Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, and Harry Collett were among the members of Team Black who took part in HBO’s House of the Dragon season two press conference. The new season finds the Seven Kingdoms in a state of chaos, with Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (D’Arcy), Prince Daemon Targaryen (Smith), Prince Jacaerys ‘Jace’ Velaryon (Collett) and their allies preparing for war against the newly crowned King Aegon II Targaryen.

Season two begins with an episode titled “A Son for a Son.” Rhaenyra and Daemon are grieving not just the loss of King Viserys, but also the murder of Prince Lucerys by Prince Aemond. Episode one’s title implies that Luke’s death will be quickly avenged. However, viewers will have to tune in on Sunday, June 16, 2024 at 9pm ET/PT to find out how that might be accomplished.

The following are spoiler-free highlights from House of the Dragon‘s recent press conference in support of the launch of season two.

On the impact of season one’s younger version on her performance in season two:

Emma D’Arcy: “It’s been really nice, actually, coming back to the show. I like to be quite a conscientious worker, so understanding the job description better really suits my conscience. And yeah, I mean I think we’re very lucky. A lot of the work of an actor, I think, is to sort of fill in the unseen time. I think that’s like a lot of the labor, the labor of love is to fill in the unseen time. And in this case, I can actually just watch it on my telly. It’s lovely. [It’s] very unusual to have a sort of character grounding that you can literally watch and return to.

I’ve sort of said this before, but I had never, I suppose, shared the character with another actor with a different age before. I’d never done that timeshare. But I think it does a lovely job of physicalizing, externalizing the split self. I definitely, when I think of myself as a younger person, I think I perceive myself from the outside, as though they were now a person I could have a conversation with and advise or something. So, yeah, I just thought that that sort of structurally, that was beautifully imagined here. Where you can see the younger self from the outside and see the sort of division in time, division of maturity, or something.”

On how the death of King Viserys affects Daemon moving forward:

Matt Smith: “He lost everything. I think it’s all about … Emma mentioned in this meeting we had earlier that kind of grief is the great catalyst of the season in many ways. And I think that, yeah, everything is about the death of his brother, really. Every single action is often related to him. I think it sort of allows this to see a version of Daemon which is slightly more exposed and honest, and he just misses him. Doesn’t even know how to communicate that. It’s quite simple, really. So he’s like a f**king crazy person, which is great.

Yeah, and I miss Paddy [Considine] as well. So, it’s life and art imitating itself.”

On playing a character who isn’t the loudest voice in the room yet wields great power:

Emma D’Arcy: “I suppose I was interested in a character who never expected to find herself in this position. She doesn’t start series one expecting to be heir. And she has a personality that is built by [being] in some way marginal, like still in this deeply privileged royal family. But she gets quite a lot of freedom because she’s not expected to take on responsibility. She’s not expected to be a ruling person.

I guess I was really interested in the total dissolution of self that comes with being told suddenly that actually it’s you. And like suddenly being centered when you had all of your sort of tenacity, your humor comes from being sort of de-centered. I wanted to see what it was like just to watch a person try to put on power and also, I guess, witness how that’s then received by people around her, to varying degrees of success.

I was imagining, especially in season one, what it would be like to take on an incredibly high – walk into an incredibly high-powered job having never done [it]. I mean, I wanted to bring imposter syndrome into fantasy, I suppose, because presumably that would be honest. And then, I suppose by series two, that trepidation has become quite fatigued, I think. I think she is tired of the softer approach, that sort of endless doublethink, a desire to do something and having to choose a path of manipulation or careful persuasion, so that you don’t watch people’s prejudice get weaponized against you. I think that’s starting to run thin by series two.”

On not having any time jumps in season two after the huge leap forward in season one:

Matt Smith: “How has it made it different? Well, l look, I suppose there’s a more condensed period that you see. I mean, you see a lot happen to Daemon in quite a shorter period of time, but it’s just like a more condensed whirlwind, really. It’s still a vortex of chaos and vengeance and madness and sort of weird signs all coupled together. Just sort of squashed into a tiny two-week ball of madness with Simon Russell Beale. He plays Ser Simon Strong who is amazing, by the way. Yeah. So, it was good. It allowed for a good deal of unraveling.”

On Daemon and Rhaenyra’s relationship following Viserys’ death:

Emma D’Arcy: “I think the fact that they can’t communicate really proves an obstacle in the series. I suppose, once again it’s kind of the working of grief. I don’t know that either of them are able to find solace, actually, with each other in this loss of Viserys and the loss of Lucerys, subsequently. I don’t think that they can share that. I don’t feel that Daemon can share his experience of losing his brother. And, yeah, so I think there’s a dislocation taking place.”

Matt Smith: “I agree. I think they can’t unburden themselves from this shadow. And the way he died was so horrendous, and they were right there next to it seeing all of him decompose. I think there’s this sort of elephant in the room constantly that they refer back to. And they sort of weaponize against each other and it’s quite uncomfortable for both.

I think I personally believe that there is a very deep sense of love between the two of them, which is challenged in many quarters. But it’s tested because it’s like he feels unaccepted by her, I think, and reacts as Daemon reacts.”

On if there’s a particular aspect of his incredibly complex character he enjoys delving into:

Matt Smith: “Yeah, I do, loads of them, absolute madman. No, do you know what I quite like about Daemon is that he flies by the beat of his own drum. And that he’s, I think, like his moral compass is his own. I admire that about him. I admire his conviction in his mistakes and his actions. For better or worse, he does them anyway. He’s like a f**kin’ wild man, ‘This is how I’m gonna roll!’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah!’ I play just to that. I like feeling that spirit of chaos and bravado. It’s like walking on a piece of glass. Yeah, it’s that and I like the tightrope that he’s defined for himself.”

On how the hair and costumes helped him get into character:

Harry Collett: “This season it’s just, I always say this, but it is just genuinely like bigger and better. The way the costumes were done, especially this year, it just felt so immersive. As soon as I put that costume on, I just looked at myself in the mirror. I was like, ‘Damn, I’m Jace now.’

It was very, very immersive, especially the whole Winterfell cloak stuff. That was really, really cool. It just felt really surreal. And yeah, [the] props, it’s so in detail. There are scrolls that you can pick up in any room, and it will be written out in Velaryon or something like that. It’s just so unbelievably detailed. And little things like that, when you step on set, it just helps you experience getting into character, and it makes it so much easier.”

On emotional connections and a favorite moment from the new season:

Harry Collett: “I mean for me, personally, I was excited about having that mother/son moment with Rhaenyra because we don’t really get to see them two have any moments like that in season one. And to watch them connect on the script and then finally on screen, it was just really nice because it’s just very real. Obviously, they’ve both been caught up in various things and when they finally just sort of leap into each other’s arms, I just thought that was a really beautiful moment.

Yeah, I don’t think I will say anything else about that…”

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• House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 10: “The Black Queen” Finale
• Season 2 Episode 1 “A Son for a Son” Recap