At the very end of House of the Dragon season 1, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen is told that her son Lucerys has been killed, murdered by her half-brother Aemond Targaryen when they met at the castle of Storm's End. Up until this point, Rhaenyra had been trying to keep a lid on outright civil war with her half-brother Aegon, who is contesting her claim to the Iron Throne. But based on the show she gives the camera in the final shot of the season, that time is over.
Rhaenyra's glare is one of the best moments from House of the Dragon season 1, but it was originally supposed to happen differently. In the original storyboards for the scenes, Rhaenyra is seated on the Dragonstone throne rather than milling around the Painted Table. Rather than merely fix the camera with a deadly stare, she stands up and screams in what looks like a good old fashioned "NOOOOOOO!" moment. And the scene continues afterwards, with the season ending on a shot of her dragon Syrax emerging from the darkness. Take a look at the original storyboard below:
Personally, I'm glad the show went in a more subtle direction. While I'm sure actor Emma D'Arcy would have killed it, I prefer Rhaenyra staring daggers at the camera after finding out about Luke's death to her yelling in pain.
Rhaenyra in the original season 1 ending scene pic.twitter.com/DIoNOKxO8N pic.twitter.com/f3VFzJIBhk
— Wake the Dragon (@WtDasoiaf) December 26, 2023
Interestingly, that final shot of Syrax's head emerging from the darkness looks like it was rendered for the show, but never used. A shot very similar to what the storyboard imagined showed up in trailers but never appeared in the main show. Maybe some of these ideas can be repurposed for House of the Dragon season 2, which is due out on HBO and Max sometime in the summer of 2024.
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