Following Episode 6 of House of the Dragon Season 2, many fans wonder if Rhaenyra is gay or bisexual in the original book as the show confirmed relations with another woman
Towards the end of Episode 6, Emma D’Arcy’s Princess Rhaenyra and Sonoya Mizuno’s Mysaria share a poignant scene where the two commiserate about their current situation. The White Worm strongly compliments Rhaenyra on her strength in the face of everything happening.
In response, Rhaenyra goes in for a hug and sparks start flying. What starts as only a hug becomes more as the two share a passionate kiss.
[ House of the Dragon Season 2 Release Schedule: How Many Episodes Are Left? ]
Is Rhaenyra Bisexual in House of the Dragon Book?
In the original book, Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra is not explicitly gay, bisexual or part of the LGBTQIA+ community. To add to that, she and Mysaria do not have any sort of romance either.
In the Fire & Blood book, the duo maintains the same advisership relationship they have in the show. They keep this dynamic until their upcoming coup of King's Landing is reversed, leading Mysaria to be wiped to death naked in the streets.
On the romantic side of things, the closest they get to that is how Rhaenyra will, on occasion, give her approval for Daemon to sleep with Mysaria himself. This is almost a parallel sort of story.
When it comes to Rhaenyra's sexuality in the book, its never explicitly explored beyond her time with Daemon. However, she was notably fond of her good-sister Lady Laena, and the two would often visit each other and spend time with one another, although it was never long enough to get to smooching.
Back while doing press for Season 1 of the series, young Alicent actress Emily Carey revealed to Business Insider how her initial reaction to reading the scripts gave her the impression that Alicent and Rhaenyra were "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,... You do toe the line between platonic and romantic... It was something I was immediately conscious of when I read the script as a queer woman myself... It's 100% something we were conscious of. And so if it reads on screen, it was purposeful."
A Bold and Organic New Addition to House of the Dragon
In real life, actor Emma D’Arcy is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. D’Arcy is nonbinary and goes by they/them.
As for their sexual orientation, this is not something D’Arcy has shared with the world yet.
What is clear is that this is a beautiful and organic inclusion of the LGBTQIA+ community in House of the Dragon. It felt like an oddly natural development despite being a shock to some.
After all, considering how many people felt the sexual undertones beneath Rhaenyra and Alicent, this perfectly fits within that narrative. The question now is whether the story ever find the time to address that connection itself.
Either way, this developing dynamic between Rhaenyra and Mysaria is intriguing, to say the least. Viewers will be anxious to see how it unfolds, especially how it directly affects her imploding marriage with Matt Smith’s Daemon Targaryen.
House of the Dragon is now streaming on Max.
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