‘House of the Dragon’ star Bethany Antonia breaks down Baela's epic “blood and fire” scene with Corlys: “He is just her granddad, after all” (2024)

Close viewers of House of the Dragon Season 2 will know that the HBO show has been subtly hinting that one Targaryen princess just might be Team Black’s most powerful secret weapon. Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) is only a teenager when the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons begins, but with each passing atrocity, she becomes more poised, more confident, and more integral to Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) goal of taking her rightful place on the Iron Throne. Daemon’s (Matt Smith) daughter by Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell) has quietly blossomed into a savvy political power player, as capable of terrifying Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) on dragonback as she is at convincing her prideful grandfather Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) to become Rhaenyra’s Hand. Moreover, she’s repeatedly shown a sly combination of empathy and wisdom in dealing with her hotheaded betrothed, Jacaerys “Jace” Velaryon (Harry Collett), and frustrated sister Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell).

When Rhaenyra tells Baela that she has to depend on the teenager, she’s really not joking.

“I like to think of her like up all night in the library, reading the books, doing all the work, and then, maybe telling Jace what he has to do,” House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia told Decider during a recent conversation. “And he’ll go and do it the next day.”

Like Baela, Antonia is a young woman eager to put in the work foisted upon her. “I know everything [about the lore]. I read the whole thing,” Antonia said, revealing she’s maybe one of the few House of the Dragon stars who tore through all of George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood before she even auditioned! “And annoyingly, you know? Well, I read the whole thing.”

However, she’s not just throwing herself into the role intellectually. Unlike her costars —who have hinted to Decider that filming the dragonback sequences can be hell on the glutes —Antonia has also been seen reveling in the physically demanding part of the job in behind-the-scenes packages produced by HBO.

“I loved it so much. I had so much fun,” Antonia told Decider. “I think for me, the reason why I enjoyed it so much is because it was the first time. I know a lot of the others did it last season and it just felt epic. I was like, we literally have the best job in the world.”

House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 5 “Regent” is a big one for Baela as it follows the immediate aftermath of her grandmother Rhaenys’s (Eve Best) death. Instead of losing herself in the throes of grief, however, Baela finds the strength to keep Team Black together. When Decider spoke with Bethany Antonia last week, we delved into just how much the queen-in-waiting was shaped by Rhaenys, how her relationship with Jace is developing, and the emotional reason why HBO’s version Baela doesn’t have the short hair George R.R. Martin gave her in the books…

DECIDER: I guess my first question for you, you know, going back to the first season, the first time you appear as Baela, you’re at the right hand of Rhaenys on Driftmark during Corlys’ long absence. And I’m curious, how do you think being raised during that time by her grandmother shaped Baela?

BETHANY ANTONIA: Yeah. Oh, I’m so glad you picked up on that. Because to me, that’s kind of where I started the whole basis of her character from this season. When I was looking at like who was her most influential figure, it was Rhaenys. Because, you know, Laena passed away when she was quite young and Daemon is so absent. I think she’s always had Rhaenys as like a guiding figure in her life. And I think being able to go to Driftmark and learn the way a person behaves and learn how to run a castle. She’s kind of had the luxury of living with the wealthiest family in Westeros, and also being a Targaryen. And I think it’s just made her grow into such a powerful and strong young woman who is ready to do whatever it takes to protect her family.

I spoke to Harry Collett before this season started about Jace and Baela, and he said that he thought that they were not only one of the few couples that really loved each other, but that he also played it like the two of you understood you were going to be the future king and queen. So the way you behave in court is you are going to be like the next Jaehaerys and Alysanne. Would you agree with that? And how did you play it?

Absolutely! I love the references to Jaehaerys and Alysanne because I’m such a fan of the lore of the world, the “old school” original texts and stuff. I think that they were such a beautiful couple and it’s really nice that we could kind of be compared to them.

