EXCLUSIVE: Some fans of the HBO drama were left disappointed by the shocking twist at the end of House
of the Dragon’s season premiere, so we asked one of the stars involved for his reaction.
House of the Dragon star Sam C Wilson has hit back at complaints against a controversial change to George RR Martin’s book at the start of season two.
In the premiere, A Son for a Son, Sam portrayed Blood, who’s hired by Daemon Targaryen (played by Matt Smith) alongside a ratcatcher nicknamed Cheese (Mark Stobbart)
to kill Queen Helaena’s (Phia Saban) son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell).
However, they fail to find him in the Red Keep and instead break into Helaena’s chambers to kill her much younger son Jaehaerys instead.
While the moment proved shocking for most HBO viewers, a small faction of fans were left disappointed that the death happened off-screen.
The scene also differed greatly from Martin’s book, Fire and Blood, in which Blood and Cheese give Helaena the choice of which child she wants dead. She chooses her two-year-old son Maelor, but they go against her wishes, slaughtering Jaehaerys and mocking the younger child with the knowledge her mother preferred him to die.
It’s not the first time the franchise has caught flak from diehard A Song of Ice and Fire fans.
But, speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, Sam was adamant the producers made the right decision for the scene considering they were working with very young actors.
“The fact is, you’re doing scenes like that and you’ve got kids on set,” he said.
“As far as I’m concerned, the feeling was, that’s just not an option. We’re here to do a job and make everyone feel comfortable. And I was chuffed with that.
“We were sort of silly, big clowns with the kids and anything that was said that was nasty, they weren’t there.”
Sam maintained that the young performers’ welfare was the top priority whenever they were filming, and they were only on set whenever they absolutely needed to be.
He also admitted that adapting the scene from the book accurately or making Jaehaerys’ death more explicit could have been a very risky move for HBO.
“I think they made the absolute right choice,” the actor went on. “It’s still obvious what’s happened.
“You know exactly what’s going on, I don’t think they could be accused of taking the easy way out of it.
“But they did it in a way that prioritised children’s welfare, and really hope that the fans can forgive the slight amendment for the sake of keeping everyone in real life happy and healthy.
House of the Dragon star Sam C Wilson has addressed the controversy surrounding the recent episode of the HBO drama.
In a recent interview with Express.co.uk, Sam defended the decision made by the producers to change a key scene from George RR Martin’s book.
He emphasized the importance of prioritizing the welfare of the young actors involved in the filming process.
Sam explained that the choice to depict Jaehaerys’ death off-screen was made in consideration of the presence of children on the set.
According to the actor, the producers wanted to create a safe and comfortable environment for the young performers.
He expressed his satisfaction with the way the scene was handled, despite the divergence from the source material.
Sam also reassured fans that the essence of the moment was preserved in the adaptation, even if the depiction was less graphic than in the book.
Overall, he believes that the creative team made the right call in altering the scene for the well-being of the cast and crew.
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Source: Tampa Bay Times