Warning: Contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 3.
Summary
- Millie Alcock reprises her role as Rhaenyra Targaryen in the third episode of the second season of House of the Dragon.
- Alcock’s return seemed like a fantasy to Daemon Targaryen, whose soul was in torment at Harrenhal.
- The vision shows Daemon’s idealized image of Rhaenyra, highlighting his inner turmoil and regret.
Millie Alcock reprises her role as Rhaenyra Targaryen Dragon House Season 2, Episode 3, a surprise after she left the show in Season 1. Of course, the character was created by Alcock, but Dragon HouseAfter a 10-year time span, the show’s cast changed in Season 1, Episode 6, with Emma D’Arcy taking over the role and Olivia Cooke replacing Emily Carey as Alicent Hightower. We thought this was their last collaboration, but Alcock is at least back.
Her character Rhaenyra appears to Daemon Targaryen after he captures Harrenhal, but it’s not a happy reunion. After Blood and Cheese kills Jaehaerys Targaryen (whether on Daemon’s orders or not), she appears in a vision sewing Jaehaerys’ head back onto his body. It’s a dark scene, and a great one – I’m glad to see Alcock back, and it should have an impact on Daemon’s future.
Why Millie Alcock’s Rhaenyra Returns in House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 3
Harrenhal is key to Alcock’s comeback
Although Dragon House While recasting makes sense, and Emma D’Arcy does a great job in the role, it’s always a bit of a shame that Alcock left so early. She got the audience so invested in Rhaenyra from the beginning, so there was always hope that the show would find some way to bring her back. Apparently, showrunner Ryan Condal and his team agreed, and bringing her back was a great way to serve the fans and honor her importance in shaping the character and the story.
As for how she returns, it’s a smart choice that goes far beyond a simple flashback. Harrenhal is a cursed place that messes with people’s minds, but the presence of Alice Rivers makes this even more obvious. Some accounts in the books describe her as a witch with powers and potions that can mess with people’s thoughts and feelings, and she seems to do the same thing to Daemon here.
…if [Daemon’s] The soul is about to be tortured, and who better to do it than Rhaenyra of Alcock?
Why she’s torturing him is unclear – even though he’s just taken over the castle she calls home, she’s probably not too happy with his presence and his actions in the war. So she’s ostensibly the one feeding him these fantasies, and his mind is particularly susceptible since he arrived with all the rage from fighting Rhaenyra; it’s probably playing tricks on him anyway, especially in a place like Harrenhal. If his mind is to be tortured, who better to do it than Rhaenyra of Alcock?
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What the Return of Milly Alcock’s Rhaenyra Really Means
It reveals a lot about Daemon Targaryen
I think it’s really important and telling that Daemon is seeing a younger version of Rhaenyra at this point. His marriage is at a low point at this point, he’s angry and sad, and his wife is saying that “pitiful,” it is The woman he loved came toward him, and she was the idealized image in his mind.
This was Rhaenyra, headstrong and rebellious in the way he liked, the way that made him feel good about himself, and the way he had used to get back at Viserys…
This isn’t the Rhaenyra that says he’s pitiful. This is the character that he can control, like the night he took her to the brothel. Rhaenyra is headstrong and rebellious, and he loves it, it makes him feel good about himself, and he used to get back at Viserys that way (because a large part of Daemon’s story is rooted in his relationship with his brother).
He wanted Rhaenyra, but in a cruel twist, she said she was always cleaning up his messes. she Condemns his actions. This shows that Daemon is misguided, and is perhaps the closest we get to confirming that he did in fact order the killing of Jaehaerys, as she was sewing his head back together. Daemon isn’t the type to open up consciously or handle emotional pain or regret well, but this forces him to do so.
Related HOTD How many children does Rhaenyra have, who is the father of the children, and what will happen to them next
Rhaenyra Targaryen’s children by Lenore and Daemon all played important roles in the Dance with the Dragons and subsequent history.
How House of the Dragon director explains Millie Alcock’s return
Geeta V. Patel provides insight into the decision
In accepting Screen RantWhen asked by Tatiana Hullender of The Last Airbender whether this Rhaenyra was created because she admires Daemon, director Geeta Vasant Patel agreed. She explained the decision to bring Alcock back Dragon Housesaid:
“You’re absolutely right. At least that’s what it seems to me. ‘This is the Rhaenyra I know.’ In that dream, she looked at him—the way we talk about it is that she didn’t have to say anything. We just worked on the expression; all the meaning that the plot gave to that expression before she looked at him and cut him. She said, ‘Hey, you killed a boy. You can’t do this.’
“People have always said that to him. But when young Rhaenyra says it to him, he feels it for the first time. It’s the first time he’s dealt with his actions, even though he’s been killing people since the beginning. It’s the first time we see him regret it. We see him feeling it. In fact, between takes, we kept talking about how this is something we’ve never seen in Daemon.”
Will Millie Alcock return again?
Will more of the cast of House of the Dragon return?
Alcock’s return suggests the door is open for the character to return, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see her again, at least not while Daemon and Alys Rivers are still together at Harrenhal.
Whether or not the others will return is another matter. The casting announcement and trailer suggest that Sean Brooke’s Emma Arryn will be in Dragon House in Season 2, but that has yet to be confirmed. Viserys (Paddy Considine) would make sense, though it might be harder to keep a secret; Laena (Nanna Blondel) could be another option. Daemon’s visions open up a variety of possibilities, and as long as they’re as rooted in Alcock’s character arc as they are, I look forward to seeing what happens next. Dragon House Season 2 continues.
New Episodes Dragon House Season 2 will air every Sunday at 9 pm ET on HBO and Max.
Dragon House 
happened at game of Thrones, Dragon House The series follows the rise of House Targaryen, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff originally starred Millie Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, before being replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke as older versions of the characters. The series also stars Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
Cast Jefferson Hall, Paddy Considine, Fabian Frankel, Ryan Cole, Eve Best, Gavin Spocks, Graham McTavish, Steve Tuson, Olivia Cooke, Sonoya Mizuno, Bill Paterson, Matthew Needham, Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, David Horovitch
Release date: August 21, 2022
Season 2
HBO Max Online
Ryan Condall
expansion