Reunited: Rhaenyra and Alicent’s Unexpected Encounter in the Season 2 Premiere of ‘House of the Dragon’

The Layered Relationship of Rhaenyra and Alicent

The best change House of the Dragon ever made from George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood was making Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) childhood friends. The pair’s new shared history and love for each other made their eventual enmity hurt even more, as these two fierce companions were torn apart and pitted against each other by the male-led systems of power in Westeros.

The Emotional Connection Through Editing

Yet even though the pair are far apart in Season 2, they’re still clearly on each other’s minds. For example, in the Season 2 premiere, we learn that Alicent has been sending Rhaenyra ravens in the wake of Lucerys’ (Elliot Grihault) death. The show cleverly uses editing to link Alicent and Rhaenyra on a craft level, creating emotional connections between the characters through visual storytelling.

The Symbolism of Mourning

The moments in which Rhaenyra and Alicent mourn Lucerys are among the calmest of the episode, a beat for both women to collect themselves and process the consequences of all their actions that have led to this point. Choosing to edit them together here reminds us that even though they are physically apart, they are deeply, inseparably connected — and their dynamic remains House of the Dragon‘s bleeding heart.