The casting of most beloved literary characters in screen adaptation inevitably creates online discourse as fans of the books have their own preconceived notions for what the characters should look like. Heated Rivalry is no exception, with the announcement on Friday that Justice Smith and Charlie Gillespie will play Harris Drover and Troy Barrett, respectively, in Season 2 of the hugely popular series based on Rachel Reid’s Game Changer books, triggering a strong reaction.

Smith appeared to address the discourse on his Instagram Story.

“I am moved by the support and love I’m getting from fans in my dms, fans who have welcomed me with open arms and who already feel a responsibility to protect me.”

The protecting part is likely a reference to negative comments posted online, a lot of them pointed at Smith’s casting.

“I am honored to play a character that you all care about deeply and I promise that I will take good care of him if you give me the chance,” he wrote, adding, “I am beyond excited for the experience.”

The negative online response to the Harris and Troy castings also prompted Reid to remind fans that Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams — now loved around the world for their portrayal of Ilya Rozanov and Shane Hollander, respectively — weren’t an easy sell either.

“Thinking about all the people last summer who told me the casting for llya and Shane was wrong and bad…,” Reid wrote on her Instagram Story.

Harris Drover and Troy Barrett are the central couple in Role Model, the fifth book in Reid’s bestselling Game Changer series, which is being used as source material for Season 2 alongside the Ilya and Shane follow-up book, The Long Game.

Troy is a hockey player on Ilya’s team with a history of bullying, while Harris is the team’s cheerful social media manager,

“From the start of the casting process, we knew we were looking for actors who could create something truly special together and bring that same depth and heart to the screen,” Heated Rivalry creator Jacob Tierney and fellow executive producer Brendan Brady said on Friday about the search for Harris and Troy. “Justice and Charlie do exactly that. They immediately connected with the vulnerability and resilience at the core of these characters, bringing an instinctive understanding of who Harris and Troy are.”

Set Decorators Society of America (SDSA) tonight honored the best in class for contemporary, fantasy, science fiction variety, reality and period series. Apple’s Widow’s Bay & Palm Royale, Netflix’s Wednesday and Amazon’s Fallout among the big winners in the hour-long categories.

The SDSA Awards are presented annually by the Set Decorators Society of America. The SDSA Film Awards and SDSA Television Awards recognize outstanding work on a wide range of productions in each medium. The TV awards were announced tonight.

FULL WINNERS LIST:

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Contemporary Series
Widow’s Bay
Set Decoration by Jennifer Engel with Production Design by Steve Arnold

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Fantasy or Science Fiction Series
Fallout
Set Decoration by Julie Ochipinti with Production Design by Howard Cummings
Wednesday
Set Decoration by David Morison SDSA and Neville Gaynor SDSA with Production Design by Mark Scruton and Philip Murphy SDSA

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a One Hour Period Series
Palm Royale
Set Decoration by Ellen Reede SDSA with Production Design by Jon Carlos

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Television Movie or Limited Series
Beef
Set Decoration by Kellie Jo Tinney SDSA with Production Design by Grace Yun

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Half-Hour Single Camera Series
Hacks
Set Decoration by Jennifer Lukehart SDSA with Production Design by Rob Tokarz

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Half-Hour Multi-Camera Series
Happy’s Place
Set Decoration by Amy Feldman SDSA with Production Design by Glenda Rovello

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Short Format: Web Series, Music Video, or Commercial
Offset & John Legend “Never Let Go”

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Variety, Reality, or Competition Series
The Muppet Show
Set Decoration by Bethany Barton SDSA Associate with Production Design by Denise Pizzini

Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Daytime Series
The Bold and the Beautiful
Set Decoration by Prim Rosales SDSA, Beth Wooke SDSA, Prerna Chawla SDSA, Charlotte Garnell SDSA, Chelsea Mondelli SDSA Associate, Michelle Hall SDSA, Linda Louise Sheets, and Jon Bush SDSA with Production Design by Lou A. Trabbie III SDSA

Note: This story contains spoilers from “House of the Dragon” Season 3, Episode 8.

“House of the Dragon” Season 3 was always leading Helaena to that open window.

After a season where Helaena seemed beset on all sides by death — both in reality and her many portentous dreams — it ended with the character, who many considered to be the heart of the show, jumping from a window and taking her own life. Book readers have known that this death was coming but were curious what would be the catalyzing moment – including author George R.R. Martin, who lamented that there was no “fresh horror” to push Helaena to killing herself since the show had not introduced her son Maelor, who’s death is the catalyst in the original story.

Phia Saban is all too aware of the changes made to Helaena’s story leading up to this final moment. All that said, she told TheWrap that Maelor’s influence over the decision is still very much a part of the finale, as Helaena has been pregnant with a son throughout the season and her choice is one based on freedom rather than desperation.

“I know how it differs, but I think that there is a catalyst,” Saban told TheWrap. “He’s not irrelevant in the sense that she can see with this sickening clarity how her and her child’s life would play out, and I think tries to exert this last freedom that she feels she has.”

But before she takes her fateful jump, she has one final conversation with Rhaenyra — who has been holding her in the Keep throughout her pregnancy, worried that she’ll give birth to Aegon’s son, who would threaten her claim at the throne.

“You think that living is not dying,” she tells Rhaenyra, explaining that just because Helaena was drawing breath didn’t really mean much if she was going to be kept as a piece on the board to be used to threaten the now-returned Aegon. Saban said that moment of defiance and Helaena standing in her conviction against Rhaenyra came after a chat she had with the showrunner and writer.

“When I spoke to Ryan (Condal) and Sara (Hess), something that I brought to them that had been really inspiring to me was the Joan of Arc speech, and it’s in the Bernard Shaw play ‘Saint Joan,’ and she gives this incredible speech to the people imprisoning her when she says like, ‘You think life is not being stone dead, but there is more to life because I might as well not be alive if I can’t hear the church bell and the lambs and the wind and the trees and that’s what living is to me,’” Saban said. “Genuinely in such like a thespy way, I’ve literally got goosebumps. But I showed them that, and I was like, ‘I feel like this is really Helaena.’ Her reason for being, her religion, has been taken away from her, and in that way she’s been killed. She’s also saying to Rhaenyra, like ‘there’s no mercy in keeping me alive, but taking away everything from me that I consider living.’”

In the closing moments of the season, Helaena rises up after finishing her embroidery depicting what is likely to come to pass for Rhaenyra and heads to the open window. The scene cuts away and the next time (and last) time viewers see Helaena she is impaled by the spikes far below.

Although the camera doesn’t stay with her for the moment, Saban thought Helaena’s final thoughts were more hopeful than desperate.

“I don’t know if I can give you something literal, but I do think that there was sort of hope in what she did,” Saban said. “That’s really what I was holding on to.”

“House of the Dragon” Seasona 1-3 are now streaming on HBO Max.