Emilia Clarke shall forever be known as the Mother of Dragons for her portrayal of Daenerys Targaryen in HBO's Game of Thrones, but that doesn't mean she's keeping up with the rest of the Targaryen family in the prequel series House of the Dragon.
In an interview with Variety at the Sundance Film Festival, Clarke talked about the very relatable reason she's not tuning into the prequel series. "It's too weird," she said. "I'm so happy it's happening. I'm over the moon about the awards. I just can't do it. It's so weird. It's so strange. It's kind of like someone saying, 'You want to go to this school reunion that's not your year? Want to go to that reunion?' That's how it feels. I'm avoiding it."
(It can be hard enough to go to your own school reunion, so we understand the sentiment completely!)
Though set in the same universe, House of the Dragon takes place hundreds of years before Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon spotlights the reign of the Targaryen family during their peak ruling the Iron Throne — and the events that lead to their eventual downfall.
Given that the two shows are so different, it makes sense that Clarke might not want to jump into House of the Dragon, particularly after spending eight seasons as Daenerys. It hasn't been that long since the show ended in 2019 and Clarke deserves a break from the universe. If she wants to jump back into the new series, great, but it's totally understandable that she might not want to dive into a show that's so closely related to one she worked on for so many years.
Since the show ended, Clarke has been spreading her wings with other projects, including her new movie The Pod Generation. Clarke was at Sundance to promote the movie at its festival world premiere in Park City, Utah. She stars with Chiwetel Ejiofor in a story about a future where babies can be conceived and raised in artificial and detachable wombs, raising important questions about the politics of motherhood and having children.
"There's so much politics around being another, having a child, not having a child…my God!" she said. "How dare people have the audacity to have that kind of an opinion on someone's life?"
While Clarke may not, you can watch House of the Dragon season 1 right now on HBO Max in the US and Sky Go or NOW in the UK. House of the Dragon season 2 is confirmed, but may not air until 2024.
