See how perfectly HBO nailed the casting for its Game of Thrones prequel

The other day, HBO revealed a couple of new cast members coming about House of the Dragon, the network’s Game of Thrones prequel series: Milly Alcock will play Rhaenyra Targaryen, eldest child of King Viserys I Targaryen and his pick to succeed him on the Iron Throne; and Emily Carey will play Alicent Hightower, the king’s second wife and Rhanrya’s stepmother who would much rather her own children by the king sit the throne.

What was interesting is that HBO had already announced who was playing Rhanyra and Alicent: Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke. There was a twist here: Alcock and Carey will play younger versions of these characters, implying that House of the Dragon will have flashbacks.

And at this point, I am assuming that we’re talking about flashbacks rather than some kind of parallel timeline structure, which sounds too messy and ungainly to work. HBO’s official House of the Dragon Twitter page says that Alcock and Carey are playing “Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen” and “Young Alicent Hightower” respectively. I’m hoping this means that we’ll be spending most of our time with the grown-up versions of these characters played by D’Arcy and Cooke, with occasional dips into the past to see how their relationship developed.

Miley Alcock and Emily Carey are perfect on House of the Dragon

And there’s a fair amount of backstory to get into. After Viserys dies, Rhaenyra and Alicent go to war over the Iron Throne in a conflict known as the Dance of the Dragons. But in the early days they had a good relationship, at least according to George R.R. Martin’s book Fire & Blood. Things changed when Alicent, who was basically raised at court and whose father is Hand of the King, had her first son with King Viserys. Suddenly, these women went from being friends to being rivals for the throne, and things only got more ugly from there.

There’s one key moment I’m looking forward to seeing: at a feast while Viserys was still alive, Rhaenyra shows up in a black gown, while Alicent wears green. Thereafter, their factions would be known as the blacks and the greens. The question now is who gets to play this scene: the two older actors or the younger ones?

Whoever plays it, it’ll be believable, in part because Milly Alcock and Emily Carey genuinely look like younger versions of Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke:

They already look like the same people, and that’s before the hair and makeup department has been at them; just imagine how much more like D’Arcy Alcock will look when she has a platinum blonde Targaryen wig.

Game of Thrones had excellent casting throughout, including when it came to younger actors: between Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Bella Ramsey, that show launched the careers of several young stars. So far, House of the Dragon looks like it’s living up to that legacy, and the same thing could be in the cards for actors like Alcock and Carey.

Hype is building for House of the Dragon, and I’m curious to see how detailed they get. Might they cast an even younger actor to play Alicent Hightower as a child and let us see her hanging out with the Old King Jaehaerys I Targaryen on his deathbed? We’ll have to wait to 2022 to find out for sure.

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