House of the Dragon season 2 episode 1 spoilers follow.
House of the Dragon star Phia Saban has revealed that changes to the season two premiere death from the show's source material are what led to her character's "tragic" decision.
In a scene inspired by Fire and Blood, the George R R Martin novel on which House of the Dragon is based, Saban's character Helaena Targaryen was made to choose which of her children should be executed – her son Jaehaerys or daughter Jaehaera.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Saban said she felt the decision was completely out of Helaena's control.
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"I don't think she sees it as a choice, really and I think that's part of the tragedy of it," she told us. "I think, in a way, for me, that's – I don't want to say 'more sad', but – it's a different level of heightened situation.
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"I think that she sees the stakes as too high to even try and throw them off the scent. She's like, 'This is life or death, and it's right now'."
The fan-anticipated moment comes from the 'Blood and Cheese' storyline in Fire and Blood, which placed Helaena in a similar position.
In the source material, Helaena appeared to put up a stronger fight, feeling that she could change the course of events by offering up her life in her children's place.
Fire and Blood Collector's Edition by George R R Martin
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When her proposal was rejected, she was forced instead to decide which of her sons would be murdered, Jaehaerys or Maelor (Jaehaera was kept out of the equation in the books).
Despite the brutality of the death, showrunner Ryan Condal was adamant that the scene was nothing like Game of Thrones' Red Wedding.
"A Song of Ice and Fire and Game of Thrones have really conditioned people to expect the unexpected and expect the horrible," Condal told Entertainment Weekly.
However, speaking to Total Film, he insisted "it was just about telling the character's story".
"I do dispute [the comparison] a bit," Condal said. "It is certainly a shocking moment but the reason the Red Wedding was great was because it was shocking, but it also eliminated these two people you saw as – and certainly once Ned Stark died – you saw Cat and Robb as the stars of the show.
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"They were the Stark family, and to eliminate them both in such a shocking way, at a wedding of all things: you can never top that, particularly because that's already happened."
Condal added that a challenge the House of the Dragon team have faced is people asking them questions such as what their 'Red Wedding moment' would be, and which character was their equivalent of Cersei Lannister.
"And so you're constantly in the shadow of that great original series," he continued.
"We just set out and try to tell our story as it happens and that particular event has its own place in the narrative, and certainly, it's shocking and awful.
"But it's really more of a way of dramatising how terrible war is and how quickly things can get out of control, particularly in medieval time periods such as this."
Condal insisted that the House of the Dragon team are "less interested in the shock value" of the storylines, favouring "the character experience through it, and then what happens to the characters as a result of it afterwards".
House of the Dragon season two airs on Sunday nights on HBO and Max in the US, and on Mondays on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.
Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.
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TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