And I think he’s so right. We, as far as our characters are concerned, there’s no question in our mind as to who’s going to win this war. In their minds, there shouldn’t even be a war. They think that Rhaenyra is the rightful queen and that’s it. And I think we really see them both step into those roles this season as like two young people who are really diligently trying to learn what their their future is going to look like. And they really make an effort to not only get closer to each other, but to get closer to what ruling looks like, to kind of learn the ways of the world. Yeah.

On that note, in Season 2 Episode 5, you have some great scenes. Your first one is with Jace, and he comes to you and he’s stewing. He’s like, “I’m going to Daemon.” And you’re like, “That’s not a good idea!” But when you talk, he brings up the Freys, you’re like, “Well, maybe…” Can you tell me what she’s thinking and why she is adamant about Jace not going to Daemon, but she’s okay with him going up to the Freys behind his mom’s back?

I think she’s learning very quickly that she needs to pick her battles with Jace, and she sees the Freys as like a safe space. Bless his heart, he thinks he can do everything that he sets his mind to immediately. She’s just maybe a little bit more forward-thinking and knows that there’s no way him and Daemon are even going to come close in an argument or a battle. I think the Freys is her way of, like, giving him an inch. Like, okay, go for the Freys. [Laughs] We love that scene so much because it really sets the tone for that whole relationship.

Another great scene is between you and Rhaenyra. This is not the first time Rhaenyra has sort of pulled Baela into her counsel and given her responsibilities that are kind of a lot for a teenaged girl who’s also grieving a lot of losses. Is the pressure getting to Baela at all? And how does she see her role in Rhaenyra’s campaign and on her Council?

Yeah, I think initially the pressure isn’t getting to her. I think she’s really enjoying being given some responsibility. But where we now find her in Episode 5, I think the reality of what going to war actually means has hit her the first time. It’s almost like every person she’s ever cared about is is slowly being taken away from her. I think the pressure is now less that she’s scared of getting involved in fighting. I think they’ve they’ve all kind of been bred to do that. It’s more so that she’s going to lose these people that she really loves.

It really hit me in the scenes in the Black Council: it’s like she only really has Jace, because Rhaenyra is not really there. You know, her parents have gone and now her grandmother’s gone and her granddad is in his own world, “doing his boat,” and she just doesn’t really have anyone. So I think, yeah, we really see, the pressures and the realities of war starting to take their toll on the kids, for sure.

I want to talk about the scene with Corlys because that was dazzling to watch. I mean, the writing is all there, but you so deftly just established Baela as, she’s savvy, she’s tough, she’s empathic, and she’s a Targaryen. How did you think she mapped that in her head? Like, how did she know exactly how to push the buttons? Was it Rhaenys teaching her? Did she have her own relationship with her grandfather? And, you know, was she at all nervous to like, push him in very vulnerable ways.

Yeah. I really think that those years that she spent at Driftmark with Rhaenys were so formative to who she is as a character. I think what the audience might not remember straight away when they’re watching the series is that he was gone for such a long time. They had to hold Driftmark by themselves while he was gone, and he was flighty, and he got to go off and grieve. I think she spent so much time with Rhaenys while he was gone grieving their kid, and she saw her have to deal with it by herself. But now, it’s not that she doesn’t have sympathy for him, but she’s kind of like, “We did that. You weren’t here. And now you need to be here for me, and us, while we go through it, too.”

So I think with that scene, I just kind of wanted to show that and show that she’s maybe one of the few people that isn’t scared or intimidated by him. Because he is just her granddad, after all. All families have family drama. So she’s coming at him like a grandkid who just wants to put her granddad in his place rather than somebody who’s scared of a really influential monarch.

It is interesting because Corlys seems to completely pick up like, “Oh wow, like, my granddaughter is legit.” He tries to give you Driftmark and you say no. You not only do that, but you have one of the most badass lines, I think, in the series so far: “I am blood and fire. Driftmark must pass to salt and sea.” Take me through her thinking. Like, is there any part of her that sees that maybe holding Driftmark could be strategic? Who does she think should have it instead? And what was it like to say “I am blood and fire?”

