The Big Picture
- House of the Dragon exceeds expectations by exploring the friendship-turned-enmity between Rhaenyra and Alicent, but hints at a potential romantic relationship that could have brought the show to new emotional heights.
- The show’s decision to change the dynamics of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship from the book, making them the same age and emphasizing their friendship, was crucial for building a strong emotional foundation.
- The dramatic break-up between Rhaenyra and Alicent, fueled by political alliances and their children’s rivalry, adds to the tragedy of their story. The possibility of reconciliation and their unresolved feelings could have led to a better payoff in the finale and future seasons.
HBO‘s House of the Dragon exceeded all expectations last year after the largely disappointing ending of its parent series Game of Thrones. House of the Dragon, which spans decades, largely covers the relationship between Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock, Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent (Emily Carey, Olivia Cooke) from young girls into womanhood, and eventually to enemies. Early on in the show, however, it was teased that their friendship had another layer to it, implying that they were in a romantic relationship. While it is never explicitly portrayed, the potential of the romantic aspect of Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship would have brought the show to new emotional heights and provided more representation in a series that has historically struggled with it.
Current Changes to the Source Material Support Rhaenyra and Alicent’s Romance
There already needed to be strong emotional support for the series to start from, and changing Rhaenyra and Alicent’s dynamics from the book was essential for that. In the book, Fire & Blood, Alicent is quite a deal older than Rhaenyra. Alicent is said to be nine years older than Rhaenyra when she marries Viserys (Patty Considine) in the book. The book, which is told as a history of the civil war as if it were a canonical text within the A Song of Ice and Fire series, is ripe with unreliable narrators and likely wrong facts, so there is room for interpretation and changes.
The show opts to have Rhaenyra and Alicent the same age, starting them both at fourteen when the series begins, so it can build on the foundation of their friendship. This is the core of the series, and why it works so well. The two girls are products of their circumstances, forced into playing this game for their own survival, and their friendship doesn’t survive it. But that may not be all, there is a good case for the two of them being in a romantic relationship, or at least an unrequited love on Rhaenyra’s side. This was made apparent when Deadline released the script for Episode 1 where the text reveals that Rhaenyra has romantic feelings for Alicent. This would make the eventual war all the more sad. The show is full of romantic imagery between them, especially early on in episode one, when Rhaenyra has her head in Alicent’s lap as they study outside. Rhaenyra expresses her wish to explore the wonders of the world with Alicent, pushing aside her royal duty as a princess. It’s a youthful dream, but romantic nonetheless. Rhaenyra rips a page from the book, giving it to Alicent, so she would remember.
Rhaenyra and Alicent Already Have a Dramatic Break-Up
Once Alicent’s father, Ser Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) pushes her to befriend the grieving king, and eventually marry him, her friendship with Rhaenyra quickly falls apart. Going from a childhood best friend (and likely more) to a stepmother over your friend is likely to kill a friendship, after all. This is made even worse during the iconic scene where Alicent wears her green dress, which is her house’s call to arms. At that point, their previous connection seems unredeemable. This is made even worse surrounding their children’s vicious rivalry with each other, and who should sit the Iron Throne in the future. We all know what happens when you play the game of thrones.
There is one moment of possible reconciliation in Episode 8 of the show. When at the dinner for Viserys, where everyone realizes that he will not be alive much longer, Rhaenyra and Alicent do have a moment together, even after their children’s fight. There is a longing in the air of the scene, they wish that it didn’t have to be like this, and even Otto seems surprised at it. Alicent walks over and grabs Rhaenyra’s hand, mentioning how she had only just arrived when Rhaenyra offers to leave, and they both have a moment to look down at their hands. Rhaenyra promises to see the children home, and then return to King’s Landing. This is, of course, unfortunately, muddled with Visery’s last words, which Alicent interprets as Viserys wanting their son to be the rightful heir to the throne.
This Would Have Had a Better Payoff for the Finale and the Future
After the Hightowers orchestrates Aegon’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) ascent to the throne, her father Otto Hightower goes to Rhaenyra at Dragonstone, where they meet on the bridge. He offers her and her children peace if she acknowledges Aegon as king. They, of course, see it as an insult to be offered this, as she was the legitimate heir, and her children should be on the throne, not cupbearers and squires. Then, in a move that catches Rhaenyra off guard, Otto offers her a folded-up page. When she unfolds it, she reveals the same page she ripped out of the book so many years ago, as Otto tells her, “Queen Alicent has not forgotten the love you once had for each other.” This gesture brings Rhaenyra to tears, and it looks as if she almost does consider it.
This is just the setup of the conflict to come in future seasons of House of the Dragon. The inevitable conflict is going to get much, much worse. And the show should have gone there and actually, explicitly made it clear that there were queer elements at play here to emphasize the emotion behind this building war. Emily Carey, who plays younger Alicent, stated that they did discuss the possibility of a romance between the two characters, but speaks to how they left it open to interpretation. However, the show does have a possibility to change this in the future, as creator Ryan Condal talked about how there were no plans for the younger actors to return, but that it was something that might be possible in the future. The show could utilize flashbacks to fill in the gaps in Season 1 to show us a deeper connection between the two of them, and possibly add a little more heartbreak too.
One thing we know from our previous time in Westeros is that there are pretty much no happy endings here, and anyway, we know the general ending to the Dance of Dragons (it’s more than likely that the show will surprise us in unexpected ways). Adding this romantic element, beyond just its insinuation in the show, would have strengthened the show. Adding another level of pain for both the characters and the audience to witness, the relationship also would have opened the show with more queer characters who aren’t shuffled off the show within a few episodes. There may be no happy ending for them, but not every queer story needs to be happy. Being more overt with their potential romance would have elevated the drama, and made for an even more entertaining series.
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Khushi Patel is a science fiction author who lives in Austin, Texas. She has published three novels, and her work has been praised for its originality and imagination. Khushi is a graduate of Rice University, and she has worked as a software engineer. She is a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and her books have been nominated for several awards.
