House of the Dragon review-bombed after Rhaenyra’s same-sex kiss

24th July 2024

Queen Rhaenyra’s surprise same-sex kiss on House of the Dragon has upset the homophobic trolls.

Fans have long theorised that Emma D’Arcy’s lead character might be queer due to the sapphic undertones in her relationship with Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) – the actor also told GAY TIMES that she would have a “huge crush” on Buffy the Vampire Slayer – although her fluidity wasn’t officially confirmed until now.

In the sixth episode of season two, titled ‘Smallfolk’, Rhaenrya’s relationship with her ally and trusted advisor Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) reached a new level of intimacy with an unexpected kiss.

Sapphics celebrated Rhaenrya’s long-awaited queer arc – especially ‘Rhaenicent’ shippers, who now believe (more than ever) that a romance between D’Arcy and Cooke’s fan-favourite characters could come to fruition.

However, those who can’t handle a little queer kiss but are A-OK with a world containing direwolves, white-walkers and an entire dynasty of dragon-riders with unnaturally perfect ice-blonde hair felt the need to review-bomb the episode on IMDB.

Out of 30,000 ratings, 35% voted to give the episode one star. ‘Smallfolk’ now has an average rating of 6.2, making it the lowest-rated episode in House of the Dragon‘s history.

Instead of including boring comments from trolls, let’s focus on the praise given towards Rhaenrya’s new rainbow era because representation is, sadly, still vital.

“Rhaenyra slapped a man, rode syrax, wielded a sword, and kissed a woman in one episode. we really won, queers,” one fan wrote on Twitter/X.

Another wrote: “The best gift the universe could give me today was Rhaenyra being canonically queer thank you universe I am unwell.”

A third said: “I think the reason why Rhaenyra being a queer woman is so important, is because SO OFTEN in television, shows with sapphic representation usually get shut down.”