War Is Coming And ‘House Of The Dragon’ Director Says She Has Chosen A Side

Spoiler Warning: This article and the podcast episode it covers contain spoilers for the latest episode of HBO’s House of the Dragon. 

“King Viserys Targaryen”, first of his name, has passed at the age of 52. While he kept a firm and sometimes unsteady grip on peace within his family, his death marks the beginning of a bloody civil war in the fictional land of Westeros. 

The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon is standing ready to dig into the finale as soon as it airs next week, but for now they are taking a closer look at what went into the highest rated episode of the season so far, “The Lord of the Tides.”  

“It felt like the slimmest of windows for peace to be sealed and to bind up the wounds that have bedeviled the realm,” said host Jason Concepcion. “It almost worked. It really almost worked.”

He and cohost Greta Johnsen welcomed Geeta Patel, director of episode eight, to the podcast where she shared what it was like working with the cast behind the scenes and which queen she would support in the coming conflict.

“I mean I’m with ‘Rhaenyra,’ ” said Patel. “She is a family girl. I’m a family girl. Part of me would go with green just to help out, maybe bring everyone together.”

The director said although “Alicent Hightower” has her issues, there is still something there worth loving. Patel said after reading the script for “The Lord of the Tides,” she disliked Alicent, which didn’t fit with the turn at the end of the episode.

“I thought, ‘Wait a minute, we need to love her,’” said the director. Then came the scene where Olivia Cooke, the actor behind “Alicent,” was comforting the woman who was sexually assaulted by her son. “She came in, and I loved her. I loved ‘Alicent,’ even though everything she did was self-serving and selfish. On the page, it had not made sense to me, but in the moment it all did.”

Listen to the full conversation on “House of the Dragon: Ep. 8 ‘The Lord of the Tides.’" The season finale of the HBO series is in two weeks and The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon will release their reaction to the episode soon after. Subscribe and turn on notifications to listen to as soon as the episode airs.

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