Summary
House of the Dragon’s Helaena actor, Phia Saban, reacts to the Blood and Cheese scene, saying “nothing prepares you” for it. Based on George R.R. Martin’s bookFire & Blood, the popularGame of Thronesprequel series returned for its second season that past Sunday, continuing to chronicle the beginnings of the Targaryen civil war.House of the Dragonseason 2 episode 1 endsby adapting the infamous Blood and Cheese scene, which sees Daemon hiring two assassins who end up killing Aegon and Helaena’s six-year-old son, Jaehaerys.
During an appearance on the officialHouse of the Dragonpodcast,Saban shared her reaction toHouse of the Dragon’s Blood and Cheese scene. The actor, who plays Helaena, also discussed how far in advance she knew the scene would happen at the end of the season 2 premiere. Read her full comments below:
If you give people a sniff that you’re in something like House of the Dragon, and then they know that world at all and you say, “Oh, I’m playing Helaena,” they’re like, “You know what happens to you, right?” I was being told by people on the train that I was sitting next to!
But nothing prepares you for opening [the script] up and being like, “Okay, they’re doing that episode one.” What I really liked when I read in the script was how simple they made it. It’s all just set in the present, in the immediate moment. And, you know, that’s not like too much dialogue. They’re not trying to do too much with it.
House Of The Dragon Season 2’s Blood & Cheese Scene Is Brutal
(Despite It Being Toned Down For The Show)
House of the Dragonseason 2’s Blood and Cheesescene has received divided reactions for making many changes to the infamous moment.In the book, Blood and Cheese is a lot more brutal. For instance, Daemon hires the assassins to directly kill one of Aegon’s children, rather than Aemond. Then,Helaena is forced to choose between Jaehaerysand Maelor, her two sons, the latter of whom doesn’t exist in the show. Furthermore, Alicent is in the room and is bound, gagged, and forced to watch.
I Can’t Believe How House Of The Dragon Changed THAT Scene After 6 Years Of Hype
House of the Dragon season 2, episode 1 has a very significant scene from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, but the show’s version is disappointing.
Despite it being toned down for the show, Blood and Cheese still stands asHouse of the Dragon’s most shockingly brutal moment yet. It’s understandable that the show opted not to show a child being beheaded onscreen, instead relying on the horrifying sound of the unspeakable act, and the result is chillingly effective. Saban’s performance as a mother in shock, simply stating, “They killed the boy,” is a simple and effective way of depicting the character’s devastation.
As Saban says, the show simplifies its Blood and Cheese scene. Just because there are fewer characters involved and fewer threats of violence made, doesn’t mean that the show has ruined the scene, as some have argued. Despite it being toned down,House of the Dragon’s Blood and Cheese scene works well both viscerally and narratively, and it will be interesting to see how season 2 plays out after the game-changing event.
House of the Dragonis streaming on Max, and airs new episodes on Sunday nights.
Source:House of the Dragon podcast
