House of the Dragon’s twin fight perfects the ‘Who do I shoot?’ scene

Home of the Dragon season 1 stunned Recreation of Thrones followers who weren’t effectively versed in George R.R. Martin’s Fireplace & Blood with the introduction of its two most complicated characters but: Ser Arryk Cargyll and Ser Erryk Cargyll.

In an effort to imitate historical past and keep a way of actuality, Martin has gleefully named key characters in Westeros with the identical names or variants based mostly on household. However Arryk and Erryk, being twin members of the Kingsguard with almost the identical title, have been a next-level troll. Fortunately, actors Luke and Elliott Tittensor — sure, they’re actual twins, no CG required — gave them vivid personalities that made their cut up between the Greens and Blacks all of the extra gut-wrenching. Then season 2 upped the ante.

[Ed. note: This story contains major spoilers for the end of House of the Dragon season 2 episode 2.]

In season 1, Arryk and Erryk have been brothers and allies whose earlier missions included finding the twerp Aegon in episode 9. However as Queen Alicent and her father, Ser Otto Hightower, pulled strings to place Aegon in energy and bump out Princess Rhaenyra from her place as inheritor to the throne, Arryk and Erryk drifted aside. They each appeared to agree Ser Criston Cole is a nimrod — goal truth? — however after butting heads over loyalties, Erryk helped Rhaenys escape King’s Touchdown, whereas Arryk remained to serve Aegon. Season 2 finds them on reverse sides of the brewing battle, and Arryk makes one of many worst calls ever: When Criston guilt journeys him over the dying of li’l Jaehaerys, the dual soldier units off to assassinate Rhaenyra and inevitably confront his bro.

Errors have been made — however Arryk’s fateful fuck-up leads to one in every of my favourite battle sequences of both Recreation of Thrones collection. The scene kicks into excessive gear as Arryk strides, with the boldness of an undercover twin, as much as the guard defending Rhaenyra’s room. Assuming Erryk’s identification, Arryk tells the person on responsibility to take a break. Be aware to self: Don’t belief a twin who needs you to stroll away from the job! Fortunately, because of his twindar (and perhaps the White Worm), Erryk exhibits up simply as Arryk prepares to strike down Rhaenyra in her mattress. The brawl begins, and it’s pure chaos. A number of beats later, one other of Rhaenyra’s males actually exclaims, as he should, “Which one is Erryk?!”

Picture: Max

There are just a few circumstances that may result in a traditional “Which one do I shoot?!” impostor second, and even fewer that conjure the visceral confusion of what Home of the Dragon director Clare Kilner achieves in episode 2. Sometimes, when there’s a shape-shifter in play, we get no less than a burst of hero-on-fake-hero motion — Mystique’s battle with Wolverine within the 2000 X-Males being the most effective, although it ends along with her remodeling again into her blue self, after which into Storm as a manner of escaping the brawl. Precise “Which one do I shoot?!” scenes find yourself being moderately chill, so the villain doesn’t present their hand. T-1000 impersonating Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day is high-tension however low-key, as Faux Sarah Connor begs for John’s assist simply as Actual Sarah Connor walks across the nook and blasts him from behind. (Terminator Genisys has an identical scene involving Kyle Reese, which does power younger Sarah Connor to truly resolve which one to shoot, however, uh, perhaps watch Terminator 2 should you want a molten metallic doppelganger repair.)

Whereas I recognize Buzz snuffing out his personal Evil Buzz in Toy Story 2, the apex of lookalike-on-lookalike motion in movie has to go to James Wong’s The One, which put the multiverse to good use by pitting an evil Jet Li towards himself. For 2001, all of the sequences during which Li fights himself — by physique doubles, face substitute, digital compositing, and plenty of different strategies that contain punching tennis balls — are distinctive, showcasing numerous martial arts strategies enhanced with multiversal superpowers. Even the behind-the-scenes documentaries of how they did it rock:

However there’s a transparent benefit to having two bodily warriors on set in a position to duke it out, and Kilner takes full benefit. When Arryk and Erryk start whacking the crap out of one another, the digital camera drifts away from the fight to select up the worry on Rhaenyra’s face, resulting in deliberately convoluted motion geography. A scene that’s meant for a pure adrenaline rush may showcase the sword swings and defensive kicks to make sure, even whereas carrying related period-appropriate armor, the gamers are identifiable. There are just a few tells within the battle that viewers may attempt to cling to — Erryk will get his leg slashed early on, and it could possibly be a inform, if any shot held for lengthy sufficient. However Kilner amplifies the disorienting impact of two twins combating by breaking the 180-degree rule, bouncing between angles that received’t cohere for the mind. It’s the medieval motion equal of a ball-and-cup trick.

The brawl leaves the spectators and not using a true clue of who received, a beat that left me gasping for air. Even moments after watching it, I wasn’t fully positive Arryk prevailed over Erryk… nevertheless it in the end didn’t matter. One twin dying meant each twins needed to go, for honor. The battle ends in Targaryen suicide, one other tragedy on prime of a tragedy. Whereas I’m unhappy to see the twins go from the collection, it additionally seems like historical past — I’m unsure the celebrities will align for such a fascinating “Which one do I shoot?!” scene ever once more.