‘House of the Dragon’ Tragic Twins: Chocolate-Buried Cake Tribute

Spoiler alert: This article discusses a plot point in the June 30 episode of “House of the Dragon,” now streaming on Max.

Getting buried under shovels of dirt on “House of the Dragon” isn’t supposed to be a pleasant experience. Yet, the Episode 3 burial of the unfortunate knights Erryk and Arryk Cargyll, played by identical twins Elliott and Luke Tittensor, was somewhat of a party on the HBO “Game of Thrones” spinoff.

That’s because the “dirt” being thrown on the knights in their shared graves after their deaths in an epic Episode 2 battle was a mix of dark, delicious desserts.

“What they were chucking on us was about 300 quid’s worth (about $379) of chocolate cake and Oreos all crushed up,” says Luke Tittensor. “It was actually quite an enjoyable experience.”

“They throw it at you on the face, and you just want to lick your lips and eat cake,” Elliott Tittensor adds. “But then it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re meant to be dead here.'”

Michael Dawson, special effects supervisor for “Dragon,” confirms that the burial soil mix was 70% Oreo cookies and 30% chocolate cake.

In the June 23 episode, Arryk, allied with King Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), impersonated his lookalike brother to infiltrate the private quarters of Queen Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), the claimant to the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra’s bodyguard, Erryk, intervened, killed his brother, and then fell on his own sword in despair.

Shooting the burial was even more oddly celebratory because it was the Tittensors’ last working day on the series.

“We’d finished the job and we were getting buried,” says Luke. “So it felt like a celebration because they were chucking cake on us. It was a weird day.”

The two managed to keep their composure for the burial scene. “Dragon” has already seen the murder of King Aegon’s toddler in the June 16 Season 2 premiere and the death of Rhaenyra’s son Prince Lucerys in the Season 1 finale.

The burial is a ghastly image that starkly illustrates the collateral damage that occurs when powerful people fight.

“There is so much symbolism in that one image,” says Episode 3 director Geeta Vasant Patel. “The brothers represent the two sides. They had hearts and were people of love. But all we see here is death. And the clock is ticking with every bit of dirt tossed upon them.”

A hardened Rhaenyra is at the graveside, being urged to seek revenge by her older son Jacaerys (Harry Collett). However, Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) valiantly tries to counsel her niece, Rhaenyra, pointing out that the origins of the brewing war are being lost with every act of revenge.

“Rhaenys knows there is light and pushes for it. She gives one of my favorite lines, ‘We teeter on the point where none of this will matter.’ She’s referring to where it all started,” says Patel. “But Rhaenyra is primal in shutting it down. That’s not a conversation she wants to have.”

Rhaenyra has a change of heart and decides to make a desperate attempt to speak to her childhood best friend, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), to prevent war. Rhaenyra’s plan is the audacious mirror image of Arryk’s: She will sneak into King’s Landing in disguise and approach Alicent as she prays in the sept outside the castle gates. Rhaenyra risks her life in hostile territory to urge peace.

The scene is set in the exact candlelit location where young Alicent and Rhaenyra prayed together in Season 1. The adult Rhaenyra approaches shot-for-shot in the same way to meet the kneeling and extremely surprised Alicent.

“This moment is about Rhaenyra reaching out to Alicent in a time of war, and using their friendship as the mechanism to change her mind,” says Patel. “It’s the memories of when they were girls and best friends, and they trusted each other.”

In the intense whispered conversation, Alicent reveals the final words of her husband, King Viserys, which prompted her to push her son Aegon onto the throne over Rhaenyra — Viserys’ daughter and longtime heir to the throne.

They piece together that Viserys was actually referencing the legendary Aegon the Conqueror on his deathbed, not his unstable grandson who now sits on the Iron Throne.

Alicent realizes she’s about to go to war over a misunderstood utterance. But it’s too late. Alicent scurries away from the meeting; Rhaenyra lets her go, staring into the candles. The last chance for peace is gone.

“It’s a wonderful episode arc. At the grave, the doors are closed to Rhaenyra; there is no way in hell she is going to talk to Alicent. Yet, Rhaenyra still comes,” says Patel. “But in the end, Rhaenyra is right back to where she was at the grave. She’s acting like it’s Alicent’s fault. But it takes two.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘House of the Dragon’ tragic twins get buried by chocolate with cake used for dirt.

Source: USA TODAY