House of the Dragon has had an unusual way of telling its story from the start. The show has had a slower start than its predecessor Game of Thrones. While the show is still packed with the drama the franchise is known for, The Hollywood Reporter details how the showrunner and executive producer Ryan Condal (House of the Dragon, Colony) decided to tell the story at a slower pace.
The source material for the series the novel Fire & Blood by George R. R. Martin (A Song of Ice and Fire) spans more than 150 years. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Condal was behind the decision to make the first season a “slow burn.” He explains that in doing so the audience has the opportunity to see the backstory of the characters and the small decisions that lead to the Civil War, also known as The Dance of the Dragons.
Even though the series is considered to have a slow pace compared to the original show, it still keeps fans at the edge of their seats. The show’s slow pace has forced the showrunners to introduce time jumps in-between episodes, which helped the story jump into essential events rather than showing the audience the everyday life of the characters. Even with its unconventional storytelling, House of the Dragon remains a popular show watched by millions of viewers.
The latest time jump occurred in episode six, the latest episode to premiere. The difference between this time jump and the previous ones is that in this episode the show skips over ten years in the characters’ lives. To accomplish this, the showrunners decided to recast the young actors that portrayed important characters in the show’s first half.
The actress Milly Alcock (Upright, The Gloaming) who played young Rhaenyra Targaryen was replaced by Emma D’Arcy (Truth Seekers, Wanderlust) who plays an older Rhaenyra. She now has been married for ten years and has three children. Another character that got a recast is Alicent Hightower who used to be played by Emily Carey (Casualty, Get Even) and is now played by Olivia Cooke (Slow Horses, Modern Love).
The audience knew this recast was coming as it was shown in some of the show’s trailers. Still, the showrunners worried about the fans’ reaction to the recast. While this technique of recasting is not new to the TV industry, with shows like The Crown recasting the actors posing as members of the royal family as the story advances, it is the first time a TV show recasts its characters after less than 5 episodes with them.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, this is not the last cast change we will see this season. The Hollywood Reporter mentioned that one character that is going to see a recast again is Aegon Targaryen who is currently being played by Ty Tennant (War of the Worlds, Doom Patrol). It still hasn’t been revealed who will replace him.
While such a quick recast has never been seen in a mainstream TV show before, House of the Dragon is expected to remain just as popular. Don’t forget to check the review of the latest episode.