Emily Carey Explains Queer Undertones Between Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen in ‘House of the Dragon’
House of the Dragon fans have questions about Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen’s relationship. Are they just friends or is there something more between them? If you picked up on some romantic vibes, you’re not entirely wrong. Emily Carey, who plays young Alicent in the HBO seires, explains.
‘House of the Dragon’ fans wonder if there’s a romance between Rhaenyra and Alicent
In the two episodes of House of the Dragon that fans have seen, Alicent and Princess Rhaenyra‘s scenes have some fans wondering how deep their relationship goes. “There’s no heterosexual explanation for this,” said one Redditor in a post that included the photo below.
“I dont think they will have a sexual relationship, since they describe Alicent as a strict rule follower,” commented another Reddit user. “But maybe Rhaenyra [has] feelings for her. Or they are just really good friends, which make the most [sense] to me.”
In another Reddit thread, someone cites the book that inspired the HBO series. “They went with the undertones apparently but … Rhaenyra marries Daemon [in the book] … and Alicent marries Viserys,” they commented. “Granted they could be bi, just thought it was a bit of a weird thing to add when it’s nothing like that in the book, from what I can remember.” Regardless of what fans think, Carey says there are queer undertones in Rhaenyra and Alicent’s friendship.
Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen’s relationship ‘toes the line’
During an interview with The Official Game of Thrones Podcast, which is now focused on House of the Dragon, Carey spoke about her character, Allicent. “As a queer woman, I read certain queer undertones [in the scripts],” Carey said, unsure if creator Ryan Condal intended them or not. She is currently dating singer Kelli Marie from the band Real Like You.
“The friends you have as a young girl … your girl bestie, your best friend, is like a girlfriend,” she elaborated. “You want to send all of your time with that person [and] you think you’re going to be best friends forever. There’s this tactile closeness; we are very touchy-feely, especially as women. There’s this pure closeness [that] does toe the line between platonic and romantic.”
Alicent Hightower’s attitude toward Rhaenyra changes throughout ‘House of the Dragon’
“I would describe her differently in every episode I play her in just because she changes massively throughout circumstance where people push her [and] the points that people push her to,” Carey said. If you think this sounds familiar, it’s serving us some serious Cersei Lannister vibes. But we’ll have to wait and see if she goes all “Let’s blow up the sept with wildfire…”
As Carey describes her character, she’s a “people pleaser” and a “rule follower.” In playing the role, Carey says she focused on “duty versus heart.”
“She knows the game of thrones very, very well,” Carey added. “She knows how these men play, but I don’t think she ever expects to be one of their playing pieces.”
Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen start out as “besties,” but Carey says it “might not stay that way forever and ever.” Tune in to House of the Dragon Sunday nights on HBO and HBO Max to see how Alicent’s story plays out.
