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“Game of Thrones” was already popular by the time we hit the episode “Baelor,” but it was Ned Stark’s untimely beheading that helped turn the show into one of the biggest cultural events of the 2010s and a series that dominated the conversation for years. After that moment, audiences came to understand that no one was safe, and their list of favorite characters would slowly get shorter and shorter with each brutal death.
As monumental as each death felt on “Game of Thrones,” however, behind the scenes there was a whole ritual around them. Said ritual has since been carried over to “House of the Dragon,” a prequel/spinoff that promises to keep the death tool high, having already delivered some stunning death scenes in its first two seasons.
Speaking with Variety, Harry Collett (who plays Jace, Rhaenyra’s eldest son on the series), talked about his own encounter with death. The character was always likely candidate to be the next one to die a brutal death given season 2’s theme of “a son for a son.”
“I said to [showrunner] Ryan [Condal], ‘I thought this was my time.’ And he said, ‘Mate, I would have called you!'” the actor explained. “You get something called ‘the death call,’ so you don’t have to do it at the script read in front of everybody, which I think is very nice.” This is also quite smart, and can prevent awkward conversations where you’re the only one of your co-workers who doesn’t know you’re out of a job.
“So I was just stressing for no reason, but I’m so thankful that I’ve got to last a whole other season,” Collett continued. “And if I die, I die — I’m thankful to be in it anyway.”
The phone call of death
Be warned: We’re about to get into some huge spoilers for future seasons of “House of the Dragon” and the show’s source material, George R.R. Martin’s novel “Fire & Blood.” This is your last chance to look away!
The second season of “House of the Dragon” saves two big story moments for the now-confirmed season 3 including the Battle of the Gullet, a massive naval battle against the Triarchy and part of Rhaenyra’s efforts to conquer King’s Landing. The battle results in Jace and his dragon Vermax getting killed, as Rhaenyra loses yet another kid to the larger war.
Since book readers know that battle is coming, and soon, and we know that “House of the Dragon” has been renewed through to a fourth and final season, with the scripts for the third already in the works, Collett had to play coy about the “death call” to warn him about his incoming demise while speaking with Variety. “We’ll have to wait and see for that, won’t we? The death call stays between me and me only — if and when I get it,” the actor said.
“House of the Dragon” seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Max.
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