'House of the Dragon' cocreator Ryan Condal reveals deleted Baela and Rhaenys scene

• During HBO's "Game of Thrones" convention on Saturday morning, Ryan Condal shared a deleted scene.
• The clip was footage cut from the season one finale of "House of the Dragon."
• Condal said he loved the scene between Baela and Rhaenys but had to axe because of runtime limits.

While virtually calling into HBO's "Game of Thrones" fan convention on Saturday morning, "House of the Dragon" cocreator and showrunner Ryan Condal gave the attendees an exclusive first look at a deleted scene from the season one finale.

The scene would have taken place in the first half of the season one finale, after Rhaenys has already warned Rhaenyra about the Hightowers' usurping of the Iron Throne. As Rhaenys tries to decide whether or not to support Rhaenyra's claim as queen, her granddaughter Baela makes the case for going to war. 

While standing together in a hallway in Dragonstone, Baela tells her grandmother that they cannot "hide from war." Baela passionately says that she's a dragonrider, just like her mother Laena Velaryon and the grandmother standing in front of her. 

When Rhaenys doesn't immediately reply, seemingly emotionally overwhelmed, Baela asks her grandmother if she thinks she's "jesting" about her desire to stand with Queen Rhaenyra and her betrothed (Rhaenyra's son Luke).

Rhaenys then says to Baela, "I just saw my daughter for the first time in years."

Laena died about 10 years prior to this conversation, adding to Rhaenys' tragedy-filled life. This deleted scene makes it more clear that Rhaenys ultimately decides to support Rhaenyra and Daemon because of her loyalty to the deep Velaryon-Targaryen connection between their families. 

Condal said the scene was cut purely due to the minute constraints HBO had for the finale, given that it was airing in multiple countries and not simply on streaming. "The finale ended up being so long," Condal said, explaining that he loved the Baela scene but it ultimately was cut because it was more of a character-developing moment as opposed to a vital plot-pushing scene. 

The "House of the Dragon" showrunner he considers that scene to be "canon" within the events of the show, which isn't always the case for deleted scenes. In his mind, that conversation between Baela and Rhaenys absolutely took place — it just unfortunately wasn't one that the audience got to watch. 

Condal praised Bethany Antonia, the actor who plays Baela in the final episodes of season one. Antonia will continue to portray Baela in the upcoming second season.

Filming for season two "House of the Dragon" will begin in March 2023, which means fans will have to wait until at least 2024 to see their favorite characters return to the screen.

In the meantime, read our breakdown of 11 questions the "House of the Dragon" season one finale left unanswered.