Is Alys Rivers A Ghost In House of the Dragon? Succession Fame Andrij Parekh Explains
Andrij Parekh who directed episode 6 of House of the Dragon Season 2, talked about the character, Alys Rivers. Is she a ghost or a witch? Read on to know more.
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The sixth episode of House of the Dragon season 2, Smallfolk, has brought a lot of surprise elements to the story. An unexpected romance, a new dragon rider, an introduction to a mysterious character, and more. This amps up the drama as the series moves towards the ending with only two episodes left to conclude.
However, in a recent interview, Emmy-winning Succession director Andrij Parekh answered a few questions regarding HoD. He is new to the franchise and directed episode six with a touch of his genius. In the conversation, Andrij opened up about Alys Rivers and shared whether she’s a ghost or keeping any mystery within her.
What is Alys Rivers?
Gayle Rankin plays Alys Rivers in House of the Dragon season 2, who has been introduced in the sixth episode. In a recent conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, when Andrij Parekh was asked whether the viewers should assume Alys was a real person or a ghost, the director said, “I think a healthy amount of doubt makes that much more interesting. She’s able to enter Daemon’s mind and read his mind.”
Without giving away too many details and keeping it a mystery, Andrij added, “She’s definitely otherworldly. I’ll leave it at that.” Well, the viewers are in to learn more about Alys in the next episodes.
Andrij Parekh on filming House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 6
Andrij revealed how the dynamics of the relationships between each of the characters make a point in the script. He shared, “I think what I loved was that this episode is about Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) almost being at their lowest points in their lives. Alicent has been missing one son; she’s being kicked off the Council.”
He further continued, "Rhaenyra’s husband has left her, she’s feeling completely isolated and alone; she has all these men calculating [moves] without necessarily having her input. They’re both feeling incredibly isolated as characters and part of the challenge with this episode, for me, was to keep the tension alive of what was happening in King’s Landing and what was happening in the world of Westeros, which are two worlds about to go to war. There’s a feeling of desperation and imminent doom that’s different in both camps. We’ve seen the result of one battle. You know what that war is going to be like.”
The director then shared how he used tactics from Succession to direct this episode. Andrij explained what he does to make his actors look alive: “A moving camera around the table.” This is when the actors don’t know where the camera is looking, leading them to act on their impulse, adding uncertainty and spontaneity.
New episodes of House of the Dragon are out every Sunday at 9 pm on HBO and Max.
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