House of the Dragon’s intimate Rhaenyra and Alicent scene let them down

“I have begun badly,” she admits while holding Alicent at knife-point in the sept, having just detailed how both would die if Alicent attempted to call for help.

Yet we can’t help but feel that she’s begun in a way that’s fitting of their relationship. Charged with tension, full of mistrust but with a deep-seated longing to openly embrace the love they have for one another.

Rhaenys has counseled Rhaenyra wisely. The queen that never was saw a desire in Alicent to avoid the bloody war that sits on the horizon, something she helped Rhaenyra see.

Rhaenyra shares her thoughts with her childhood friend, hoping to get them both on the same page, but it makes no difference what either woman wants, as this scene will ultimately reveal.

As the conversation between the two picks up, there is a shift – from bitter resentment for the wounds inflicted on each other, to a longing D’Arcy spoke of.

During an interview with Digital Spy they said:

“There is a huge chasm between them at the start of series two. Real devastating events have taken place; it’s no longer a sort of petty competition. There are big events that sit between them. However I think it’s interesting, I think their attachment is quite fundamental.

They added: “We meet Rhaenyra at a state of very pronounced grief at the start of the second series and I wonder if, somewhere, very, very deep down in the subterranean layers of the psyche, if perversely there is a sort of yearning to seek comfort [in their friendship].”

D’Arcy’s words translate on screen through their tentative and raw interaction. The pain spills out of them but so does the longing for reconciliation.

The pair flit between a harsh and brutish exchange – each steadfastly holding on to their beliefs – to a softening as they lean towards each other searching the other’s eyes for what once was lost.

Rhaenyra almost wavers when Alicent swears her known truth – that Viserys (Paddy Considine) wanted Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) on the throne at the end – because she does so on her late mother’s life.

Such is the depth of their understanding of one another that Rhaenyra knows that Alicent would not lie in this way.

She is almost ready to relent – the building tears serving as confirmation of that – though she seeks the absolute truth, and it is that truth that unearths the damning fact about the pair’s interaction.

Through their conversation Rhaenyra learns that Alicent misunderstood Viserys’ dying words, wrongly mistaking his retelling of the “song and ice and fire” prophecy as his granting Aegon a claim to the throne. More importantly, Alicent realises her grave mistake.

While this should be a huge moment, with potential enough to change the course of events, it is little more than a tragedy, because all it does is push the two further away from each other, despite both clearly wanting the opposite.

“We knew even then that men trained up for battle are eager to fight to see blood and glory,” Rhaenyra had told her earlier, and it is those men whose might and power matter most.

Despite the high-ranking position Alicent holds at court as the Dowager Queen, with a seat on the council, she holds no real power.

When Rhaenyra looks to Alicent to be a changemaker, her hopes are instantly dashed.

“There’s been no mistake,” Alicent firmly tells her. “My father is gone from court, Cole (Fabian Frankel) is on the march, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) …You know what Aemond is. It’s too late, Rhaenyra.” Translation: all the power lies in the hands of the out-of-control men, as hungry for war as dragons smelling blood.

Rhaenyra’s position is only marginally better. While she may be the true heir, the men at her council talk treason plainly before her in their hast to unleash dragons as they relieve her from decision-making under the guise of keeping her safe.

Her lukewarm grasp on power is not new, it has been evident since season one and while this is a byproduct of her being a woman with an unusual amount of control for the time, we have yet to see her step into her power, even privately.

Despite being a show with strong women characters who have real stakes and drive, House of the Dragon has siphoned away their agency.

Sadly, where the strength of Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship could have been the thing to unite the Green and Blacks, their fleeting moment of intimacy – filled with pain and wanting – proves that neither of them holds the power they need to exact change in their own making.

While we always knew war was inevitable, we had hoped to see both Rhaenyra and Alicent act from a position of control and authority. Hopefully, there’s still time.

House of the Dragon season two is available to stream on in the US on HBO and Max, and Sky Atlantic and NOW. Season one is available to stream now on HBO, Sky Atlantic and NOW.

Game of Thrones seasons 1-8 are also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since.  For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing.  She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.