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Ahead of the second series of House of the Dragon, a prequel to Game of Thrones, its stars have been speaking to the BBC about what to expect.<\/p>\n
Based on George RR Martin’s epic fantasy novel A Song of Ice and Fire, House of the Dragon stars a collection of British talent, including Matt Smith, Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke.<\/p>\n
The second season of the HBO prequel picks up just days after the final events of the first season.<\/p>\n
While there is promise of more monumental battles and fiery dragon encounters, the new series presents a number of challenging situations, with the characters facing grief and revenge in the aftermath of earlier events.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Getty<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nEmma D’Arcy (Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen) at the UK premiere of House of the Dragon season two<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Season two sees Westeros on the brink of a bloody civil war as the Green and Black Councils fight for King Aegon and Queen Rhaenyra respectively.<\/p>\n
The climatic final events of season one have seen a number of changes to characters’ motives in this next instalment.<\/p>\n
D’Arcy, who stars as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, told BBC News that portraying both a grieving mother and a powerful ruler presented many obstacles, but that they relished the opportunity.<\/p>\n
“You have no option,” said D’Arcy. “You have to have great stamina. It’s a marathon. <\/p>\n
“You come in with colour in your cheeks, and love and joy in your heart. But I love the epic nature of shooting six days a week, for 15 hour days, over six months.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Olivia Cooke (left) and Emma D’Arcy (right) both play characters who tackle loss and a struggle for power<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Cooke, who plays Queen Alicent Hightower, called the season “really challenging”. <\/p>\n
“It’s coming to terms with grief and trauma, and how do you play those and sustain that for a seven-month shoot, playing all the complexities within that?” she said.<\/p>\n
“She [Alicent] had all this power and then now becoming dowager queen. She’s trying to figure out within this backdrop of guilt and shame – who she is if she can’t rule from the shadows?”<\/p>\n
In House of the Dragon, the franchise’s central struggle for power leads characters to do abhorrent things in order to claim the throne – something adored by the loyal fanbase.<\/p>\n
Asked if they thought their characters were terrible people, or good people who have terrible things placed upon them, D’Arcy said: “I think they’re all people trying to sustain themselves in a pretty terrible system.<\/p>\n
“That system can cause those characters to do pretty awful things.<\/p>\n
“The thing that I adore about Game of Thrones is you have such a complex, exciting, varied constellation of characters, and you’re made to yearn to see those, to watch those collisions take place.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
HBO<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMatt Smith reprises his role as the complex fan favourite Daemon Targaryen<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n\n
Two characters who fans will be eager to see back on screens are the mercurial Daemon Targaryen, played by Smith, and villainous Aemond Targaryen, portrayed by Ewan Mitchell.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the waterlogged red carpet at a rainy UK premiere for season two, Smith said: “We are delving back into the fractious world of the Targaryens and there is a lot of grief flying around, and that makes people act strange, it makes people vulnerable, it makes people mad.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n