Emilia Clarke Is Not Interested In Watching House Of The Dragon
"House of the Dragon" is trying to do what may seem impossible, expanding on and improving on the "Game of Thrones" universe. Set 100 years after the unification of the Seven Kingdoms by the Targaryen Conquest and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), the series focuses on the decline of House Targaryen and the events leading up to the war of succession, called the Dance of the Dragons.
There are many themes and happenings throughout the 1st season of the series. Still, the tensions between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) and Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) as they vied for the throne seemed to be the surface story. Dealing with loss was the underlying theme for D'Arcy, as they sat down with GQ to discuss several topics, including how Rhaenyra lost her mother, father, daughter, and son. "The way that I made sense of it is that she feels well-educated in grief," the actor explained. "Then she learns at the end of episode 10 that she knows nothing about grief up to this point. There's that idea that you would die for your lover, but kill for your children. She understands that now."
But these themes of grief and loss are not why Clarke can't bring herself to watch the show. Her character saw her own moments of loss from the deaths of her husband, her brother, and numerous friends before going mad by the end of the original show. However, the British actress revealed that she has a different reason for not watching the prequel to her hit series.
It felt too weird for her
Daenerys Targaryen actress Emilia Clarke recently spoke with Variety to discuss her new project, "The Pod Generation," a film that sees her and her partner attempt to have a child through the use of a separate uterus. During the conversation about the new film co-starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, the interviewer asked if she had watched "House of the Dragon," and her response was a bit surprising.
"No! Can you [forgive me]?" Clarke said. "It's too weird. I'm so happy it's happening. I'm over the moon about all the awards ... I just can't do it. It's so weird. It's so strange. It's kind of like someone saying, 'You want to go to this school reunion that's not your year? Want to go to that school reunion?' That's how it feels. I'm avoiding it."
The series became the most-watched series on HBO Max, picking up nearly 10 million viewers for the premiere, beating out the "Game of Thrones" premiere by a substantial margin. Of course, the latter didn't have the benefit of over a decade's worth of fandom, but there was undoubtedly a lot of hype for "House of the Dragon." Even still, while the series has been popular enough to command a Season 2 that starts filming in March of 2023, they can't count on Emilia Clarke as a viewer.