Here’s Our First Look at Adult Rhaenyra and Leanor in 'House of the Dragon'

The most recent episode of HBO's House of the Dragon ended in bloodshed and battle lines being drawn in King's Landing, with both Alicent and Ser Criston switching their allegiances—and now even bigger change is on the way.

Unlike Game of Thrones, which played out over such a prolonged period of time that many members of the cast were able to age alongside their characters as the show progressed, House of the Dragon has adopted more of a family saga miniseries approach, including a time jump in the next episode which will see several key players aged up and replaced by older actors.

These include Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the heir apparent to the Iron Throne, and her consort Laenor Velaryon. The teenage versions of Rhaenyra and Laenor have been portrayed up until now by Milly Alcock and Theo Nate. Moving forward, they will be played in adulthood by Emma D'Arcy and John Macmillan.

HBO just shared a short clip teasing the characters' reintroduction following the time jump. Episode 5, "We Light the Way," ended with the princess and her cousin marrying in a small, sedate ceremony immediately following the bloodshed at their wedding banquet: when we catch up with them in episode 6, they will have been married for some time. Long enough, in fact, for Rhaenyra to carry and give birth to their first child.

In the video, which was shared on HBO's official Twitter account, Rhaenyra and Laenor are summoned by Queen Alicent immediately following the birth, and Rhaenyra expresses some serious resentment. Presumably, Alicent wants to see for herself whether Rhaenyra has had a boy or a girl, as it is becoming increasingly clear that she is no longer loyal to her former best friend and wants to secure her own son, Aegon, as the next ruler. (Alicent, previously played by Emily Carey, will be played by Olivia Cooke in this new episode.)

This short scene also shows that despite the incredibly traumatic beginning to their marriage, Rhaenyra and Laenor's relationship has held fast—possibly due to the arrangement that Rhaenyra proposed in episode 5. However, this may well come back to bite them: in the source material, Laenor's true sexuality and Rhaenyra's penchant for taking lovers are both the subject of much gossip at court, leading to questions over their children's true paternity and viability as heirs to the throne.

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