It was like my favorite scene I’ve had through the whole season. It was magical and working with Steve was just incredible. I’m so glad we got to do that together. But I think in Baela’s point of view, at this point, it’s kind of like, “You had time to do this and you haven’t. You’ve overlooked us at every opportunity. You’ve never considered Baela or Rhaena for this position.” You know, we’ve seen him almost laugh at the idea of Rhaena being heir to Driftmark. And I don’t think that’s lost on her. I don’t think it’s lost on either of them.

And I think her way of kind of coping with that was to lean into the fact that she was a Targaryen and she was Laena’s daughter. She was going to honor the memory of Laena in everything that she did. So the idea of now being in charge of his ships and this castle that kind of feels alien to her, is just not one that she likes. Yeah, it felt really powerful to say. She’s passing up on something that everybody would want in their life, and she’s just dedicated to the life that she’s chosen. And I think it speaks massively to the confidence that she has, [laughing], in her side of the war. Yeah, it’s quite sweet. It’s quite naive. [Laughs] It’s like she’s got no idea there’s this whole other faction of people that are kind of doing okay so far in the war.

I know that some of the actors have read ahead in the books to find out what happens to their characters. Some of them have not. Where do you stand on the research? How much do you know about where Baela winds up?

I know everything. I read the whole thing. And annoyingly, you know? Well, I read the whole thing. So when I initially auditioned for the show, I was auditioning to be teenage Laena, played wonderfully by Savannah Steyn. So I thought that I would be in and out if I got it, and I read the whole thing. I did all the prep and then I didn’t get the job. And then, like, out of nowhere, I got called to say, you have got the job, but it’s actually a bigger role and it’s going to be in scenes to come, but [I had] already read everything. Then I got to realize that people were doing the really cool, like, “Oh no, we’re not reading, we’re just going to take it year by year” sort of thing. But yeah, I’ve read. I know where we go. I know where we end up.

I’ve also read all the books. I’m a huge fan. I’m a huge geek. Very lame over here. But one change visually is that your character has short hair in the books. She’s a tomboy. Do you miss that you don’t have that blunt bob? Or do you like the long, curly, silver wigs they’ve given Baela in the show?

I really thought that we were going to go there. And I really thought that it was going to be a really cool part of her character to kind of define when she was like, “Right, I’m joining the war now.” I do really understand the choice that they’ve gone with to not do that, because I think we’re really past the idea of girls who are into action having to have short hair. It doesn’t matter what you look like, you can still have those traits. So yeah, I’m really happy with how it’s gone. But I would I would have liked a little bob.

On that note, too, I find it so fascinating that the two sisters have different styles. Rhaena, she does the protective style hair. Your character does the curls like her mother. Is there something meaningful there that you think that Baela is copying her mother’s hairstyle?

Yeah, totally. I think that comes down to they were raised in different households. So Baela was raised by Rhaenys and I’m imagining she would have done her hair every night for her like she’d done Laena’s. Probably longer than needed, just to honor the memory of her. And, Rhaena went to Dragonstone and tried to honor the legacy of Corlys while he was away. I love that they’ve done that with the two of us.

Before I let you go, Baela feels like Team Black’s secret weapon. I’m not sure how many people realize how much she is a reliable, strong cog in this machine. What do you personally think she adds to Rhaenyra’s cause that no one else can?

I think she adds so much loyalty and she’s kind of got a superpower. I think her superpower is that she’s really not got a lot to lose anymore. A lot of the others are coming in with big families to protect, and kids to provide for, or families to not disappoint. Like, Jace, he wants to be the perfect son. At this point, Baela has really not got many people she needs to impress or to look out for. She just wants to make sure that her and her sister are okay. So I think she’s got this fire in her that, if unleashed, could be very dangerous.

This interview has been formatted and edited for clarity.