Emma D'Arcy asked for (and will probably get) a sword in House of the Dragon season 3

The second season of House of the Dragon wrapped up earlier this year, bringing the Greens and the Blacks closer to total war. When season 3 comes along, expect a lot of blades to flash and blood to spill.

Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) is mostly removed from that kind of action, but readers of George R.R. Martin's book Fire & Blood know that she'll get a little bit closer as the story goes on. And Rhaenyra did talk a bit in season 2 about the importance of bearing a sword and a shield as symbols of war, even if she's unlikely to actually use them in battle. She hefted a sword during one memorable moment in the second season, and it's clear D'Arcy got a kick out of handling it based on this behind-the-scenes video:

That all leads up to the one serious request that D'Arcy has made of showrunner Ryan Condal ahead of House of the Dragon season 3: "The petition I’ve put in is I want a weapon," D'Arcy said during a visit to the Happy Sad Confused podcast. "Like it’s getting ridiculous. I don’t even mind if it’s like a little dagger, a short sword. I don’t really care."

Despite what you may be thinking, it doesn't seem like D'Arcy wants a weapon so they can wield it in a battle scene, although that's possible. No, D'Arcy's concern is more immediate: "All the men in the show don’t have to worry about where they put their hands because they’re constantly holding the pommel of their sword," they said. "That obviously sounds like innuendo and you can do with that what you will but that is true. And all the rest of us are going, ‘Where do we put our f--king hands?’"

I guess Rhaenyra could wave them around in the air wildly to punctuate her lines? But no, that's a fair point. In any case, this seems to be one request that D'Arcy is confident will be honored. "Anyway, next year one hand is going to be taken care of. That’s what I want. I want a sword and I’ve been really clear about that with Ryan and I think that’s happening," they said.

In general, it sounds like D'Arcy may be the kind of actor who benefits from getting into costumes and wielding props. I liked their description of what it was like to put on Rhaenyra's white-blonde wig during early shooting on House of the Dragon season 2:

"When we went back to shoot Series 2 and I had like an early wig fitting…It's such a transformative process, right? Wigs are amazing, I think. And so suddenly was I her and sort of recognized this other person and everything that comes with her, I really felt like she had been in Watford the whole time. A bit like the kid who the parent doesn't pick up, like I had just been remiss and I hadn't come and collected her. And I was like, ‘so sorry, I'm back, I'm here, blah blah blah.’"

There will be wigs, swords and dragons aplenty when House of the Dragon returns for season 3 on HBO and Max, probably sometime in 2026. So far as we can tell, shooting will begin in March of next year.

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