‘House of the Dragon’ Deleted Scenes Highlights A Heartbreaking Parallel

House of the Dragon has covered several years of Westeros history in four episodes, leaving some events off-screen for television viewers to envision. And one such event cut was the wedding of King Viserys and Alicent Hightower, which took place during the three years between the season’s second and third episodes.

Meanwhile, the series centered on the complex dynamic between Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Lady Alicent Hightower. Their ages only add to the girls’ friendship’s distressing circumstances, as Alicent marries Rhaenyra’s father soon after her friend’s mother dies.

Following the announcement that Alicent would become queen and thus her former best friend’s stepmother, the tale jumped ahead a few years and witnessed the birth of Alicent’s first child, a son, with King Viserys.

Despite being the official heir, Alicent’s son with the king undermines Rhaenyra’s claim to the throne and has turned much of the realm against her. Given the twisted dynamics between the two girls, it’s odd that more moments in the series haven’t focused on their growth.

House of the Dragon deleted scene shows a twisted dynamic

Now, series director Greg Yaitanes shared images from two deleted scenes on his Instagram story, filling in some plot holes for Alicent and Rhaenyra (via People). During the time jump, the scenes provide some context for the girls’ relationship. After Viserys revealed that he would be taking Alicent as his wife, the two women are seen fighting in the first set of images. Before Alicent became Rhaenyra’s stepmother, such a scene would have been essential in influencing their eventual relationship.

The second scene is more tender, with Rhaenyra assisting Alicent in tying up her wedding gown before the royal wedding. In episode 1, Alicent assists Rhaenyra in getting ready while the two have a tender moment in their friendship.

The similarity between the former friends after so much has changed is painful. The filmmaker wrote that this scene was the past “reversed with heartache.” Moving forward in time, knowing that scenes occurred gives dimension to the women’s interactions in subsequent episodes.

Because the House of the Dragon episode 5 teaser hinted at a wedding in the series’ near future, it’s probable that the showrunners intended to keep the spotlight on that critical sequence and therefore opted to eliminate Alicent and Viserys’ wedding.

Based on the adversarial relationship between the two ladies in the novel, the next time skip in the series would most likely cement their positions on opposing sides of the succession war. However, thus far, the series has taken a much softer approach to Alicent and her friendship with Rhaenyra, so it remains to be seen whether their future House of the Dragon Rhaenyra and Alicent moments will include as much heartbreak as these deleted ones.