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Slight spoilers ahead for “The Princess and the Queen.”
House of the Dragon episode six introduced several new characters and a brand new Alicent, Rhaenyra and Laenor amid tongue removals, harrowing childbirth scenes and multiple fiery deaths—but it was a much smaller, subtle moment which captured many fans’ attention.
In the banquet scene set at Daemon and Laena’s lavish residence in Pentos, the power couple are invited by the local magister to stay permanently and live in luxury, in exchange for the defensive power of their dragons. While the Targaryen prince is intrigued by the proposition, he is also somewhat distracted, having exchanged some whispered words and a rather loaded look with a handsome male servant.
It is an interaction that barely lasts two seconds, but the Twitter fan account No Context House of the Dragon set about investigating, and later posted that there does indeed appear to be a scene that was cut from the episode which later shows Daemon and the servant in an intimate position on the crenellations of the luxurious manse. They’re in soft focus, with the camera foregrounding Laena as she approaches them, but it very much looks like they’re kissing.
House of the Dragon introduced its first canonically queer characters the week before in “We Light the Way,” revealing Laenor Velaryon’s secret lover Joffrey Lonmouth before brutally killing him off in the same episode. Following this week’s 10-year time jump, Laenor now has a new beau, Qarl Correy, who accompanies him, Rhaenyra and their children to Dragonstone, thus establishing a new gay relationship after the show was accused of the Bury Your Gays trope last week.
As for Daemon, it seems he was definitely written to be bi, although remains unclear whether his sexuality will be addressed in the main show outside of one deleted scene. He’s technically single again in the aftermath of Laena’s death, but it’s unlikely we will see him courting many dudes when his twisted relationship with his niece Rhaenyra promises to form a large part of the drama moving forward.
Philip Ellis is a freelance writer and journalist from the United Kingdom covering pop culture, relationships and LGBTQ+ issues. His work has appeared in GQ, Teen Vogue, Man Repeller and MTV.
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