The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1, Episode 8, "The Lord of the Tides," now streaming on HBO Max.
The Game of Thrones universe is at once unique and well-trodden, with House of the Dragon representing the second grand saga in the sprawling fantasy world. HBO's prequel series features a spate of incredible actors, and Episode 8 showcased just how well these people inhabit their characters. In "The Lord of the Tides," King Viserys acts the part of Deus ex Machina and attempts to ascend to his throne despite being horribly deformed and pained by his disease. He is helped up by his brother, Daemon. When Viserys' crown falls from his brow, it is retrieved by Daemon, who, in a moment completely opposed to the character's former ways, places the crown tenderly upon the king's head.
After the episode aired, news broke that Matt Smith improvised the moment after the crown fell from Paddy Considine's head. Instead of stopping, Smith picked it up to place it back on his costar's head in a moment that the directors said removed the need to have a monologue delivered by the old king. The moment added Matt Smith to an exclusive Game of Thrones club of improvisers and, though it's not clear whether he is the only one on House of the Dragon, he is the sole actor confirmed to have improvised a major sequence thus far on the show. Here is the short list of the other actors from the Game of Thrones universe who have famously improvised in a major way.
Carice van Houten Improvised Jon Snow's Resurrection
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter In Studio, Carice van Houten stated that when her character, Melisandre/The Red Witch, resurrected Jon Snow on Game of Thrones, she had to largely improvise her lines. She stated her character was to bring Jon Snow back in a scene written in High Valyrian, but her knowledge of the language was poor. She was sure somebody noticed but was just trying to finish the scene as well as she could. Her improvisation no doubt changed what was ultimately being said by Melisandre, and the need to do so puts her close to Emilia Clarke's famous improvised scene.
Gemma Whelan and Indira Varma Improvised a Romance
Gemma Whelan and Indira Varma, who played Yara Greyjoy and Ellaria Sand respectively, stated in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that their characters were not originally scripted to kiss. Their kiss was a hit with the crew, who integrated it into the ship's attack scene even though it meant that Whelan wound up having to be replaced by her stunt double. The scene was originally intended to be simple banter, but the scene quickly took on a flirtatious air, with the two characters improvising their kiss because it just seemed right. The improvised scene turned a bonding moment into far more, and the characters were confirmed to be interested in each other in far more than a tease.
Kristofer Hivju and Gwendoline Christie's Chemistry Was All Their Own
Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) were intended to be little more than loving compatriots in the original script, with showrunner David Benioff confirming that Hivju's famous gaze at Brienne was all his own in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Benioff says the stage direction was originally something to the effect of: "He stares at Brienne because he's never seen a woman like that before." Hivju took that and ran with it, determining that his character was not just impressed with Brienne, but wanted to be more than swordmates. The two actors continued to play off each other in a will they/won't they until the show's controversial final season, and the two continued to rave about the relationship between their characters.
Emilia Clarke Famously Improvised an Entire Speech in High Valyrian
Emilia Clarke's character, Daenerys, was supposed to deliver a speech in the common tongue, but it didn't carry the weight the showrunners wanted, so they asked Clarke if she could try to translate the speech into Valyrian, as she was the most fluent on set. She did so in an incredible ten minutes. She then delivered the version of the speech that survives today. It's powerful, it's beautiful, and it's one of her character's greatest moments.
House of the Dragon has had many brilliant moments, but the most important part has been its partaking in the Game of Thrones tradition of having actors who are just as great and complex as the source material. These great actors can truly explore their characters and act in accordance with what their characters would do. By allowing these great actors their freedom, House of the Dragon has become a beautiful companion to a largely flawless Game of Thrones and kept the two at the forefront of fans' minds.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sundays at 9:00 p.m. on HBO and stream on HBO Max.