u/theoneandonlydonzo

Link to full interview

all the direct quotes

about meeting Rhaenyra face to face again after storming off:

> "That first meeting with Rhaenyra is going to be very delicate. Of course, he hadn't seen her since the whole 'your kids are bastards' thing. So there's that. I think for him, it's a no-nonsense approach of 'business is business.' We can put aside all of that other stuff because there's a war to be won, and let's just get on with that."

about Alyn:

> "[Corlys will have to] come to terms with the fact that his son almost went all in with Rhaenyra — I don't know that Alyn had any other choice, to be honest. But when Corlys finds out that Alyn was the one who struck down the Septon, he’s going to be very sad and disappointed at that. But like I said, I don't know what else Alyn could have done, frankly. I just think Corlys will see that as another cost. [First it was] his family, and this time it's the cost of his son's emotional wellbeing."

about the war:

> "It’s going to be a very delicate dance for Corlys as he tries to avoid shedding any more innocent blood than is necessary. That scene that we have when Daemon wakes up from that explosion in Tumbleton, and he sees all the innocent people — the mothers and children sort of walking through the aftermath all in states of injury — I think that is trying to bring home the futility and the victims of war. Corlys is at a point now where he's wondering whether it's worth it."

about what he personally wants for Corlys' ending

> "It's going to sound sort of trite, but I would love… I think Corlys has given up on being happy. Once his wife died, there were certain things that he felt he had to fulfill, and then I guess he could go on his ship and just go off into the sunset.

> I'd like him to be happy. I'd like his children to be secure in whatever they're doing so that he can go, 'Well, at least I did that.' I'm trying to think of something really profound to say, but I can't. I just want Corlys to be happy. We'll see. I don't hold out much hope. This is Westeros, after all, but you never know."

about the attempted peace deal:

> "I think for Corlys, it's complicated. That's why he came up with that compromise in that meeting between himself, Gwayne [Hightower], and Daemon. I don't think he had planned to say that initially, but he was listening to Gwayne and thinking, 'Okay, some of this is nonsense, but I can see where this might work.'

> There are some people who will just never accept [Rhaenyra as queen]. But if you give them something, if you throw them a bone, maybe we can make this work."

about supporting Rhaenyra in the future:

> "I don't know if Corlys is necessarily at that stage where he thinks it's never going to work with Rhaenyra as queen. I think that comes to him a bit later, this idea that it's not going to be plain sailing. I think he may start to have concerns about her character around that stage."

when asked to describe the relationship between Daemon and Rhaenyra as of episode 5:

> It's quite fraught. She feels like at every turn, especially in episode 5, he is defying her. He is not listening to her. He is not letting her be the Queen and guide from the throne.

> He wants to be the one making the decisions, making the choices, and he wants her to follow suit. And she's not wanting to follow suit anymore, so it's very, very complicated.

> She still hasn't gotten over the loss of Jace, she is a ghost of herself, right now, but at the same time she is trying to dig down deep to find the strength and the courage to be the Queen that they need her to be, and Daemon's getting in the way of that.

> So, I think, as the season progresses, it's getting more and more complicated, and she also has Mysaria in her ear, you know, it's not good right now.

some more about Mysaria, Daemon and Rhaenyra:

> It's such an interesting dynamic between them, at this point of the story... the thing that some people forget when talking about Mysaria and Daemon is that they had a really intense relationship for many years, and now he is watching Rhaenyra flirt, be temped by Mysaria in this new relationship... although he likes to play it off like he's not bothered by it, or he doesn't feel threatened, deep down there are much bigger emotions in Daemon, going on there.

> With Mysaria too - there is a part of Mysaria, deep down inside, that will always have a love for Daemon, even though he betrayed her, so revenge is obviously #1 to her right now - but often people that we love that hurt us, it's complicated, there's so many different layers.

> I think, Rhaenyra knows this, she knows all of this deep down inside... but Mysaria is so compelling, so manipulative, that Rhaenyra, who is already incredibly confused by so many things that are going on right now in her life - is being drawn in by her temptation of Mysaria. So Everything that Daemon does - even the things that potentially aren't a threat to Rhaenyra right now - she feels like they're a threat, because Mysaria is constantly in her ear, weaving this web.

more about Mysaria

>I think she has feelings for her [Rhaenyra]. As the season progresses, her feelings become stronger. The temptation of being the Queen's right-hand woman is very appealing to her. And also, being able to - the cherry on the top - dig this knife into Daemon; every day that he sees them together, it's driving him crazy, too.

> I think it's multilayered for has well, and I do think she genuinely wants to make life better for the small people, but, any society, the higher you get up in the world, the more corrupt you see that it is. You try to fight for what you came for, but you somehow always get tangled up in the politics of the family, or the government, or whatever that is.

> I think Mysaria is really struggling with that, struggling with how to accomplish her goal of making life better for the small people, but at the same time being able to make a better life for herself, and what she has to do or give up to stay.

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