Few television shows have special effects on the level of House of the Dragon, HBO's lavish Game of Thrones prequel series. Set during the height of the Targaryen dynasty in Westeros, the show has imposing castles, over a dozen fire-breathing dragons, armies on the march and more. It all looks as good as anything in the movies, and sometimes even better; I doubt we'll see another dragon-on-dragon battle that can compete with the one from "The Red Dragon and the Gold" until the third season comes along.
Wētā FX, the New Zealand-based visual effects company formed by Peter Jackson, is one of the best in the business. They worked on House of the Dragon season 2 and have been sharing videos on their YouTube channel, breaking down things like how they created dragons like Seasmoke and Vermithor.
Now we're going sightseeing to the Gods Eye, because one of their latest videos is all about the haunted castle of Harrenhal, where Daemon Targaryen battled his demons throughout season 2. Watch below:
Most of the footage in this video is of Harrenhal's exteriors; many of the interior rooms were actually sets. The sweeping outdoor shots were contructed using reference photos of actual castles, breaking Harrenhal and its surroundings into separate "modular" pieces that were then assembled during the visual effects process. The Wētā team created the expansive castle as well as the island in the Gods Eye lake, the mountains surrounding it, and more. They also worked on Daemon Targaryen's army encampment; yes, most of those tents are CGI.
There are a few notable shots here. One is of Rhaenyra Targaryen riding her dragon Syrax around the castle. That happens during the season finale, and is our last big, sweeping look at the castle and the army assembled around it. Others show Rhaenyra and Daemon in front of Harrenhal's looming main gate, revealing that the gate itself and even the rocky slope leading up to it are also VFX creations. It's pretty wild to see Emma D'Arcy on a big bluescreen soundstage before she's overlaid into the finished shot.
We'll be seeing a lot more of Harrenhal in House of the Dragon season 3. When last we visited its haunted spires, Daemon was just setting out with his massive army of Rivermen. Meanwhile, Aemond Targaryen and Criston Cole were heading north from King's Landing to take back the castle from Daemon. If the show follows the book, Daemon will likely be long gone by the time Aemond and Criston arrive, which Aemond will surely take well.
We've already gotten reports that Ewan Mitchell is filming scenes with a key character at Harrenhal, and that the show has built a massive set of a burned village which could be Daemon's abandoned warcamp outside the castle. I'm sure the artists at Wētā FX will have their work cut out for them in House of the Dragon season 3, which is due out on HBO and HBO Max sometime next year.
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