Since the beginning of season one of House of the Dragon, the spin-off prequel series to Game of Thrones, there's been a not-so-subtle theory circulating about the true nature of the relationship between two of the main female characters, Princess Rhaenyra—portrayed by Emma D'Arcy—and Queen Alicent—portrayed by Olivia Cooke.
While they have been portrayed as childhood friends, now thrown apart by the politically-charged wartime they find themselves in, there have been theories of a queer romance hidden from their younger years together.
Undeniably, this would explain the intensity of their verbal exchanges in the show's present, as well as their frequent long-lingering glances and physical contact.
The most recent development involved Queen Alicent's son who accidentally killed Princess Rhaenyra's son.
Though Rhaenyra appeared to be supportive of declaring war on King's Landing to take back the Iron Throne, fans questioned if the intensity of Rhaenyra's response was due to the death of their child or their underlying feelings for someone who was involved in the death of their child.
Actor Olivia Cooke shared her personal headcanon for the pair of characters, explaining she felt amidst their intense, emotional childhood friendship their feelings for one another likely led to a more physical connection at some point.
And fortunately for fans of the potential romance, House of the Dragon writer Sara Hess was not opposed to the idea.
Hess said this about the relationship:
"There’s an element of queerness to it. Whether you see it that way or as just the unbelievably passionate friendships that women have with each other at that age."
"I think understanding that element of it sort of informs the entire rest of their relationship… Even though they’re driven apart by all these societal, systemic elements and pressures and happenings, at the core of it, they knew each other as children, and they loved each other and that doesn’t go away."
"Olivia has told me she believes, and this is her headcanon, that they at some point kissed or made out or had some kind of physical interaction that Alicent’s mother found out about and forbade."
"And that was Olivia’s head story, ‘Oh, I can’t do that. That’s not right.’ And that’s the background for her in their relationship going forward."
"I would be 100% down with that."
Some fans on Twitter were all for a romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent at least at some point in their timeline together.
\u201ctrying to care about hotd ships that aren\u2019t rhaenyra and alicent\u2019s tragic, toxic, doomed-before-it-began romance\u201d— molly (@molly) 1672088351
\u201cfinally tik tok recognized bad romance is alicent and rhaenyra song, the world is healing\u201d— marta | hdm era; marisa coulter apologist (@marta | hdm era; marisa coulter apologist) 1667584245
\u201cgod It\u2019s the way all actresses support the romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent\u2014 im levitating\u201d— liz (@liz) 1665592947
\u201cI\u2019m really loving The House of the Dragon. Although my hopes for a medieval lesbian romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent are slipping further away\u2026\u201d— Matthew Fitzsimmons \ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f (@Matthew Fitzsimmons \ud83e\udddc\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f) 1662108923
\u201cYou know\u2026in watching House Of The Dragon last night I realized more clearly than ever that the romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent is not at all subtle. It jumps off the screen. Alicent was very clearly jealous of the thought that Rhaenyra slept with someone else \ud83d\ude02\ud83d\ude02\u201d— Harlo \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 (@Harlo \ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08) 1663022516
\u201cJust caught up on HotD and like those longing glances and soft touches? I\u2019ve concluded that this show is a slow-burn romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent \ud83d\udc80\u201d— Lerato. (@Lerato.) 1665767815
\u201ci actually think they should have been open about the romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent in the show. it would have made what\u2019s happening now have so much more emotional weight behind it.\u201d— Jordan (is heading to the Dragon Isles\ud83d\udc09) (@Jordan (is heading to the Dragon Isles\ud83d\udc09)) 1666189025
But some viewers just didn't want to see it come to fruition.
\u201cstill so ridiculous to me that they aged down alicent and made her have a romance with rhaenyra despite the former being the reason why her & her kids die like u really dont see rhaenyra as a person at all\u201d— darya\u2077 (@darya\u2077) 1669241404
\u201cwhat yall fail to understand is that calling what\u2019s about to transpire during this series with rhaenyra and alicent love or romance in anyway does a disservice to queer women\u201d— n. (@n.) 1664493963
\u201cShowrunners who had the most twisted ideas this season, like wanting the rapist Aegon to be complex. Larys was a foot freak. And worst of all, inventing a romance between Alicent and Rhaenyra even though she attacked her son. That's what you're advocating \ud83d\ude2d\u201d— awoocard \u26b0\ufe0f (@awoocard \u26b0\ufe0f) 1668264406
\u201cwhen It comes down to It you always see them defending everything alicent does when It brings nothing but awful consequences for nyra and i just can't see any type of romance there cause to me Rhaenyra always comes first and her enemies are my enemies\u201d— rhaenyra targaryen's lawyer (@rhaenyra targaryen's lawyer) 1666089901
Whether or not fans are interested in the potential romantic undertones of these characters' relationship, there's no denying how a past romance would intensify the storyline and the characters' motivations, especially now going into a war for the throne.
