Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen received a stunning public rebuke from her Hand of the Queen, Corlys Velaryon, during last night's episode of House of the Dragon. In the halls of her newly reclaimed Red Keep in King’s Landing, the Sea Snake openly branded Rhaenyra's sons, his own grandsons, as "bastards."
Up until this moment, Corlys (Steve Toussaint) had consistently treated Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) three eldest sons as his legitimate biological grandsons. These boys were officially the children of his presumed-deceased son, Laenor Velaryon (John Macmillan), despite their obvious lack of resemblance and the widespread rumours of Rhaenyra's long-standing affair with Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr).
That loyalty shattered in Season 3, Episode 3, when Rhaenyra denied Corlys' request to legitimise his own bastards, Addam (Clinton Liberty) and Alyn (Abubakar Salim), as true Velaryons. In response, Corlys finally broke, putting both his life and his powerful position at serious risk.
In an interview with Variety, House of the Dragon star Steve Toussaint explained, "It’s one of the things that he does without thinking. Looking at the scene in the script, I remember thinking, 'OK, well, the last time someone said that to her, it was his brother, and he died within seconds.' So this is a very dangerous thing to do, but I feel like he’s completely at the end of his tether."
"In that moment, he doesn’t care, which, again, is why he raises his voice. It’s not like he sort of just goes, 'I know what’s going on.' He screamed it out. He doesn’t care. And it’s very defiant: I dare you to prove me wrong, because the world has suspected this anyway, and I’ve kept a secret. It’s not careless abandoned, that’s not quite what it is."
"I think it’s like, do your worst. I don’t care," the Sea Snake actor continued. "There’s nothing you can do that will make the truth any different to what it is."
Fans of George R.R. Martin's novels know where this story is headed, but this moment was another shocker for many viewers in a season that's delivered its fair share of surprises.
HBO has also released a preview for next Sunday's episode of House of the Dragon, along with a behind-the-scenes look at "Rhaenyra Triumphant." You can see those below.
Based on George R.R. Martin's Fire & Blood, the series, set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, tells the story of House Targaryen.
Returning cast members for season 3 include Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Steve Toussaint, Rhys Ifans, Fabien Frankel, Ewan Mitchell, Tom Glynn-Carney, Sonoya Mizuno, Harry Collett, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Phia Saban, Jefferson Hall, Matthew Needham, Tom Bennett, Kieran Bew, Kurt Egyiawan, Freddie Fox, Clinton Liberty, Gayle Rankin, and Abubakar Salim.
New additions include Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick Dustin, Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly, and James Norton as Ormund Hightower.
House of the Dragon Season 3 is now streaming weekly on HBO Max.