Having likeable protagonists isn’t enough to make a programme about the fictional world of Westeros. These loathsome characters abounded in the first season of Game of Thrones. Indeed, many would argue that there was an abundance of them in the show. There was King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), the genuinely repulsive Ramsey Bolton (Iwan Rheon), Walder Frey (David Bradley), and of course, Lord Petyr Baelish (Aidan Gillen) a.k.a. Littlefinger, who was always plotting and scheming. Many viewers laughed at their on-screen deaths, and it appears that the prequel series House of the Dragon has given us a villain to root against as a group. Matthew Needham plays Lord Larys Strong, also known as Clubfoot.
To the lord, Larys.
Lord Lyonel Strong (Gavin Spokes), the King’s Hand until his untimely death, is the father of Larys, his youngest son. In the new prequel series, Larys burns his father and brother, Ser Harwin (Ryan Corr), to death in the family hall as a sign of devotion to Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke). You still hate him, right? Needham, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, discussed the parallels between his character and others in the genre, both dead and alive. Like Littlefinger, Larys is cunning and manipulative, but he also has the intelligence gathering and use skills of Lord Varys from Game of Thrones, played by Conleth Hill. Needham begins by describing the trio’s shared worldview, “The ‘chaos is a ladder way of life,” before moving on to explain how, despite their similarities, his own character is “on his own path.” The performer elaborates: I didn’t go see them learn their craft, but those are fantastic performers and performances. To me, it seems like a whole other entity. As an added bonus, there are multiple authors. Even though it takes place in the same universe, this episode definitely did not feel like an episode of the previous programme. Given that it has already been so perfectly executed by those folks, I don’t see how trying to imitate their work would be helpful to anybody. Neither one of those individuals probably killed their loved ones by setting them on fire. Surely they committed other atrocities, but he seems to be his own peculiar individual. Away from the crowd, he goes.
Lord Lary’s presence was muted in Driftmark’s seventh episode, with Clubfoot content to lurk in the background and observe. However, he did have a notable scene when he approached Alicent on a ship bound for King’s Landing. Alicent’s (Leo Ashton) son Aemond had recently lost an eye, and she had gone looking for vengeance. Larys addresses her, “Is an eye what you seek? I’ll get you an eyeball right now.” He was very serious, too. It can be completed without even waiting for the queen’s approval. She declines this time, and Larys reminisced about it. There really isn’t much that he won’t try, so yeah. That’s a fascinating person to have on your side,” the actor added. “I don’t want to speak for the wonderful Olivia Cooke.” I think having him on your side would be more beneficial than fighting against him.
On HBO on Sundays, you can catch House of the Dragon. HBO Max subscribers may also watch episodes online.