House of the Dragon's Harry Collett on Jace's 'Teenage Rampage' at the Twins

[Warning: The following contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 5. Read at your own risk!]

Some teenagers rebel against their parents by sneaking out of the house and partying with their friends until dawn. Jace Velaryon (Harry Collett) defies his mother, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), by hopping on his dragon, Vermax, to fly off and negotiate terms of fealty for her cause and passage for her armies.

In the fifth episode of HBO's House of the Dragon Season 2, Jace acts upon his growing restlessness under his mother's protection by staging an off-the-books negotiation with the Freys at the Twins, an important passageway south into the Riverlands for armies Jace already secured from Cregan Stark in the North earlier this season.

Despite his mother grounding him (quite literally!) out of fear she will lose him like his late brother Luke, Jace wants to be more than just the heir in waiting as Rhaenyra's allies begin to take up arms to defend her. All season, as Rhaenyra resisted bringing the realm to war, Jace has been downright defiant in front of the Black Council about his displeasure with his mother not letting him fight. But Collett told TV Guide that his frustration is rooted in something deeper.

"For Jace, all he wants to do is prove his worth to his mother, and I feel like there is a bit of a role reversal going on this season where Jace is acting a bit like the parent and he is trying to tell his mum what to do," Collett said. "I think it is because he is so overwhelmed with the fact that he lost his little brother and he wants to do something. Every single emotion has taken over his mind, and he just wants to achieve revenge, and doesn't really care what his mother says. It's kind of like he is on a teenage rampage."

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That rampage finds him sitting across the table from the Freys on the bridge crossing at the Twins, where he asks permission for Rhaenyra's armies to cross. Effectively, it would allow them to avoid relying on Harrenhal, where Daemon (Matt Smith) is supposed to be mustering legions of fighters but instead is trapped in a downward spiral of his ego and the ghosts of his past. As Jace's negotiations get underway, he conceals any sign of anxiety and anticipation, save for a nervous tapping of his leg under the table.

"He's definitely nervous because he knows he shouldn't be there," Collett said. "But I think overall he is so confident because he wants to go back to his mother and tell her he has done this and has gotten her more people on her side. Now give me more things to do! We had conversations going into it, and [episode director] Clare Kilner and I talked about how he is nervous, but he keeps it under the table. He doesn't let anyone see his hand doing that, which I think is quite powerful."

But those nerves wash away when the Freys start to lean into the possibilities of what Jace is offering. He questions their fear of Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) and his dragon, Vhagar, when Jace's own dragon is sitting outside their gates. So he promises protection, but they are more interested in Harrenhal. Without a lord at the castle, they insinuate they would like to assume the post should they let Rhaenyra's forces move through their region. Without playing his cards too much, Jace downs the chalice of wine in front of him and stands to let them pour him another. For Harrenhal, he says his mother will want more than just passage — she will want "bent knees." They don't protest Jace's conditions.

"I had the idea of getting up and making them fill my glass before I say anything," Collett said. "In a way, I thought that would assert dominance. It will show that Jace understands what he is doing. And as for bent knees, it is so important because it sounds easy. That's all he wants, for people to bow down to his mother, the rightful heir to the throne. But we know it is more than that. It's only two words, but it is impactful and it should be."

Promising Harrenhal feels like a dangerous move considering the mentally fragile state Daemon is in as he holds a tight grip on the castle. But Collett says Jace offers something even more presumptive than the stronghold.

"I think it was more bold that he promised them Daemon's protection," Collett said. "Harrenhal is essentially ruins, and I think here he is more deciding for Daemon what Daemon is going to do."

Aside from potentially stoking the fire that is his stepfather, Jace's risky move to fly out and negotiate for his mother seems to pay off. While Rhaenyra isn't pleased, she acknowledges pride in her initiative-taking son and shares her own frustrations with not being able to take her dragon, Syrax, out and defend her own claim. She and Jace even have an impromptu late-night strategy session about their biggest problem. After Rhaenys (Eve Best) and Meleys' deaths last week, Rhaenyra's forces are seriously lacking in dragon power — especially if she continues to holster herself and Jace. They have the dragons, with Vermithor and Silverwing lying in wait beneath their feet at Dragonstone. But they need riders, and Rhaenyra's surviving children and relatives either have a dragon or are too young to tame them. Jace suggests there are people with dragon lord blood who have slowly been removed from the line through divorce or force. The episode ends with them entertaining the "mad thought" of finding distant relatives who have enough Targaryen in them to claim dragons.

"Up until now, Jace and Rhaenyra have had one really nice moment where they are hugging [over the death of Luke], but the majority of their other moments this season have been sort of like childish bickering about wanting to go to do this or you can't do that," Collett said. "But at the end of this episode, they are both onto something and it is nice because we get to see them work together as a team, as it should be. When we see them have these mother and son moments, it is better for the whole of the realm. When Rhaenyra says, 'I am proud of you, Jace,' I think that is a massive moment for him. He finally has a little bit of light that he has been searching for weeks or years to find, to prove to his mother that he can do this and he can be the heir to the Iron Throne."

ALSO READ: House of the Dragon's Ewan Mitchell on Aemond's Fiery Power Move

While they search the towering wall of family lineage scrolls for dragonriders, Collett acknowledges that he doesn't think Jace will be extinguishing his hatred for Aemond over the killing of his brother Luke anytime soon. Seeking revenge is part of what fuels his restlessness, and Aemond's lingering presence is what keeps him motivated.

But in real life, despite rarely sharing the screen these days, Collett and Mitchell have struck up a friendship that Collett said is in stark contrast to their on-screen familial tension. It even has him thinking about what could have been if Aemond and Jace were on the same side.

"On set, I saw Ewan about three times, I think," he said. "But we have done a load of press, and we spend a lot of time together. It is completely different for Aemond and Jace on screen, than it is for Ewan and Harry off of it. I kind of wish we didn't have a rivalry though. I would love to be on Aemond's side. Can you imagine a Jace and Aemond combo? Jace wouldn't be as good as Aemond on the sword, but Jace would definitely have him on the brains."

House of the Dragon Season 2 airs Sundays at 9/8c on HBO. Episodes are available to stream on Max.