How House Of The Dragon found its way into Rhaenyra Targaryen's deep, dark mind

Director Clare Kilner talks about evoking the new queen's challenging plight in episode three.

By Saloni Gajjar  |  July 6, 2026 | 12:00pm
Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO
TV Features house of the dragon
How House Of The Dragon found its way into Rhaenyra Targaryen's deep, dark mind

“You will do things that your heart will have recoiled from,” Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) tells her former best mate, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) in the third episode of House Of The Dragon‘s third season. In response, the realm’s newest ruler claims, “I dispute that I must become what I am not.” Rhaenyra’s desire to stay true to her intentions in season three is noble, but this week, it’s clear she recognizes the difficulty of sticking to that dream. Having recently beheaded Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) and been told to repeatedly kill claimant Daeron Targaryen, she now knows that—to quote another piece of memorable pop culture advice—with great power comes great responsibility. 

For episode director Clare Kilner (who also helmed last week’s big outing), the goal for episode three was to visually highlight Rhaenyra reckoning with the power she holds in ways big and small—and how it affects her psychologically. Rhaenyra’s taken over King’s Landing, but now comes the challenging part: Actually ruling over the damn kingdom. To stay in her POV, Kilner frames a lot of the episode with a Steadicam to follow Rhaenyra around her gilded cage in what ends up as a unique HOTD hour. The A.V. Club spoke to Kilner about the process of stepping into Rhaenyra’s mind, the logistical challenges of this episode, and why she prefers to direct character-driven stories. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The A.V. Club: Was it planned that you’d direct this three-episode block—which isn’t just any stretch of episodes, but what ends up being a pivotal start to Rhaenyra’s reign over Westeros? 

Clare Kilner: Yes. I love doing the more intimate scenes. I’m always interested in family dysfunction, and I really love the show’s dramatic scenes. Of course, I also love doing CGI and huge stunts, but I’m more fascinated by working with these really wonderful actors and digging into the nitty-gritty of who their characters are, how they’re changing, who the most important person in the room is, and how they all disagree on that. [Series creator] Ryan Condal sees that in me as well and asked me to direct these three episodes. It was a huge undertaking. We shot the third episode first all the way through, and then we proceeded to do the others. 

There’s something very rewarding about doing a block of three episodes because then you can chart the progress within those. In season one, I did episodes four and five, and then nine. Having a gap in between means you have to really chat with the other directors and the actors to fill you in on what they’ve done. Working with Emma, Olivia, and Matt Smith is easy because they have an incredible handle on where they want to go and how their characters have to change.

AVC: Even though she gets the throne, Rhaenyra suffers big time in season three so far. Can you talk about what it was like on set with Emma and cultivating an atmosphere that allows them to get so vulnerable, like when Rhaenyra processes Jace’s death? 

CK: It’s really about making sure everybody on set feels supported and heard and then also that everybody understands the process the actors have to go through. I feel sometimes on different sets that I’ve experienced, people put the filmmaking process first and then expect the actors to come on and just deliver. I have a great first assistant director, Nick Heckstall-Smith, and a really brilliant director of photography, Alejandro Martinez. They’re both sensitive to the world we’re creating on set for these people to step into. And I just like listening to the actors and what they’re bringing, and I also always pull on my own experiences with grief and talk about it. I want to give freedom to everyone around to gain people’s confidence. As a director, if you reveal yourself, it gives permission for everyone else to reveal more secret sides as well.

AVC: Episode three is one of the first times in a Game Of Thrones TV show that it feels like we’ve truly stepped into this character’s headspace. What were some of the things you wanted to make sure you capture or evoke through your direction here? 

CK: We really, really wanted to show Rhaenyra’s internal conflict and the inner workings of her mind and express it visually. The episode had to be kept within the Red Keep, and we wanted to show her travel within the King’s apartments to all over the Keep, being constantly queried and questioned, or people saying no to her, or have things being thrown at her where she has to make quick decisions. It just had to come across that she’s suddenly feeling unstable and a little bit unsure of herself. I worked closely with Alejandro and the camera operators to figure out certain lenses that could narrow things down from Rhaenyra’s point of view and depth of field. The lens really helps focus the viewer. I decided not to shoot over the shoulder of anyone Rhaenyra was talking to in this episode much. That was a big decision. It was pretty hard for Emma. They had just had a knee surgery, and I was asking them to walk up and down the stairs and walk miles with a Steadicam following them, so I won’t deny that it was quite a stressful episode to film. Of course, Emma’s a trooper. 

AVC: Were you and Emma able to pull off something different or exciting in this episode that you maybe weren’t able to do before on House Of The Dragon? 

CK: Mostly it made me think of how you often wish to get to work on something amazing, like I always wanted to direct amazing episodes of TV when I was in school. You always wish for the perfect job, and then when you get it, you can suddenly be filled with fear and nerves and all of that. Rhaenyra also experiences it. She’s gotten the throne, like you said before, but she’s thrown off by what it means to have it. And responsibility can throw you off-kilter. Rhaenyra is usually so sure of herself, but she’s questioning everything now. The thing she wants more than anything is a coronation. She wants the people to see and acknowledge who she is, and immediately learns there’s no gold and that she cannot get the coronation because the septon won’t recognize her. There’s all this grief and she’s just beheaded Otto. It’s an unfathomable amount of stress to cope with as she experiences these things. With this episode, we also wanted to try and show the everyday workings of how you reign and run a kingdom. What does it entail? I also loved filming the scene that Sara Hess wrote about Rhaenyra getting her period. It’s just so interesting because that always happens to us women. It’s the most important day of your life, so of course, you get your period at the same time. 

AVC: That’s why it’s awesome that an episode peering into Rhaenyra’s state of mind and the status of relationships with Alicent or even Daemon and Corlys was written by Sara Hess and directed by you. 

CK: For sure. I mean, I just do me. I happen to be a woman and so my experience of life is through the gaze of being a woman. I always try and think about how I might feel in certain situations. I like to keep it simple and very personal, and I just start from that and try to figure out how we visually express what’s going on in the hearts and minds of people and what’s happening to their soul. Of course, sometimes things have to be plot driven, and that’s necessary to the piece. But this is what’s important to me. I’m fascinated by showing how these characters and their relationships have shifted over time. Sara is equally interested in that.

AVC: By the time season three ends, you’ll have directed more episodes House Of The Dragon than anyone else. How has your approach to this show evolved over these years? 

CK: I’ve just gotten more confident. Our crew has pretty much stayed the same through the seasons. Everybody wants to come back, so there’s a feeling of family. I support them and they support me. When you’ve got that, you’ve got a lot of trust and then you can push things more creatively for everybody. You can question things more because everybody’s really invested. I think that’s when you are able to create really great TV. 

AVC: Do you know yet if you’re coming back for the fourth and final season or how many episodes you might direct? 

CK: I haven’t signed the contract yet. Hopefully, we will. We usually sign it a bit later.

AVC: You’re also about to go work on another HBO show, Task, for its second season. How did that come about and what are you looking forward to with it? 

CK: I just love the writing on Task because, again, it’s so character based. And I love all those actors so much. 

Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club’s TV critic.

 
Join the discussion...
Keep scrolling for more great stories.