House of the Dragon: Did Emma D’Arcy live up to expectations?

House of the Dragons replaced 11 of its young actors with older counterparts to respect the massive time jump in the series, but it was Emma D’Arcy replacing Milly Alcock that took center stage.

Brilliant is the first word that comes to mind when thinking about Milly Alcock’s performance as a young Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon. A star was born with Alcock’s portrayal of a young woman looking to defy tradition by becoming the first woman to sit atop the Iron Throne. She embodied everything fans of George R. R. Martin’s House of the Dragon novel have come to expect from Rhaenyra.

In just a few episodes, Alcock left lasting impressions as a youthful, captivating, alluring, tenacious, inspiring, and understandably complex Rhaenyra. The 22-year-old’s performance inevitably drew comparisons to Emilia Clarke’s performance as Daenerys Targaryen in Game of Thrones. Despite the differences in character development and the actresses not sharing resemblance outside of the silver hair and thick brows, Alcock was cool and smooth like Dany with similar strong expressions. It’s great praise given the evolution of Clarke as an actress and Daenerys as a character.

Unlike Clarke, though, we won’t see Alcock grow into the role as House of the Dragon opted to recast the younger characters with older actors, and she left massive shoes to fill for Emma D’Arcy.

It was hard to say goodbye, but those of us following the development of the House of the Dragon knew this day would come. HOD’s casting director, Kate Rhodes James, cast D’Arcy in the role of Rhaenyra Targaryen before Alcock. Despite playing the same character, the director, Miguel Sapochnik, didn’t want them to meet. Well it was fun to watch and analyze two actors play the same character without knowing each other’s mannerisms.

Keeping the two actors apart wasn’t a bad thing given there was a ten-year time jump. Based on the new journey and direction of the characters, it made sense to recast.

Emma D’Arcy evolved Rhaenyra Targaryen in a believable way in House of the Dragon episode 6

From the opening scene, Emma D’Arcy’s older Rhaenyra was everything fans could have expected. The more mature version of the character has a similar commanding presence as the youthful counterpart we first met in episode 1, which made the transition seamless. After giving birth to her third child, the Queen requested to see her grandson. Instead of sending her child away, Rhaenyra hobbled – bloody and all – to the Queen herself. She all but shunned the help from her husband with sly remarks. It doesn’t stop there.

Rhaenyra showcases more of that commanding spirit, albeit in a more demanding fashion, when her back is against the wall and rumors threaten her crown. The way she slumped over in her chair and toyed with the round relic in front of her while she argued her political stance and addressed said rumors to her former friend Alicent (Olivia Cooke). The desperation on her face as she made an offer was reminiscent of when she told a half-truth to Alicent as a child. In one of the final scenes, there was a combination of pride, vulnerability, and sadness in her eyes that we didn’t get to see from the young Rhaenyra.

In the closing moments of the show, this version of Rhaenyra makes a decision that’s best for her children. D’Arcy showed why the show won’t miss a beat. And this is simply an evolution of a fantastic character with another talented actor taking on the role – and they had full command of the House of the Dragon.

House of the Dragon hit the floor running, filling the void left by Game of Thrones, and it has yet to disappoint. What are your thoughts on Emma D’Arcy’s performance?