In the season finale of House of the Dragon, we see Rhaenyra getting extremely uncomfortable, pacing around the room, and making sure the child is out as quickly as possible. Even though her handmaidens tried helping her with the childbirth, Rhaenyra took things into her own hands, which resulted in what may have been the most stomach-turning scene of House of the Dragon so far (yes, even more than Vaemond Velaryon losing his head).

In the book Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra’s child of misbirth was born with a dragon tail and looked like a monster. This has been changed in House of the Dragon. Similarly, in Game of Thrones, Daenerys Targaryen’s child with Khal Drogo was supposed to have looked just like Rhaenyra’s, however, the GoT showrunners chose not to show the child at all.

However, in House of the Dragon, some elements have been added to make the scene closer to the book. Also, Emma D’Arcy, the actor who plays Rhaenyra Targaryen discussed this scene in an interview with GQ.

Emma D’Arcy Discusses Rhaenyra’s Miscarriage in HOTD Season Finale

As House of the Dragon will not air until at least 2024, we have only these interviews with the cast and crew of House of the Dragon to help us fans quench our thirst for fire and blood.

In a recent interview with GQ, Emma D’Arcy was asked, “When you signed on, did you know the season would culminate in Rhaenyra losing both her unborn child and her son Lucerys in close succession? How much did you know about her story ahead of time?”

To which Emma replied, “Pretty early, maybe before even signing on, I got drafts of the whole series, so I sat down and read the whole thing over the course of like, a whole day. Me and my partner set up a table in my living room and read them through one by one.”

It seems that Emma was well informed of the entirety of the season pretty early on during production, which is important for the actors, as they need to adjust to the sudden changes that House of the Dragon brings in. Emma D’Arcy acknowledges this and calls these “the currency of House of the Dragon.” In the interview with GQ she said:

“The currency of House of the Dragon is literally: massive life events. And normally they are within the category of suffering and trauma. Episode 10 is like one hilly landscape, with huge tremors.”

How Does House of the Dragon Manage Chaotic Scripts?

During its first season, House of the Dragon has embarked on a media blitz, engaging current fans while actively attracting post-Thrones doubters with a combination of conniving, betrayals, planning, and of course, dragons! It’s up to the fans if it’s beyond the sum of its components – you could have found the numerous time jumps tedious, and the repeated cast replacements difficult to grasp.

It is the main attraction of the Game of Thrones franchise as a whole to have such complex scripts and political madness layered with a lot of bloodsheds. This is what keeps the fans on the edge of their seat season to season.