It was already clear House of the DragonWhile the noble houses will remain at the heart of Season 2’s drama, it became clear early on that Westeros’ latest power struggle will bring new prominence to the often-overlooked and routinely oppressed commoners, and last night’s episode, “The Red Sowing,” showed just how important certain “lower class” characters will become.
In case you haven’t caught up…
In episode seven, Rhaenyra’s increasingly desperate plan to find two riders for the Black Team’s two riderless dragons actually paid off: Hugh the Hammer earned a snort of approval from Vermithor, and the White Wolf found a new friend in Silverwing.
Wolf had boasted about his Targaryen bloodline in previous episodes, but he hesitated when he heard that Rhaenyra was looking for bastard children who could become dragon riders. He had a badly injured leg… Really Whether or not you choose to carry the blood of House Targaryen is something to seriously consider, because dragons know who is worthy and will burn the unworthy.
But after a friendly rebuke from his drinking buddy, he decides to try his luck. And thankfully for Wolf, it all works out: As seen in the episode’s final moments, he’s having a blast riding his Silverwing around his old haunt, King’s Landing (and infuriating Prince Regent Aemond in the process). In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, actor Tom Bennett reflected on his character’s sudden turnaround in life:
“This is a big change. Wolf is at the bottom. He’s at the bottom,” Bennett said. “He’s poor and oppressed. He’s a working-class guy under the control of the ruling class and he’s lived his whole life with that on his shoulders. All of a sudden he’s sitting on a nuclear warhead. It’s a big shift of power. We’ll see what he does.”
Bennett also offered some insight into what led Wolf to that moment, and what was going through Wolf’s mind when he realized Silverwing wasn’t going to burn him to death. In other words, why did he laugh at that moment? “I thought I was going to die, and then this huge feeling of relief hit me, and I [episode director] Roni [Peristere] I loved it because, honestly, he’s one of the few characters on the show that actually smiles, let alone laughs. I made sure to use that smile whenever I was on set. Wolf stands out for a lot of reasons, one of which is that he’s one of the few characters that I enjoy.”
House of the DragonEpisode 8, the final episode of Season 2, will air Sunday night on HBO and Max.
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