House of the Dragon season two trailer leaves queer fans gagged: ‘Rhaenicent nation always gonna win’
House of the Dragon season two trailer has queer fans gagged. (Photograph by Courtesy of HBO)
The first teaser for the second season of House of the Dragon has dropped, leaving sapphics everywhere imploding over the return of fan-favourite ship, Rhaenyra and Alicent.
Ahead of the hit show’s return in summer 2024, the trailer was presented to fans at the CCXP convention in Brazil on Saturday (2 December) and showcases the depressing repercussions of the Game of Thrones prequel’s first season finale. The conclusion of which saw Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault) killed at the hands – or, more correctly, jaws – of Aemond Targaryen’s (Ewan Mitchell) dragon Vhagar.
“The war will be fought, many will die, and the victor will eventually ascend the throne,” says Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) solemnly, as her childhood friend turned political rival Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) looks on, grief stricken.
The show’s sophomore outing will see key cast members reprise their roles as the Dance of the Dragons civil war gets underway, including Matt Smith as Rhaenyra’s uncle/husband Prince Daemon and Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower.
New faces joining the fantasy series also include Tom Taylor as Lord Cregan Stark, Freddie Fox as Ser Gwayne Hightower and Clinton Liberty as Addam of Hull.
After the trailer was released queer fans of the show were quick to express their joy at seeing new content centred on House of the Dragon’s two leads, Rhaenyra and Alicent.
The pairing, known as Rhaenicent to fans, is one of the most popular ships in the House of the Dragon fandom, owing to the friends-to-enemies trope, palpable queer tension between the actors and inherent tragedy of their story.
The show’s chokehold on sapphics was only strengthened when D’Arcy explained their love of a negroni sbagliato and it sent queers everywhere into a frenzy. The viral moment was, quite rightly, hailed as iconic.
Fans called the pair the “beating heart of [the] show” and humorously noted that as a “Rhaenicent supporter” they “never know loss”.
“LOOKS LIKE RHAENICENT IS STILL THE FOCUS”, one fan excitedly wrote on social media of the trailer.
“Angsty rhaenicent edits about to eat real bad next year,” another said noting the shared misery of both characters.
“I love rhaenicent propaganda,” a third wrote.
Others pointed out parallels between Rhaenyra and Alicent and camera choices made by the show’s creative team, noting the similarity to moments in the first season.
“My religion is Rhaenicent”, one said plainly.
“Rhaenicent getting back into my brain as soon as i have the tiniest bit of content,” another commented.
