House of the Dragon Actors Say Those Queer Vibes Were Intentional

Love it or hate it, HBO’s Game of Thrones spin-off, House of the Dragon, is already making a splash with viewers. And while there’s plenty to talk about with just one episode released so far, some fans laser-focused in on the chemistry and tension between Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower.

Now, the actresses playing their younger incarnations have admitted that was definitely a conscious choice.

Emily Carey, who plays young Alicent and uses she/they pronouns, noted during a roundtable press event for the show that the pilot script immediately made her, as a queer person herself, feel that the two characters are “in love a little bit.”

“I think any woman could think back to the best friend that they had at 14 years old, and it’s a relationship and a closeness unlike any other,” they said. “You do toe the line between platonic and romantic.”

But that isn’t a dismissal of the subtext or potential feelings between the two. Carey said that she and Milly Alcock, who plays young Rhaenyra, discussed the vibe they were picking up on with one of the directors and developed their performances accordingly.

“It’s 100% something we were conscious of,” she added. “And so if it reads on screen, it was purposeful.”

Reading queerness into TV characters can be a surprisingly harrowing experience. Feeling queerbaited by creators, actors, and even the narrative itself has led to fans losing patience with characters that aren’t immediately declared queer — an understandable frustration, albeit one that doesn’t always suit the narrative.

House of the Dragon is a different beast, as the characters are largely based on existing lore from George R.R. Martin’s books. But there’s always room for adaptation, and it doesn’t seem like fans are going to stop shipping these two — past or present day versions — any time soon.

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