The Big Picture

House of the Dragon Season 2 draws the story into the civil war within House Targaryen between the Blacks and the Greens.
Ewan Mitchell discusses Aemond’s loyalty and the repercussions of his dragon’s attack on Lucerys in the first season.
Phia Saban discusses Helaena’s dreams and she and Mitchell talk about a popular fan theory between their characters.

Very soon we will be venturing back into Westeros for House of the Dragon Season 2’s premiere. With the new season comes more dragons, more platinum blonde wigs, and more eyebrow-raising family members marrying one another from the Targaryen family. While Game of Thrones gave us a plethora of Westeros houses to declare our loyalty to, the prequel series forces audiences to pick a side this season as the eponymous house splits itself down the middle of a brewing civil war. Those who support Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) call themselves the Greens, while those who support his older half-sister Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) call themselves the Blacks.

Though Rhaenyra has taken control of Dragonstone, Aegon II now sits on the Iron Throne. At his side he has his mother, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), his grandfather, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the commander of his Kingsguard, Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), and his brother and sister. Helaena (Phia Saban) is both his younger sister and his wife and queen, which isn’t that weird when you remember that the Targaryens encourage marriage between siblings. Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) is his younger brother but also one of the most powerful allies he can have, since he rides the world’s largest dragon. However, we know Aemond isn’t exactly fully dedicated to his brother and that dragon of his might not be so reliable.

We spoke with both Ewan Mitchell and Phia Saban about the new season of House of the Dragon and what Aemond and Helaena’s roles are in the war. We discussed the theory that Aemond might be the father of Helaena’s children. We also discussed the incident in the Season 1 finale between Aemond and Lucerys (Elliot Grihault) and Vhagar’s attack. Mitchell teased Aemond’s Season 2 arc and Saban discussed a desire for Helaena to gain more control over her dreams. Watch the video interview with Mitchell and Saban above or read the full transcript of the interview below.

House of the Dragon The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO series Game of Thrones. Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon is set nearly 200 years before Game of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.Release Date August 21, 2022 Creator Ryan J. Condal, George R.R. Martin Main Genre Drama Seasons 4 Distributor HBO Expand

Phia Saban and Ewan Mitchell Discuss Helaena and Aemond Theories
COLLIDER: I’m gonna jump right into an interesting question that I think a lot of fans have been wondering about, and it’s between the two of your characters, Aemond and Helaena. Have you guys heard of the fan theory that Aemond is actually the father of Helaena’s children?

PHIA SABAN: Helaemond. Yes.

EWAN MITCHELL: We have.

SABAN: We’ve discussed it, haven’t we?

MITCHELL: Yes, we have.

Image via HBO

SABAN: That’s such an interesting theory, isn’t it? They even think that they can hear the kids saying “dad,” or something when you come in the room.

MITCHELL: Really? In a scene?

SABAN: Yeah, I’ve seen it online.

MITCHELL: I walk past them and they’re like, “Daddy!” [Laughs] Wow, I didn’t know that. Maybe. Maybe we’ll find out.

SABAN: Maybe you will. To be honest, I’m already married to the other brother. I mean, it’s not completely out of the question, is it? I like that people have had such a strong reaction to our relationship in the show because there’s not a lot there to go on. I don’t know if we speak words to each other in Season 1. I don’t think we exchange any words, so it’s really cool that people have had such a strong feeling about our chemistry and our dynamic. That’s really nice to see.

Definitely.

MITCHELL: What do you think? What’s your take?

I have sensed some of the energy in those scenes. I have also seen the theory of the kids saying “daddy.” I don’t know. You’re right. He seems like the nicer of the two brothers, at least during Season 1.

SABAN: I think they’re closer, for sure.

MITCHELL: Yeah, for sure.

Where Do Aemond’s Loyalties Truly Lie?
Image via HBO

Ewan, Aemond, I feel like sometimes it’s not really clear where his loyalties lie, if it’s with his brother or if it’s with himself. Do you have a perspective on that when it comes to him?

MITCHELL: I do, but I think that’s what’s so compelling about the character. You’re not entirely sure where his loyalties lie. You don’t know which way he’s going to go. You might not like Aemond, you might not feel like you’re supposed to like him, but you do feel something for him. You do know that, although he might not say much, or he might hold back in scenes, he is thinking in those moments, which I really wanted to get across. He’s not just this mindless psychopath. There is something at play behind the eyes.

SABAN: The cogs are turning.

MITCHELL: And in Season 2, you might just find out what that is.

How Does Helaena Experience Her Prophetic “Dreams”?
Image via HBO

Phia, Helaena is this Cassandra-like figure in the story in that she has these visions that nobody seems to really realize it or even believe her. How do you see her character seeing these visions? Does she see them as images? Does she hear them as words? Do you have any thoughts on that?

SABAN: It’s an interesting one. The title is Dreamer, isn’t it? So you might assume that it’s all happening when she’s asleep, but I like to think of her more as a daydreamer. The way that I’ve made it make sense to myself is that it’s a super heightened sense of intuition, and it’s something that’s felt in that way. We all have it, but she just has it really intensely. She’s uncomfortable so much of the time anyway, and I think that these discomforts just kind of lie on top of those ones, and it becomes a bit of a buzz and a noise. She’s already saying stuff that people are like, “That’s a bit weird,” anyway, so it just sort of starts going by the wayside. Everyone’s just like, “Oh, she’s probably chatting about bugs or saying, ‘I feel funny about something.’” And they’re all like, “Yeah, yeah.” So, I just see it as a really strong intuition. I don’t know if it fully makes sense to her. I think something that’s cool about Helaena from now to the future is that what I would like to get across and to see is maybe her coming into her own a little bit with making that make sense for her. Taking a bit of control.

Related ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 Review: A Bigger, Bloodier Return That Could Overshadow ‘Game of Thrones’ ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 premieres June 16 on HBO and Max.

Ewan Mitchell Discusses Vhagar’s Attack on Luke in Season 1

Ewan, one of the key moments of Season 1 was seeing Vhagar kill Lucerys.

MITCHELL: It wasn’t my fault. I swear.

Well, my question is, has he had a talking to with Vhagar? Like, “We need to be on the same level right now”?

SABAN: [Laughs] Oh, I’d love to see that.

MITCHELL: I know, I do. I need a talkin’-to to Vhagar.

SABAN: A tap on the nose.

MITCHELL: Yes, be like, “Bad girl.” Yeah, I think he should. He needs to control this dragon a little bit more. But then again, I mean, that’s kind of Aemond. It goes part and parcel with Aemond. He can’t really control his emotions, and Vhagar is a little bit of the same.

Who Would Mitchell and Saban Play on Team Black?
Image via HBO

Well, that’s very interesting. Just one final question. If you guys could play a character on the other team, so Team Black, who would you pick?

MITCHELL: Daemon Targaryen. I know that.

Not even a pause.

MITCHELL: I think Aemond wants to be Daemon Targaryen. Yeah, so Daemon. Such an interesting character. I love Matt Smith’s performance in it.

Image via HBO

SABAN: Oh my goodness. That’s such a good question. I’d like to play someone who goes outside more than Helaena does, just get some vitamin D. [Laughs] So, maybe Baela or Rhaena. Someone who’s on a dragon. Yeah!

MITCHELL: That’d be cool.

Well, she has a dragon!

SABAN: I know! Where’s she at? Maybe one day.

House of the Dragon Season 2 premieres Sunday, June 16 on Max.

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