House of the Dragon season 2 episode 6 spoilers follow.
As dragon warfare threatens to kick off big time in Westeros, a fire of a different kind has started to burn between Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), the queen's confidante and closest friend. Except the pair aren't exactly friends anymore. Unless you passionately make out with your friends, of course. And if you do, go you!
As the latest House of the Dragon episode ended this week, the pair opened up in more ways than one, sharing their trauma and then a hug, which turned into a passionate smooch. The kiss was only interrupted when Rhaenyra was called away to ride a dragon instead of Mysaria, off to investigate a mysterious dragonrider sighting nearby.
What's really wild, though, is just how long it took for Rhaenyra's queerness to be confirmed on screen, not to mention how well the moment was handled.
Game of Thrones was notoriously bad with this kind of storytelling. In a world where everyone suffered, the gays suffered more than most. It says a lot when the writers are far more interested in incest than meaningful queer representation.
House of the Dragon didn't fare much better last season either – remember when Joffrey was cruelly killed in the same episode that we'd finally got a glimpse of queer joy in this bleak, bleak franchise? The bad taste that "Bury Your Gays" trope left in our mouths was somewhat circumvented by Laenor's surprise romantic escape in the next episode, but still, more needed to be done.
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With that in mind, it's remarkable to see the show finally lean into queerness on a more respectful, intimate level this time – and with the main character, no less.
All the bravado and power play that often comes with sex in Westeros is stripped away here until all that's left is two women with a desire to connect in the most honest, horny way possible.
Watching the pair embrace and then give in to their lust feels like it's the most natural thing in the world, so it's interesting to learn that Rhaenyra and Mysaria weren't supposed to kiss, at least according to the episode's original script.
In a new interview with TheWrap, Mizuno reveals that the scene was written as: "There’s just breath between them or something."
It was her co-star, D'Arcy, who "felt the instinct to hold her, to comfort her." And from that, "It felt so organic to go into the kiss."
The word "organic" captures this well, both in terms of D'Arcy's improvisation and the trajectory of Rhaenyra's arc.
As Mizuno notes in the same interview, she and D'Arcy were keen to avoid the kiss feeling "queer-baity in any sense," which is a pretty interesting choice of words given the accusations often levelled at season one.
Because this now means audiences have to look back carefully at what we've seen so far. Growing up, Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower were... let's just say it felt like they were more than mere besties. And we mean that in a biblical sense.
Of course, two teenage girls can be close without climbing each other like trees, but even the actors who played them, Milly Alcock and Emily Carey, have since admitted that they approached their performances as queer in nature.
Fans picked up on that "purposeful" erotic connection, too, because that's what queer people do, but when it became clear that the show wasn't willing to follow through on these hints, homoeroticism gave way to good old-fashioned queer-baiting.
Looking back now, though, that's not exactly the case. With this new make-out sesh, House of the Dragon has re-contextualised the events of season one, confirming that for Rhaenyra, at least, all those hints of queerness were real, which suggests that her feelings for Alicent were more than platonic, too.
Whether Alicent felt the same remains to be seen, but this adds more colour to their dynamic, and the intensity of their connection continues to be real regardless, despite their being bitter rivals now in adulthood. If anything, that makes the pair's relationship, whatever that might be, even more spicy, no?
That's why it's a bit surprising that Rhaenyra's first same-sex kiss ended up being with Mysaria instead of Alicent. It might not have been what sapphic fans have been gunning for, but it was a welcome development nonetheless. And it's one that can defuse accusations of queer-baiting because the idea came from D'Arcy, a queer person themself.
It's a shame that this positive step forward had to come from one of the actors rather than a writer or producer in charge of the show's wider trajectory, although it's promising that this was the take everyone chose to keep for the final cut. Honestly, it would have been absurd not to.
Not only does this twist add some much-needed depth and clarity to Rhaenyra's past, it also re-contextualises her future role in the series.
All her life, Rhaenyra has moved back and forth between romantic partners who were either abusive or who she didn't really care for in a deep, visceral way; Criston Cole (dull himbo rebound), Laenor (super gay), Daemon (her uncle, her actual uncle!!!)...
Aside from Harwin Strong (yawn), the list speaks for itself, but with Mysaria, Rhaenyra embraces lust and affection in a way that feels more genuine and moving than anything else we've seen yet of her.
There are no ulterior motives, no men trying to manipulate or use Rhaenyra for their own gain. There is only what she wants, finally, and this will undoubtedly inform everything Rhaenyra does moving forward.
In that aforementioned chat with TheWrap, Mizuno hints that "feelings and sexy times aren’t really the priority" in this season's two remaining episodes, which is fair, we suppose. What with that huge war brewing and all. But even if "sexy times" aren't afoot, this kiss has still changed everything.
Pushing back against heterosexual norms, not to mention her troubled marriage to Daemon (did we mention he's her uncle?) also means Rhaenyra is pushing back against the expectations placed on her as queen by the kingdom and those who ruled before.
It's a far cry from how queer men and women have been positioned in Westeros before. Now that Rhaenyra has come out, so to speak, it's time for the Gays of Thrones to finally come out on top.
House of the Dragon season one airs weekly the US on Sundays on HBO, and on Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW. Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are available on DVD and Blu-ray.
After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
