The final moments of last week's episode of House of the Dragon focus in on "the Queen Who Never Was," Rhaenys Targaryen, riding her dragon away from the coronation of Aegon II. She doesn't burn it down, she doesn't kill the Hightowers, she simply throws a steely glance at Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), and takes off—presumably to tell Rhaneyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) what has just went down at King's Landing. "It's almost the most beautiful thing that anybody does in the whole season," Best tells Town & Country. "As well as the most outrageous."
Ahead of the highly anticipated season finale of House of the Dragon, Best chatted about what it was like filming that dragon riding scene, meeting George R.R. Martin, and what she's looking forward to about season two.
At the end of episode nine, Rhaenys escaped the Dragonpit on Meleys, and decided not to set fire to anyone (or anything) as she left. Can you talk a bit more about this moment?
Her decision not to destroy, at that point, is a mark of what a great leader she would've been. Because obviously it's the intelligent choice and she has all the emotional ammunition that's been building up for the entire season to obliterate everybody in that moment.
Having suffered so much from the injustice of the original passing over [for the Iron Throne], the loss of her children, and the situation with her family—there's so much pain and so many challenges on behalf of herself, and on behalf of so many others, emotionally, she absolutely could pull the trigger. The choice not to is such an extraordinarily powerful choice, a graceful choice, and actually, a wise choice.
What do you think that choice means for her moving forward?
She's been a slow burn of a character; she's kept her cards so close to her chest for eight episodes; she's been the soul of discretion, held her poker face, and then exploded in this magnificent way, in that one moment, just to actually make her point and leave. It's the epitome of dignity and generosity.
Going forward, the really significant thing for her is about getting her dragon. She's saying, "Enough is enough. In no uncertain terms, I will not be messed with anymore. And I'm not to be messed with in the future." I think she makes that very, very clear. Up until then, she's been on the sidelines and she has made a conscious choice not to act and not to get involved, partly because that hasn't been her role, and she's been denied the ability to take action. In this moment, she chooses, I think for the first time in her life, to plunge into the deep and to become an actor in the direct firing line, to join the frontline.
And from then on, she's a warrior, effectively. She's placed herself as another combatant. In a sense, she compromised her neutrality, because she'll be a target of the Hightowers. She's now a soldier. She goes into Samurai mode—she's committed now to action, which is the real transformation.
And her actions are all the more remarkable in light of her line earlier in the season, “Men would sooner put the realm to the torch than see a woman ascend the Iron Throne,” which is really at the core of the story that’s being told. She knows what's at stake in that moment.
Absolutely—how amazing. It perhaps might have been the male choice to say dracarys [High Valayrian for "dragonfire"], to torch everybody in that scene. You wonder what would've happened if it had been Daemon on that dragon. The fact that she decides not to, in spite of having suffered so much in the hands of this patriarchal system... it's a great political and physical act, but it also feels like something that has been brewing from that very moment in the very first episode, when she was passed over [as Queen]. I think that huge injustice has been brewing ever since, and bubbling. In that moment, she breaks her own glass ceiling and she just breaks free. It's almost like she needs to wash her hands of the whole mess of them.
Successions are having a moment—on TV and of course, in the UK. Why do you think people continue to be fascinated by them?
It's a really interesting question. The thing about the drama—whether it's a a real life drama, for example the British royal family, or the imaginary drama of House of the Dragon or Succession, or plays like King Lear—these great stories center fundamentally around the family. That nuclear family, those relationships, are so potent. We all relate to them. Everybody relates, in some way, to the family dynamic—to what it means to be a child, what it means to be a parent, what it means to feel loved or passed over, to fight for your own space and your own sense of values. It's great drama and it's gripping to watch. But more than that, there is something inside it that we all relate to: the family dynamic. Who's gonna push you away? Who's gonna win? Who's gonna fall?
I've never thought about it like that, but so many people can relate to having complicated family dynamics.
It's complicated relationships! I mean, I'm shooting something at the moment [Maryland] that's about two sisters. There's no way there is a crown involved in this, but there could be, in terms of the stakes. Because you're fighting for siblings, or you're fighting for the love and attention of your parents. Or parents, you are trying to be right by your children and so often messing up. It's so complicated and tortured.
