“They must see me a ruler, and the symbols of authority are not jewels and gowns but the shield and the sword.” Errant comment or prophecy?
Emma D’Arcy has received heaps of praise for portraying Rhaenyra Targaryen on House of the Dragon. We’re currently near the start of what is sure to be a long wait for the third season of HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel series, but D’Arcy is already thinking about the kinds of things they’d like to do.
“A privilege of my job is to work with extraordinary actors, and that’s where I derive a huge amount of energy and pleasure,” D’Arcy told The Guardian about working on the show. “I enjoy the familial confines of House of the Dragon, but all that said I’m desperate to beef up my Spotlight skill section and I do want a sword next season. I want a reason to see the stunt team. Both things are true.”
Rhaenyra made a couple of comments in House of the Dragon season 2 about needing to take up arms in order to present herself as someone worthy of the Iron Throne. “They must see me a ruler, and the symbols of authority are not jewels and gowns but the shield and the sword.” She memorably picks up a sword in one shot, but doesn’t use it.
Rhaenyra doesn’t do any actual fighting in Fire & Blood, the book on which House of the Dragon is based, but the showrunners have changed a ton about the book, so I don’t think it’s impossible that D’Arcy could get their wish sooner or later.
Emma D’Arcy on the difficulty of acting opposite tennis balls in House of the Dragon
I’m not sure if we’ll ever see Rhaenyra fight, but I’m certain we’ll see her interact with more dragons. D’arcy sounds like they have mixed feelings about acting opposite the gargantuan, imaginary beasts:
“Often shooting on those special effect sequences is very bitty, very broken up, and sometimes I experience an imaginative ache – the work of conjuring is fatiguing. I’ve still got a way to go when it comes to tennis ball acting, which is where you’ll have the unseen object represented by a tennis ball. But one director on the show was on the microphone the whole time we shot, voicing the dragon, and I cannot say how useful and generous and brilliant that was.”
To House of the Dragon season 2 directors Alan Taylor, Clare Kilner, Geeta Vasant Patel, Andrij Parekh and Loni Peristere: whoever decided to voice the dragon, nice idea!
D’Arcy is currently starring in the Greek myth-inspired drama The Other Place at the National Theatre in London. I imagine D’Arcy would be quite compelling to see on stage. As for seeing them back onscreen as Rhaenyra, we’ll probably have to wait until 2026.
