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Spoilers follow forHouse of the Dragonthrough its fifth episode, September 18s We Light the Way.
Youve readFire & Blood.
I dont think so.Really?
[Stands up, goes to get his book.]
I gotta check it.
I might be wrong.
A bad day for Rhaenyra, she gets a telling-off from her dad.
A bad day for Criston, thats his head on a spike, you know?
Its a really different thing.
You cant fuck up here.
Thats very clear when he takes off his helmet and theres the Hes Dornish!
But it even furthered him being an outsider.
Is that the moment?I think its more gradual.
I dont think Cole is ever looking at Rhaenyra going,Im in love with you.
I think that he finds her extraordinary.
Not that Rhaenyra is Coles friend, but Cole is Rhaenyras confidant in a lot of ways.
Theres a take they took out: Coles reaction in that scene.
I think hes in awe of her from the beginning.
During the sex scene inepisode four, Cole starts off avoiding eye contact with Rhaenyra.
That scene always felt for me like the definitive scene of that persons life.
Thats what it is.
Thatsthemoment that and the wedding, but the wedding is in the aftermath ofthatthing.
That wasnt on the page.
But he gets knighted and recites these vows, and its a really big thing.
Was the lean-over part not scripted and you added that?None of that was scripted.
TheGame of Thronesversion of someone soiling their Kingsguard cloak is Jaime Lannister, who doesnt care at all.
And, also, its not led by him.
Theres no scenario in which that happens without Rhaenyra making that happen.
The proposal in episode five is born out of that love and anger.
And then we just went and did it.
We didnt rehearse it.
I think we maybe ran the lines once together.
Do you mind sharing what the songs were?[Laughs.]
I dont want to do it.
Millys song is very personal to her; my song is very personal to me.
The idea of running away together is an old, addled thing, isnt it?
Look atRomeo and Juliet.
Its one of the oldest-written love-story tropes ever.
Any time Ive been in love, Ive been like,Fuck it.
Lets just run away.
What do we care?
Lets just go and be somewhere else.
Theres no point being in this world when our love is like this.
The game would be different.
Hes gone through all this shit.
She clearly cares about him.
At the end of it, theres no scenario in which she could just go, I get it.
Im going to dismiss you, and you’re able to go and do something else.
But no hes there; hes at the wedding.
You raised this question, so I want to ask it: Does Cole love Rhaenyra?
I think thats up to them for interpretation because its such a massive question.
Initially, they had written it in armor.
And then they rewrote it and he was out of armor.
And then they rewrote it and hewasin armor.
And then in the end, day of, they decided out of armor.
It was very freeing for me to be able to play that scene out of armor.
It makes sense because hes emotionally bare.
I remember saying You need that, because we dont care what people are at work.
Its what people are at home that interests us.
Thats life, you know?
Thats whats interesting, and thats what were yearning for as an audience.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
