04,192
-(LAUGHING)
-Who the fuck is she?

204
00:08:04,275 --> 00:08:05,735
She's the Queen, she is.

205
00:08:05,777 --> 00:08:07,696
"A son for a son," he said.

206
00:08:07,779 --> 00:08:09,239
The boldest thing that
I think we did there

207
00:08:09,322 --> 00:08:11,991
was decide to give the last
ten minutes of the episode

208
00:08:12,117 --> 00:08:14,619
over to these two characters
that we have never met before

209
00:08:14,703 --> 00:08:17,455
and rely on them to take us
through the end of the story

210
00:08:17,539 --> 00:08:19,124
and to see, hopefully,

211
00:08:19,165 --> 00:08:21,084
as they go deeper and deeper
into the Red Keep

212
00:08:21,167 --> 00:08:23,003
and as we're spending more
and more screen time on them

213
00:08:23,086 --> 00:08:25,505
that something horrible
is going to happen in there,

214
00:08:25,588 --> 00:08:27,966
and knowing that you're watching
Game of Thrones

215
00:08:28,008 --> 00:08:30,760
and you don't know what is going
to come for you from where.

216
00:08:30,969 --> 00:08:32,886
And seeing that play out
hopefully is the fun

217
00:08:32,971 --> 00:08:35,807
and the horror for the audience
that's yet to come.

218
00:08:36,099 --> 00:08:38,351
♪ (MUSIC SWELLS) ♪

219
00:08:38,476 --> 00:08:39,644
(MUFFLED YELP)

220
00:08:40,687 --> 00:08:42,230
♪ (MUSIC CONCLUDES) ♪