The season finale of HBO’s House of the Dragon aired a couple of weeks back to much fanfare, as fans of the fantasy drama series were left to process the state of play in Westeros. With the series not returning till at least 2024, there would be ample time for fans to imagine Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) response to the death of her son, Prince Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) in the skies above Storm’s End. In the months that follow, there will likely be those also rewatching the series. In the finale, there is an actor switch you might have missed.
As we roared towards the season finale, we were introduced to the twin brothers of the Kingsguard, Ser Arryk Cargyll and Ser Erryk Cargyll portrayed by Luke and Elliott Tittensor. During the penultimate episode, the pair were responsible for helping – in some way – to apprehend Prince Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and seat him on the Iron Throne. In the end, the pair would be split when new loyalties are declared, Luke’s Arryk for Aegon and the Greens, and Elliott’s Erryk for Rhaenyra and the Blacks. Speaking on the West of Westeros podcast per Entertainment Weekly, Greg Yaitanes who directs the final episode reveals that during filming, production was hit with a snag when Elliott contracted COVID.
It meant that production had to find a replacement, and the answer came – obviously – through his twin brother. "There's that scene, that big scene where Corlys (Steve Toussaint) comes down and they're putting the markers on the table and the messenger comes in," Yaitanes says on the podcast. "It was a shot over two days and then one got COVID," he adds. "[Elliott] got COVID, so we swapped him out with his brother."
It must have been a great relief to have such a handy replacement to fix an unexpected challenge, and the director notes this saying, "that would've killed us" if Luke was not able to come in for his brother. Yaitanes goes on to add, "We were just about to do all Emma's coverage and he is standing right next to [them]." It is also a testament to Luke that he could step into a slightly different role and pull it off without so much as a hitch.
House of the Dragon’s first season has come to an end now, and when the show returns we will certainly see the pieces on the chessboard moving as the Dance of the Dragons will certainly be in full flow. However, the strife for the Iron Throne will divide in two, the family of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine), and will also pit the two twins against each other and when the pair met on the battlefield, it is sure to be an emotional and possibly tragic scene.
House of the Dragon is available to stream in full on HBO Max.