Sad to say, but we’re about to watch the final episode of House of the Dragon featuring Milly Alcock as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Emily Carey as Alicent Hightower. Unlike its mothership show Game of Thrones, HBO’s new prequel series takes place over many years, which means some of our beloved main cast will grow up from children into adults. And that means that a bunch of characters will be played by multiple actors.
In total, there are 11 characters we know for sure who go through that shift. We’ve already seen a few switch-overs, but by far the biggest ones are coming up in the 10-year time jump slated to happen after Episode 5, “We Light The Way.”
We’ve rounded up all the actors who will be swapped out as their characters age, because that time jump will affect more than just Rhaenyra and Alicent. There will be some slight spoilers in this article, since we’ll be discussing a few characters who crop up in Episode 6 and beyond. But of course, we must begin with…
Rhaenyra Targaryen
Of all the actor changes coming up in House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen’s has been the most widely talked about. We’ve known it was coming since before the show started, but it still hurts to imagine losing Milly Alcock, who has played the Targaryen princess in her younger years to perfection.
Alcock plays Rhaenyra in the first five episodes, during which she was named heir to the Iron Throne. In some ways, saying Alcock plays “young” Rhaenyra is almost a disservice; she plays the princess from ages 13 to age 18, so really, Alcock is playing Rhaenyra as she grows up.
However, starting in Episode 6, after the 10-year time jump, Rhaenyra Targaryen will be played by Emma D’Arcy. So far as we know, D’Arcy will portray Rhaenyra for the rest of the series, all throughout the brutal civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Their take on Rhaenyra will be slightly different than Alcock’s, in part because George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood specifically talks about how multiple childbirths and constant intrigue at court eventually take a toll on Rhaenyra.
We’ll see what that actually looks like when D’Arcy assumes the mantle in Episode 6.