The actor who plays Lucerys Velaryon in House of the Dragon has been heaped with praise from fans after his incredible – and heartbreaking - performance in this week’s dramatic season finale.
WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON SEASON ONE FINALE
The character, played by Elliot Grihault, met a grisly death during a dragon chase through stormy skies with Aemond, having travelled to Storm’s End to visit Lord Borros Baratheon in a bid to secure loyalty for Rhaenyra.
Little did he know that Aemond had turned up to do precisely the same for Aegon - promising a marriage alliance as an incentive, which was something Lucerys, betrothed to step-sister Rhaena, could not match.
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Their unexpected encounter renewed Aemond’s anger over losing his eye, prompting the teenager to lunge for his nephew, only for Borros to cool the pair off, insisting he didn’t want a duel in his presence.
Instead, the duo took their spat skywards, with Aemond pursuing Lucerys and Arrax on the much larger Vhagar.
As things got heated, Aemond tried to call his dragon off his rival’s - intent only on getting Lucerys’ eye, rather than all-out bloodshed - but Vhagar had other ideas and swooped down, clamping Arrax and his rider into her jaws, before letting go and leaving them both to tumble to the ground.
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The bitter ending left many viewers in tears, not least because the tragic death involved such a young character.
One fan Tweeted: "MY SWEET LITTLE BOY LUCERYS IM CRYING."
Someone else, saying they felt 'traumatized in high valerian', wrote: "I shed tears on this part coz he's just a boy and Arrax is just a baby dragon. Oh my poor sweet Lucerys we will avenge you."
Another simply said: "TREMBLING CRYING SHAKING UGLY SOBBING."
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A fourth commented: "Just realised that Arrax being anxious and scared and attacking under panic is so sad bc Lucerys was just as scared they were so bonded gonna cry now they were both babies bye."
A fifth added: "LUCERYS AND ARRAX WERE TWO LITTLE BABIES."
Over on Reddit, meanwhile, Grihault has been praised online for his ‘phenomenal’ performance in the episode, which was not only the series finale, but also his last hurrah.
One user wrote: “Shout out to Elliot Grihault who was absolutely phenomenal this episode as Lucerys Velaryon.”
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And with more than 16,000 upvotes, it seems many other fans agree with the sentiment.
Someone else wrote: “Yeah he was great. From dynamic with his mother, controlling Arrax, being a capable diplomat. I should have known from an opening scene like that, the subject matter shouldn’t expect to live in the GOT universe.”
Another said: “He's generally one of the better child actors I've seen. Imo he perfectly portrayed a fine young boy who is nervous about the hard task before him, then faces it with bravery and dignity and ultimately breaks down in panic as he gets in over his head. All these emotions would have been hard enough to portray for an adult, he did really well.”
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Earlier this month, Grihault had taken to social media to thank fans for their support, saying the reaction was far beyond what he could have hoped for.
The actor wrote: “The love and support I’ve been getting from this character is beyond what I could have ever imagined."
“Thank you so much for loving this character as much as I loved playing it.”
Catch up with House of the Dragon season one on HBO Max in the US or via Sky and NOW in the UK.
Featured Image Credit: HBO/SkyTopics: House of the Dragon, TV and Film, Game of Thrones