House of the Dragon stars say sexual chemistry between Rhaenyra and Alicent ‘was purposeful’

‘It was something I was immediately conscious of when I read the script as a queer woman,’ Emily Carey said

House of the Dragon stars Milly Alcock and Emily Carey confirmed that the romantic subtext between their two characters “was purposeful”.

Alcock plays the young version of Rhaenyra Targaryen while Carey plays a young Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones prequel series, which debuted earlier this week.

In a roundtable interview attended by Insider, the pair were asked about their characters’ relationship, which viewers will notice has a romantic air, but which is never physically expressed.

Alcock joked: “I’m just actually in love with Emily and so I think that’s it.”

Carey added: “It’s something we brought up with Clare Kilner, one of the directors we also work with for the younger version of the characters.

“It was something I was immediately conscious of when I read the script as a queer woman myself.”

Milly Alcock and Emily Carey in ‘House of the Dragon’ (HBO)

Carey said that when she first read the script, her impression was that Rhaenyra and Alicent are “in love a little bit”, which she and Alcock decided to explore in the context of young womanhood.

“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,” Carey said. “You do toe the line between platonic and romantic.”

“Milly always says it’s like a tactile closeness and emotional closeness,” Carey said. “Especially when it’s put in the context of this world where they are the only two young girls in the Red Keep. It’s 100% something we were conscious of. And so if it reads on screen, it was purposeful.”

You can click here to read The Independent’s review of the House of the Dragon series premiere.

Or go here for a breakdown of all the Game of Thrones callbacks, references and Easter eggs found in the first episode.

House of the Dragon is available to watch now in the UK on Sky and NOW and in the US on HBO.