For a while now, special effects studio Pixomondo has been posting videos going over how they brought to life the second season of House of the Dragon. Among other things, Pixomondo worked on the Battle of Rook's Rest in the fourth episode of the second season, where the dragons Vhagar, Sunfyre and Meleys all fought high in the air, together with their riders Aemond, Aegon and Rhaenys Targaryen. The resulting clash may well be the best dragon-on-dragon battle ever put to film, on TV or at the movies, so I'd say they've earned a right to show their work.
In this newest video, VFX supervisors Sven Martin, Mark Spindler, Daði Einarsson, Adnan Ahmed and Fausto Tejeda talk about designing the dragons so they all look different and distinct from one another, giving them personality, making sure the audience has points of focus so the eye doesn't get lose in the chaos, and putting together that brutal moment where Meleys dies before our eyes. Watch below!
Watching Meleys die was just as painful as watching a beloved character die, and they were 100% a CGI creation. I give all the credit tin the world to these artists for creating something so lifelike and powerful. I also love how much the one SFX supervisor loved working on the sequence where Meleys' head was parading through the streets of King's Landing in particular.
It's obvious that these guys love their work, and you can feel that in the final product. The third season of House of the Dragon likely won't come out on HBO and Max until 2026, so it'll be a while before we get to see their work on the show again. But if their work on the Battle of Rook's Rest is any indication, whatever they have cooking up next will be worth waiting for.
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