Daemon (played by Matt Smith) had just arrived at Harrenhal, eager to secure House Strong’s support for his wife Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne. His first night’s sleep was abruptly interrupted by none other than Milly Alcock, who portrayed the younger version of Rhaenyra in the first five episodes of season 1.
Ryan Condal, the showrunner of ‘House of the Dragon’, shared that convincing Alcock to return for a cameo and reprise her beloved role was “very easy in terms of will.” “We were excited about the prospect. Milly was eager to come back, and everybody was thrilled to have her return,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
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However, keeping Alcock’s return under wraps posed a significant challenge. “I think one of our greatest feats was keeping that a secret all the way through, especially given that it occurred right at the beginning [of the season],” Condal explained.
In the pivotal scene, Daemon follows an inexplicable pull and unexpectedly encounters young Rhaenyra. She reproaches him for his recklessness and for the beheading of Aegon’s son, Jaehaerys, in the season 2 premiere. “Always coming and going, aren’t you? And I have to clean up afterwards,” Rhaenyra remarks as she sews Jaehaerys’ head back onto his body, evoking tears from Daemon.
Condal emphasised that this dream-like sequence serves to illustrate Daemon’s haunted past, particularly by those he has wronged. According to Geeta Vasant Patel, who directed the episode, when Alcock arrived on set alongside Smith, “the first thing we discussed was their intimacy and how much they trusted each other with each other’s feelings.”
The scene provided Daemon with an opportunity to confront himself and reflect deeply. Patel described season 2 as “a level of therapy” for Daemon, noting, “He’s been running so fast, he’s never really stopped to feel things. When she turns and looks at him, I want to make sure that without words he would be confronted because she’s seeing him and knows him.”
-Sushmita Sarkar