“There Were Tears On My Part”: ‘House of the Dragon’ Star Reveals How Losing Rhaenys Affects Corlys

The struggle for the Iron Throne between the rightful ruler,Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), and her half-brother Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) inHouse of the Dragon, has come at a significant cost. The Blacks lost Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) in Season 1 and the Greens also suffered the loss of Aegon’s dragon, Sunfyre, which died in Season 2. Season 2 also saw the passing of the regal character ofRhaenys Targaryen, played by Eve Best, leaving behind her husband, the much-feared Lord of the Tides, Lord Corlys, alone.Steve Toussaint, who plays the character, has discussed the pain of that loss.

“It’s probably the loss of my sparring partner, my confidante, Eve Best,” Toussaint responded to Gold Derby when quizzed regarding what stands out inSeason 2. “I know it sounds silly because we’re just acting, butit’s the most wrenching thing that she will not be there to continue the journey with meand the rest of us.” Rhaenys was the one person Corlys trusted wholeheartedly, and he lost it midway through the season. “And thenit’s trying to portray several kinds of grief throughout the season, because at the beginning, he’s still grieving his children and his grandchild, and then in the middle of that season — wham!The one person he trusts above all else, the one person he can completely relax and be himself with, the one person we ever see him really smile and laugh with, is now gone. So yeah, that was a challenge.”

Corlys and Rhaenys have been through a lot together. Besides being passed up for the crown atthe Great Council at Harrenhal. The pair in later years would have to endure the loss of two children anda grandchild. Toussaint, in the interview, remembers being shaken when it was revealed that Best was leaving the show. “We didn’t realize it was her last day, because everything’s shot out of sequence,' he says. “So we did that scene, and then the director, Alan Taylor, said,“OK, and that’s Eve’s last day.” And we’re like, “Oh my God, no!” There were tears on my part. I’ve been on record before saying that after the first day we ever shot together, I went home and said, ‘Thank God for Eve Best.'”

To the Queen Who Never Was

WhenHouse of the Dragonreturns for Season 3, we are likely to see Lord Corlys Velaryon out for vengeance against the Blacks and their allies asthe Battle of the Gulletlooms. The Velaryon fleet will be commanded by Lord Corlys and one of his illegitimate sons, Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim), as they prepare foran iconic naval confrontation. Nicknamed the Sea Snake, Lord Corlys, and his son, Alyn, will command the fleet from aboard the Velaryon ship being prepared for much of Season 2. Toussaint reveals that the Sea Snake’s ship is actually a real thing, saying:

“They’ve actually built it. That thing that you see being polished and cleaned in all of Season 2, they built something like three-quarters of it. Of course, the name changes as the season goes on, to theQueen Who Never Was. But yeah, you can go on it, walk around. There’s the cabin, but I haven’t been in there. I’ve literally just been rehearsing on it a couple of days ago, because there’s quite a lot on it in the opening episode of the new season. It’s extraordinary the amount of time and effort they put into it.”