Emilia Clarke Talks Dany’s Reaction to Jon Snow’s Parentage on ‘Game of Thrones’

In the first episode of Game of Thrones Season 8, Jon Snow discovered that he’s the secret son of Prince Rhaegar, meaning that he’s the heir to the Iron Throne everyone’s after. Upon discovering this, he was met with the realization that Daenerys Targaryen is, in fact, his aunt as well as his lover. Understandably upset by this revelation, he shared the news with Daenerys in the second episode, only to be met with a response that showed her excitement that he’s rightful heir to the Iron Throne.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Daenerys actress Emilia Clarke has defended how her character reacted to the news. “The related thing, to her, is so normal,” Clarke said, referencing how Targaryens has historically incestuously married. “She could have easily married her brother. It’s not a thing. It’s a thing for Jon, but let’s just forget about that. The main thing is we’re up for the same promotion and I’ve been working for it for my entire existence.”

Jon Snow was surprised and disturbed by Daenerys’ reaction, with her explaining, “If it were true, it would make you the last male heir of House Targaryen. … You’d have a claim to the Iron Throne.” Emilia Clarke added that the Iron Throne is still her No. 1 goal, and that any relation to Jon would ultimately not bother her.

“This is my whole existence,” Clarke emphasized. “Since birth! Dany literally was brought into this world going: RUN! These fuckers [in Westeros] have fucked everything up. Now it’s, ‘You’re our only hope.’ There’s so much she’s taken on in her duty in life to rectify. There’s so much she’s seen and witnessed and been through and lost and suffered and hurt to get here … and Jon doesn’t even want it!”

In a separate interview breaking down some of the pivotal moments of Season 8, Episode 2, GoT writer Bryan Cogman said it was a “very difficult” scene. “What really upsets Jon is that he’s a blood relative to the woman he’s in love with,” he explained. “Jon is taken aback when essentially the first thing she says is acknowledging that he has a claim to the Iron Throne. Kit and Emilia play it beautifully. It’s a very difficult scene to pull off; so much has to go on behind the eyes.”

Meanwhile, HBO offered fans a look at the production behind the show, focusing on what went into crafting the sets for Season 8. They also shared a different behind-the-scenes feature after the episode aired last night, giving a look on what went into writing and directing the episode.

Watch the behind-the-scenes video above.