House of the Dragon star reveals ‘poignant’ change to character death in book

And it’s time for us all to remember how to breathe.

After the thrilling fight scene between Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) and Ser Erryk Cargyll (Elliott Tittensor) at the end of the second episode of the second season of “House of the Dragon,” it’s safe to say we’re all a little lost for words when it comes to how things turned out for the twins.

After receiving orders from Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) to kill Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), Arryk sneaked into her bedroom and drew his sword. But it didn’t take long for his brother Erryk to realize what was going on and prevent the murder.

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But it was supposed to be the end for both brothers, as they engaged in a tense duel that neither could stop for fear of hurting the wrong twin. It was Erryk who finally stabbed and killed his brother, but as he approached Rhaenyra, he then drew his own sword to kill himself.

The main deaths are chronicled in the book Fire and Blood by George RR Martin, but Erryk’s suicide is a heartbreaking addition to the HBO series. But what was behind Erryk’s decision to end his life?

Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about the scene, Elliott Tittensor revealed: “I think, of course, that was a kind of poetic license that the writers must have taken at that moment, because in the books (Eryk) obviously doesn’t die from his abdominal injuries until quite a long time later.”

“But I think that the moment when he sacrifices himself also reveals a little bit more about the story of Erryk and Arryk. And I think that as a Kingsguard, you obviously don’t have that much time to let the characters mature and so on.

“I think it was just a beautiful, poignant moment for him to show what he was feeling at that moment.”

In Fire and Blood, several accounts are revealed about how the twins died and how their fight unfolded.

One account says that the twins died crying in each other’s arms, another says that Arryk was long dead before their bodies were found, and that Erryk finally died after four days from severe wounds to the abdomen.

Tittensor spoke about how seriously the twins took their oath to the Kingsguard, saying, “They are the people who cannot make real decisions because they are told what to do and are not allowed to ask questions. The oath they have sworn is very sacred to them.”

“I feel like there’s a really beautiful poetry in that intensity that he shows himself in – being able to kill yourself because you have so many emotions because of what you just did, killing your twin brother – that you want to share with the world and the audience.”

Similarly, Luke Tittensor said of the House of the Dragon writers’ approach to adapting the Cargyll twins’ death scene for the screen: “It was interesting to see how it would all unfold naturally, because in the books there are three different versions of events.”

“So it was interesting to see where the writers placed the action, what actually happened at that moment.

“To be honest, I feel like they wrote something in the middle that really works because it still has that energy of a duel and that brutality, but at the same time it still has that emotional connection that would naturally be there with two twins fighting each other to the death.

“You know, it was nice to see that they still had that space for the emotional part of the journey, which of course, it’s Game of Thrones, is going to be in there. But it was nice to read it and nice to do it and be a part of it.”

Season 2 of House of the Dragon airs weekly on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV.

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