As expected, the latest episode from "House of the Dragon" provided a lot of scenes that fans can unpack. There were some surprising turns, but arguably the biggest one was the cameo that no one expected, and the director of the show shed some light on the scene.
Surprise Cameo on 'House of the Dragon' Episode 3
The third episode titled "The Burning Mill" is out now, and fans didn't waste any time and watched it immediately. Other than the satisfying ending, viewers were also surprised by one appearance. It goes without saying that there will be spoilers ahead.
Daemon Targaryen finally arrives at Harrenhal to claim it in the name of Rhaenyra, which he says is the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms and is big enough to garrison 40,000 men. Upon resting in his quarters, someone tries to enter but fails as he puts his swords through the handles.
After heading out to investigate who it is, he finds a lit room and enters only to find a young Rhaenyra humming. "Always coming and going, aren't you?" she said, "And I have to clean up afterwards." The young Rhaenyra, of course, is played again by Milly Alcock.
This was revealed to be some kind of vision or hallucination, as Daemon snaps back into reality standing beside a Weirwood tree. Director Geeta Vasant Patel said that it was interesting since she had never worked with Alcock before, as mentioned in Gizmodo.
Patel talked to Alcock and Matt Smith about the intimacy of the scene and how the characters trusted each other. "The next part of it was getting inside of Daemon's head, because, up until this point, he has been responsible for killing someone but hasn't processed it."
She explained that the reason behind the scene was for Daemon to finally confront himself, which is depicted with the young Rhaenyra sowing little Jaehaerys' head back to his body. "He's been running so fast, he's never really stopped to feel things."
The director recalled that she was in tears as Smith did so beautifully as he "allowed himself to feel in that moment," particularly remorse and regret, which are emotions that Daemon doesn't express in the show very often.
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Other Surprises in the Episode
Milly Alcock's appearance in the episode was short but impactful, and yet it is just one of the many things that viewers get to unpack. For one, many were not prepared for Aemond's exit from the brothel when Aegon found him.
Perhaps the most nerve-racking of all is the scene where Rhaenyra disguises herself as a septa to get to Alicent and talk to her without being killed on sight. It was in this scene that Alicent discovered she had misunderstood Viserys' last words, which was a satisfying scene for fans.
With her knowing that she made a mistake, there's no longer an excuse for her to plead her innocence in starting the Dance of Dragons. Even with the revelation, we know she will still fight for her son's position, although there's nothing else she can do now that everything has been set in motion.
