Matt Smith improvised a line from his best scene of House of the Dragon season 2

Now that we're over a week removed, I think we can all admit that the second season of House of the Dragon was overall strong, right? Okay, maybe not all of us, but I've at least been able to look back fondly at all the great moments instead of focusing on the weak points.

That being said, one of the major gripes I had with season 2 that I'm still really bummed about is Daemon Targaryen's storyline. He was one of the best parts of the first season for me, and to reduce him to cheesy, drawn-out scenes at Harrenhal for the majority of season 2 was a huge miss.

This becomes even more apparent when you rewatch Daemon's few great scenes, which come at the beginning of season 2 and at the end. He comes in hot when the season opens up, hiring assassins to infiltrate the Red Keep. And his reunion with Rhaenyra in the season 2 finale is amazing. But his best scene comes in the second episode when Rhaenyra confronts him for having Aegon and Helaena's son Jaehaerys killed. Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy are so fantastic here, and as it turns out, Smith actually improvised a memorable line. Put him in the writer's room already, HBO!

Matt Smith added an impactful line to Daemon and Rhaenyra's big argument

In the scene in the episode "Rhaenyra the Cruel," Rhaenyra, understandably furious, tells Daemon that having Jaehaerys killed has weakened her claim to the Iron Throne. Not only that, but she's in shock that he would order the murder of a child. Daemon explains his part, taking no responsibility for his actions and instead blaming it on the assassins for going against what he told them. According to Daemon, he only told them to kill Aemond Targaryen, making it a son for a son in avenging Lucerys Velaryon's death. We don't know if that's actually true, by the way; when Blood and Cheese ask him what to do if they can't find Aemond, the show cuts away before Daemon answers.

In any case, this scene between Daemon and Rhaenyra is incredibly captivating, and Smith improvised his final line, as he revealed during an interview with NOW. You can watch a short clip of the interview here. As their conversation comes to an end, Rhaenyra reinforces the issue at hand, saying, "You struck down a child." Daemon, sounding a bit defeated, responds quietly yet sternly, "It was a mistake." Rhaenyra gets the last word, however, calling him "pathetic." He glares at her before storming out.

Smith and D'Arcy have such great chemistry that it's impossible to look away whenever they share a scene. That's partly what makes it so disappointing that they're separated for most of the second season, and the fans aren't the only ones who felt sad about it. D'Arcy has admitted it was "frustrating" to be apart from Smith, while Smith called it "a shame," adding that he "miss[es] them terribly." Now that Daemon and Rhaenyra get back together in the season 2 finale, we can assume we'll get more from them in the third season, although surely they'll be apart again while Daemon leads his army to battle.

As for Smith's improvisation, this wasn't the first time he's added his own lines or choreography to a scene. We know he chose to pick up Viserys' crown when Daemon walks his brother to the Iron Throne in the season 1 episode "The Lord of the Tides," and D'Arcy revealed that it was Smith's idea to have Daemon tell Rhaenyra about Lucerys' death in the season 1 finale, "The Black Queen." D'Arcy called Smith's addition "a turn of f**king genius."

It's not entirely surprising that Smith has been able to add something extra to his scenes here and there; he's been in the industry for a long time and has experience working on big productions such as Doctor Who and The Crown. Now that Daemon has left Harrenhal and is off to war, fingers crossed he'll have much better scenes in the third season.

House of the Dragon season 3 is set to begin filming in "earlyish 2025," but don't expect it to premiere until at least 2026.

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