House of the Dragon clip reveals Emma D'Arcy's first scene as Rhaenyra: another childbirth nightmare

Emma D'Arcy will be taking over the Rhaenyra role for the rest of the season (and beyond). It begins with this moment.

By
Nick Romano
Nick Romano
Nick Romano
Nick is an entertainment journalist based in New York, NY. If you like pugs and the occasional blurry photo of an action figure, follow him on Twitter @NickARomano.
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Published on September 20, 2022 02:00PM EDT

Warning: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon episode 5.

This Sunday, actor Emma D'Arcy (Wanderlust, Truth Seekers) will be taking over the role of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen on HBO's House of the Dragon after Milly Alcock portrayed the character for the first five episodes of season 1. Ahead of that switcheroo, the network released a clip of D'Arcy's very first scene.

Another time jump after episode 5 will take us to episode 6, where Rhaenyra has given birth to a son with husband Laenor Velaryon, now played as an adult by actor John Macmillan following Theo Nate's turn in the role. The clip shows Rhaenyra, struggling to recuperate from the physical trials of childbirth, forcing herself to walk through the castle at King's Landing because "she" wants to see her newborn.

She can only mean Queen Alicent Hightower, who will now be portrayed by Olivia Cooke after Emily Carey played the younger version of Alicent in the first half of the season.

House of the Dragon Emma D’Arcy and John Macmillan
Emma D'Arcy and John Macmillan take over the roles of Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Laenor Velaryon on HBO's 'House of the Dragon.'. HBO

The clip was released on Tuesday as part of a series of reveals for current and upcoming HBO projects to celebrate the network's 50 years of operations. The scene further highlights the strife between Rhaenyra and Alicent, a relationship that fuels the Dance of the Dragons, the civil war at the center of House of the Dragon.

"Let me take him," Laenor offers to Rhaenyra as she carries the babe.

"No. She'll get no such satisfaction from that," his wife replies.

House of the Dragon centers on Princess Rhaenyra, who was named heir to the Iron Throne by her father, King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine). But the realm becomes torn over succession when Rhaenyra's childhood best friend Alicent becomes the king's second wife and gives birth to a male heir, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), leading to one of the bloodiest civil wars in the history of Westeros.

Under showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik, the first five episodes sought to illustrate the relationship between Rhaenyra and Alicent as young girls and the patriarchal system that pit them against each other.

House of the Dragon airs every Sunday on HBO and streams on HBO Max. Watch the clip above.

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