[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/entertainment\/house-of-the-dragon-director-talks-about-that-shocking-kiss-and-alyss-mysterious-presence\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/entertainment\/house-of-the-dragon-director-talks-about-that-shocking-kiss-and-alyss-mysterious-presence\/","headline":"House of the Dragon Director Talks About That Shocking Kiss and Alys’s Mysterious Presence: Our Recap of Season 2, Episode 6","name":"House of the Dragon Director Talks About That Shocking Kiss and Alys’s Mysterious Presence: Our Recap of Season 2, Episode 6","description":"House of the Dragon Director on That Surprising Kiss and Whether Alys Is Real Andrij Parekh transitions from ‘Succession’ to ‘Dragon’ and addresses some burning questions about the sixth episode of season two, “Smallfolk.” An unexpected romance. A new dragon rider. A charred Darklyn. A riot in the streets. These were some of the key…","datePublished":"2024-07-22","dateModified":"2024-07-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/author\/andre\/#Person","name":"Andrej Kovacevic","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/author\/andre\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/techloot-editor-150x150.jpg","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/techloot-editor-150x150.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Tech Loot","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techlootio.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/techloot-footer-logo.png","url":"https:\/\/techlootio.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/techloot-footer-logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_1035.jpg","url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/Screenshot_1035.jpg","height":908,"width":1367},"url":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/entertainment\/house-of-the-dragon-director-talks-about-that-shocking-kiss-and-alyss-mysterious-presence\/","about":["Entertainment"],"wordCount":1386,"keywords":["#AndrijParekh","#FantasyDrama","#HouseOfTheDragon","#Succession","HBO"],"articleBody":"House of the Dragon Director on That Surprising Kiss and Whether Alys Is RealAndrij Parekh transitions from ‘Succession’ to ‘Dragon’ and addresses some burning questions about the sixth episode of season two, “Smallfolk.”An unexpected romance. A new dragon rider. A charred Darklyn. A riot in the streets. These were some of the key moments from the latest episode of HBO\u2019s fantasy drama House of the Dragon, which has marched toward its final two episodes of the year.Below, Emmy-winning Succession veteran Andrij Parekh, who is new to the franchise, reflects on directing the episode and answers some burning questions, including whether the seemingly omniscient Harrenhal healer Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) is a ghost. He also reveals a Succession-style touch he added to one particular scene.The Draw of Family DynamicsImage Credit: HBO“The circumstances are different, but it\u2019s still about family. That\u2019s what attracted me to doing House of the Dragon. It\u2019s really about family and family conflicts and, in many ways, was an extension of Succession,” Parekh said.Expectations vs. RealityHow was the experience like what you expected and what was different than you anticipated?“It\u2019s massive scale. I was a little taken aback by walking onto those sets. Then you remind yourself that those sets were built by [production designer] Jim Clay, who did masterful work. It was an honor and pleasure in that sense because it felt like there was no end to the set,” he shared.“I\u2019ve been on that continuous, multi-story Red Keep set, and it\u2019s so impressive. It feels like a space where you could just move in and live there.”“Absolutely. They feel completely lived-in and real. What I love about shooting in New York is walking onto a location, and it feels like you\u2019re shooting in a real location, and this [felt similar]. It oftentimes felt like relocation. And you\u2019d just go to lunch and see hundreds of people eating; it was like there was an army behind the army.”First Impressions of the ScriptGayle Rankin in \u201cSmallfolk.\u201d Image Credit: HBOSo when you first got the script, what excited you about this episode?“I think what I loved was that this episode is about Rhaenyra (Emma D\u2019Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) almost being at their lowest points in their lives. Alicent has been missing one son; she\u2019s being kicked off the Council. Rhaenyra\u2019s husband has left her, she\u2019s feeling completely isolated and alone; she has all these men calculating [moves] without necessarily involving her input. They\u2019re both feeling incredibly isolated as characters and part of the challenge with this episode, for me, was to keep the tension alive of what was happening in King\u2019s Landing and what was happening in the world of Westeros, which are two worlds about to go to war. There\u2019s a feeling of desperation and imminent doom that\u2019s different in both camps. We\u2019ve seen the result of one battle. You know what that war is going to be like,” Parekh explained.The Mystery of Alys RiversImage Credit: HBOThere\u2019s another scene with Daemon (Matt Smith) and Alys (Gayle Rankin) this week. Are we supposed to be assuming she\u2019s a real person and not a ghost? Not asking for a spoiler. But just curious what I\u2019m supposed to be assuming as a viewer \u2014 because I\u2019ve been watching this thinking she\u2019s not really there.