Spoilers for the second episode of House of the Dragon Season 2 ahead! If you’re not caught up, you can watch the episode with a Max subscription, and you can catch new episodes in the same place every Sunday as part of the 2024 TV schedule.
When it comes to any show within the universe of A Song of Ice and Fire, there’s guaranteed to be some moments that will sit with you. Whether it’s the most shocking moments of Game of Thrones or the switch-up of a storyline from the books, there’s always something. For the second episode of House of the Dragon Season 2, the final battle between Ser Erryk and Ser Arryk seems guaranteed to stick with fans, and showrunner Ryan Condal explained how long the gut-punching process of making it happen was.
House of the Dragon Season 2 has already delivered us plenty of instances that have gotten the internet buzzing. Whether it’s about Alicent and Ser Criston Cole’s shift in their relationship or the long-awaited and gruesome Season 2 premiere, there’s a lot to talk about. But the absolute gut-punch that was the ending of the second episode is what we are talking about today.
The final battle between Ser Arryk and Ser Erryk, two twin brothers who swore to protect the rulers they serve, is a poignant and heart-wrenching moment. In a tragic turn of events, Ser Erryk is forced to kill his brother and then himself. This scene, which took months to create, is a testament to the emotional depth and complexity of House of the Dragon Season 2. Ryan Condal told CinemaBlend:
Yeah, that was quite a production…it was planned for months. The stunts were carefully choreographed. I have to say, to their [Luke and Elliot Tittensor] credit, they trained the hell out of that sequence and really basically are in every shot of that. That’s actually them. They did all this sword and stamina training and everything. It’s incredible what they did. And we shot that over multiple days on set, but it was very emotional. This cast is a big family and everybody’s gotten to know each other very well. And even though that was not their last day on set because of the way we crossboard and block the show, it was closer to the end, and I think it was a big emotional thing for the two of them to pull off. But they did an amazing job with it, and I think it really stuck with all of us.
It’s seemingly stuck with most of the internet as well. These are the kinds of scenes that sit with me when it comes to the best fantasy shows. We can talk about the Targaryen family tree all we want or which Targaryen rides which dragon, but at the end of the day, some of the best scenes involve two family members who are dueling it out in the most complicated way possible.
Condal even commented on that specifically. Because these were two very honorable knights and brothers sworn to different rulers, it makes this moment that much more “moving” and “hard” to watch. He said:
It’s so hard to see these two guys, who are honorable knights, who find themselves put on different sides of this conflict based on the nature of it, the fact that the royal family has torn itself apart… I mean, they’ve taken an oath that prevents them from doing harm to a royal family member, but when one of them is now the enemy, how do you reckon with that as a knight who’s cloaked themselves in honor and chivalry for their entire lives? It’s a really complicated thing for them to go through. And I think that’s why it ends the way it does. But I find that to be one of the most moving scenes in the show that we’ve filmed so far. And I’m glad it’s landed.
With House of the Dragon only being eight episodes for Season 2, I’m not sure how many more gut-wrenching scenes we are going to encounter – but if they’re anywhere near as strong as this, I have a feeling I’ll have to restock on my tissues soon enough.