Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s House of the Dragon Kiss Was Unscripted

The latest episode of House of the Dragon ended with a surprising moment between Emma D’Arcy’s Rhaenyra Targaryen and Sonoya Mizuno’s Mysaria.

After Rhaenyra expressed her doubts about being able to secure the Iron Throne, Mysaria assured the Queen that she had her support by opening up about her tragic past. Rhaenyra comforted Mysaria by embracing her for a hug, but things took an intimate turn when she proceeded to lean in for a kiss. The two continued to lock lips until they were interrupted by news that an unclaimed dragon had found a rider.

“It wasn’t scripted as a kiss,” Mizuno, 38, revealed in an interview with TheWrap published on Sunday, July 21. “I think it was scripted as … there’s just breath between them or something, and then whatever happens is interrupted.”

The moment was one that Mizuno says she, D’Arcy, 32, and showrunner Ryan Condal had “many conversations” about, as they didn’t want the kiss to feel “queer-baity in any sense.” She explained: “Because we were separate in the room … [and] Mysaria has told this story [D’Arcy] felt the instinct to hold her, to comfort her. From that, it felt so organic to go into the kiss.”

Noting that neither character “have been hugged like that in a long time, if not ever,” Mizuno told the outlet that it was “amazing” to see the action evolve into something deeper. “I think it’s very thrilling in the moment for both of them,” she stated.

Rhaenyra and Mysaria have shared a complicated history so far on HOTD, as Mysaria began the series romantically connected to Rhaenyra’s uncle and current husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith).

Their shared romantic history is something that helps the two bond, especially as Rhaenyra develops fears that Daemon will seek to compete against her claim to the throne. “We would kind of discuss it as though it was two women who had the same ex-boyfriend, and they’d be like, ‘Oh, yeah, when he does that thing …’ and then it brings them closer together,” Mizuno shared.

She continued: “It’s a nice journey that they’ve gone on from when Rhaenyra realizes she has history with Daemon to this moment where they can speak about Daemon and find the common ground there. It helps them work together.”

Following the death of Princess Rhaenys (Eve Best) earlier this season, Mysaria has since become one of Rhaenyra’s few female confidants and advisors amid her majority male council.

“There’s a line that Rhaenyra says in Episode 5, which is something like, ‘This path has never been trod,’ or something like that, and I think that speaks so beautifully to their relationship in part because they’re both women, but also because she doesn’t have an official title,” Mizuno noted. “When I first signed on for the job, they would kind of talk of Mysaria as a Varys (Conleth Hill) type of character, like a Mistress of Whisperers. I do like the idea of these two women as people who we’ve not seen in these positions before.”

Calling Rhaenyra “quite amazing,” Mizuno quipped that “it’s not hard to have feelings” for D’Arcy’s character. “I don’t think it was anything Mysaria had plotted,” she added. “How could she not be attracted to Rhaenyra?”

New episodes of House of the Dragon air on HBO and Max Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.