“I think a healthy amount of doubt makes that much more interesting. She\u2019s able to enter Daemon\u2019s mind and read his mind. She\u2019s definitely otherworldly. I\u2019ll leave it at that.”Proud MomentsImage Credit: HBOWhich scene were you most proud of?“The scenes that were challenging for me, for various reasons, were the burning of Darklyn (Anthony Flanagan) when he attempted to ride Seasmoke. And Seasmoke finding his rider. And the kiss between Rhaenyra and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) \u2014 that was very challenging to make that feel earned and real,” Parekh recounted.The Unexpected RomanceThat potential romance was sort of hiding in plain sight, and it was a moment that felt both unexpected yet also made sense.“I think it\u2019s a surprise. But I also don\u2019t want it to feel like it\u2019s an outlier and for it to fit into the emotional truth, which is linear, which is that Rhaenyra has been abandoned by her husband. And that kiss hopefully feels like it\u2019s earned, and real and emotionalized.”Staging the Seasmoke SceneWhen Darklyn tries to ride Seasmoke, you know this isn\u2019t going to go well. How was staging that moment?“A lot of that scene is spent on Rhaenyra. I feel like it\u2019s about her projection of possibility, as ludicrous as it seems. She\u2019s going to try to will this thing to happen. And hopefully, the audience feels like it\u2019s about to happen, and then suddenly it doesn\u2019t happen, in a quick and unexpected way. We had a real set that Jim built, and that walkway is like 15 feet off the ground. You can definitely fall off, and it feels quite dangerous, so when you\u2019re there, it feels real, even though it’s against a blue screen.”Subtle DetailsImage Credit: HBOWas there any subtle detail from the episode that a casual fan might miss?“I loved Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) giving the ball back to Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) by pushing it into his wound and torturing him with it. He basically hands the power back to him, but in a way that shows who really has the power,” Parekh pointed out.Keeping Meeting Scenes EngagingImage Credit: HBOHouse of the Dragon, like Succession, tends to have a lot of meeting scenes \u2014 I particularly liked your dramatic intro shot of Aemond leaning across the table at the Small Council meeting. What\u2019s the secret to keep such scenes active and engaging when you have a bunch of characters around a table?“I just think it\u2019s about moving the drama forward. And I feel like Aemond is so powerful in that scene. You feel he\u2019s a very different presence than Aegon at that Small Council, in a radically different way. He\u2019s immediately getting down to business and not asking anyone what they really think; he\u2019s telling them what they need to do. So that level of command I found inspiring.”“We also covered it in a kind of Succession way \u2014 a moving camera around the table. That was something I loved to do as a DP in Succession, but also as a director. I think it keeps it alive for the actors. It\u2019s always wonderful when the actors don\u2019t know where the cameras are. All of them are forced to act as an ensemble, and then you\u2019re basically creating filmed theater, and that\u2019s when it feels really alive to me \u2014 when they don\u2019t know where the camera is looking, exactly. It adds a level of uncertainty and electricity that I think helps in terms of performance,” Parekh explained.ConclusionImage Credit: HBO“I just think it\u2019s about moving the drama forward. And I feel like Aemond is so powerful in that scene. You feel he\u2019s a very different presence than Aegon at that Small Council, in a radically different way. He\u2019s immediately getting down to business and not asking anyone what they really think; he\u2019s telling them what they need to do. So that level of command I found inspiring.”“We also covered it in a kind of Succession way \u2014 a moving camera around the table. That was something I loved to do as a DP in Succession, but also as a director. I think it keeps it alive for the actors. It\u2019s always wonderful when the actors don\u2019t know where the cameras are. All of them are forced to act as an ensemble, and then you\u2019re basically creating filmed theater, and that\u2019s when it feels really alive to me \u2014 when they don\u2019t know where the camera is looking, exactly. It adds a level of uncertainty and electricity that I think helps in terms of performance,” Parekh concluded."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Entertainment","item":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/entertainment\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"House of the Dragon Director Talks About That Shocking Kiss and Alys’s Mysterious Presence: Our Recap of Season 2, Episode 6","item":"https:\/\/techloot.co.uk\/entertainment\/house-of-the-dragon-director-talks-about-that-shocking-kiss-and-alyss-mysterious-presence\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]