As we talk about complicated families, it's almost ironic because you have called Rhaenys and Corlys the only healthy relationship in the entire show. What was it like working with Steve Toussaint, and the other actors who play your Velaryon family?
It was fantastic. I mean, Steve and I really got on. He's such a wonderful actor and a wonderful person. Straight away, the day we first met, we were just standing around having coffee, and the first thing we said to each other was, "I think they really get off, don't you?" And [showrunners] Miguel [Sapochnik] and Ryan [Condal] absolutely agreed with us. We were quite clear that this was a partnership; it wasn't just a marriage. It was a very, very healthy, good working relationship, where they really got on. I think they have a fantastic sex life, but I think they also fight like cats and dogs at times, and certainly have massive disagreements in the show about the choices that are made about their children's future. But they share things with each other, and they talk things through and in the end, they're always able to resolve.
It was really nice to be playing together as a family, 'cause we were all quite close. We really found like we were the Velaryon family.
Rhaenys's story, and her ending, are laid out in the source material, Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin. Have you read the book?
Bantam Fire & Blood: 300 Years Before A Game of Thrones (The Targaryen Dynasty: The House of the Dragon)
I didn't know when I signed on how Rhaenys's story was gonna end. And then I found out, and I was pissed off. So I know roughly where she's going. Halfway through the season, we were given by Ryan and Miguel a copy of the book by George. I didn't read it all, but I did, of course, have a little look at the bit featuring Rhaenys, so I saw some of the things that happen to her.
What was wonderful was getting to meet George at San Diego Comic Con. That was a true delight, cause he's so unexpected. You think from the extraordinary, crazy, terrifying, violent, sadistic wild world that he created—I dunno, I'm not quite sure who I was expecting, but I was not expecting an absolutely delightful, charming, dapperly dressed gentleman. I think he was wearing a little sailor's cap hat, and he sort of looked like Father Christmas on holiday. He was so open, friendly, charming, and gentle—the sort of person I wish was my grandfather.
Does having Rhaenys's ending in the back of your mind influence your work?
Oh no, I try not to think about it. She doesn't know what is going to happen—so I try just to see what happens. And with the scripts, they've taken a small piece in the book and they'll elaborate into a whole episode. Maybe two lines of the book will be turned into pages and pages of scenes. So it's very different.
What was your favorite moment during filming season one?
Being on the dragon was one of my favorite moments. It was pretty bonkers—and crazy and fun and so bizarre. It's like a bucking bronco, the dragon, and then a big spike. There's nobody else, it's just you on the dragon with lots of wind machines and bouncing up and down. The director Claire Kilner, yelling down the enormous megaphone over the wind machine, yelling, "And now you're bursting through the floor! And there's stuff everywhere and people are screaming! And now you're turning around and you are looking at Alicent, and then you are looking at Otto..." She just did this amazing running commentary of the whole thing. She's screaming and running around and we had tennis balls, different colored tennis balls, to represent each of the people you had to be looking at. So it was completely nuts.
How does working on a fantasy show like House of the Dragon compare to your work in the theater world, or on a show like Nurse Jackie?
It's the same, actually, in the end, apart from those days when you're doing the dragon work; the rest of the time, it's about the characters. That's the amazing thing about the show, and I'm sure it's why the original Game of Thrones was so loved, why I loved the original Game of Thrones—the relationships were so gripping and enthralling. All the other stuff, that's the added bonus. What draws you in, always, is people and what's going on between them. There were those rare moments when you were filming being on a dragon, but the real focus, the heart of it, is the relationships with the other characters and the other actors. And that's the same whatever you're doing, whether it's the stage or modern TV.
What are you looking forward to about season two?
I'm looking forward to seeing what they come up with! Now that the world of the court, and the regime of Viserys is over, and everything's exploded and we now have two [claimants to the throne], the family has broken apart. I'm looking forward to seeing what the characters get back to in our own different worlds. It could be very different.
In the first season, there was a lot of us as a family—at wedding or funerals or the scenes in the court. Everything was held together by the presence of Viserys. Now, we're all in different places and in different factions. The chaos has begun. I'm looking forward to learning how that will play out. I'm hoping I'll get to ride more dragons; I'm looking forward to fighting some really cool battles.
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Senior News Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, culture, the royals, and a range of other subjects. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Twitter and Instagram.
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