A House of the Dragon deleted scene reveals a heartbreaking callback to episode 1 that was cut from the final episode. Starring Emily Carey, Milly Alcock, Paddy Considine, and Matt Smith, the Game of Thrones spinoff series has centered on the complex dynamic between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Alcock) and Lady Alicent Hightower (Carey). Childhood friends in the series, the girls are around the same age in HBO's adaptation of George R.R. Martin's Fire and Blood, marking a departure from the source book, in which they are nine years apart.
Their ages only make the events of the girls' friendship more disturbing, since Alicent marries Rhaenyra's father soon after the death of her friend's mother. After the announcement that Alicent would become queen, and therefore her former best friend's stepmother, the series skipped forward a couple of years and saw the birth of Alicent's first child with King Viserys, a boy. Alicent having a son with the king upsets Rhaenyra's claim to the throne and has turned much of the realm against her, though she remains the official heir. Given the twisted relationship between the two girls, it's surprising that more scenes in the series haven't centered on their development.
Now, series director Greg Yaitanes shares images from two deleted scenes, filling in a few gaps in Alicent and Rhaenyra's storyline, on his Instagram story (via People). The scenes provide some context for the girls' relationship during the time skip. Check out screenshots of his story below:
The first set of images clearly depict a fight between the two women, which presumably took place after Viserys announced he would be taking Alicent to wife. Such a scene would have been crucial in informing the subsequent relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent before the latter became the former's stepmother. The second scene is more tender, depicting Rhaenyra helping Alicent lace up her wedding dress before the royal nuptials. In episode 1, a reverse of that scene occurs with Alicent helping Rhaenyra get dressed while the two share a sweet moment in their friendship. The parallel after so much has changed between the former friends is heartbreaking, with the director writing that this scene was the former "reversed with heartache." Skipping forward in time, the knowledge that scenes took place adds nuance to the women's interactions in later episodes.
Since the House of the Dragon episode 5 trailer revealed a wedding in the show's near future, it's possible the showrunners wanted to keep the focus on that crucial scene and therefore decided to cut Alicent and Viserys' wedding. Based on the two women's antagonistic relationship in the book, it's likely the next time skip in the series will cement their places on opposites sides of the succession battle. However, the series is taking a much softer approach to Alicent and her friendship with Rhaenyra so far, so it remains to be seen whether their future House of the Dragon Rhaenyra and Alicent scenes will contain as much heartache as these deleted ones.
Source: Greg Yaitanes/Instagram (via People)