House Of The Dragon’s Harwin Strong Addresses Show Skipping Most Of His Story
House of the Dragon star Ryan Corr addresses the HBO show skipping most of Ser Harwin Strong’s story. The new fantasy-drama series centers on the familial conflicts within the House Targaryen approximately 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones. Corr stars as Ser Harwin « Breakbones » Strong, the older brother to the clubfooted Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) and the heir to Harrenhal. Although briefly seen in earlier episodes of the series, including pushing through a brawl during Rhaenyra’s wedding feast to whisk her away to safety, Harwin became a key part of House of the Dragon episode 6, « The Princess and the Queen. »
The episode finds the narrative advanced 10 years, revealing significant changes within many of the character’s lives. Rhaenyra, now married to Ser Laenor Valeryon (John MacMillan), has birthed three sons, each without the distinctive silver hair that members of the Targaryen and Velaryon families sport. With Harwin serving as personal guard to Rhaenyra, it is clear he is in a romantic relationship with the princess and is the father of her children. Following a scuffle with Rhaenyra’s former love interest, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Harwin is sent back to Harrenhal, where he and his father are killed in a fire started by agents under the control of Larys.
In a recent interview with The A.V. Club, Corr addresses House of the Dragon skipping most of Harwin’s story during the 10-year time jump. Although the actor does not appear to be upset, he admits he wished he could have spent more time with the character, especially experiencing the journey of Harwin’s romance with Rhaenyra. Read what Corr says below:
Yeah. HBO, are you listening? [Laughs] I think that’s up to an audience. I did have the moment when they called up and said, “You’re on Game Of Thrones!” And I was like, “Yeah!” And then it’s like, “And we kill you in episode six.” And so I sort of knew it from the start. Look, of course, I’d love to have explored watching Rhaenyra and Harwin come together and how that might have happened and, you know, possibly some of his time in the Gold Cloaks. But in the scale of this story and over how many years it spans, it’s only natural that we have to jump time.
Corr understands that House of the Dragon’s long time jump could be jarring for some, as Harwin went from the Gold Cloak who bumped into Rhaenyra while on patrol in episode 4 to her longtime lover, and father of the children of the future Queen. Couple that with his death by the end of the episode, and Corr recognizes that there may have been a missed opportunity to give Harwin’s relationship with Rhaenyra a little more time to develop. Regardless, the actor appears to be grateful for the time he spent on the show.
Unfortunately, Harwin’s death will likely take a severe toll on Rhaenyra and her children. Although they were told for years that Laenor was their father, Rhaenyra’s first two sons, Jacaerys and Lucerys, clearly understood that Harwin took more of an interest in their lives. Now that he is gone, Rhaenyra will be in pain, mourning the loss of the only true romantic love in her life while dealing with children who may lash out without a proper father figure. Especially Jacaerys, who figured out that he is a Strong and not a Velaryon. As House of the Dragon continues, Harwin’s loss will be evident as the conflict with Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) grows.
Source: The A.V. Club
