[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2 Episode 6, “Smallfolk.”]
House of the Dragon fans probably didn’t see that Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy) and Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) kiss coming, but Mizuno certainly did. In the final moments of House of the Draogn’s July 21 episode, titled “Smallfolk,” Rhaenyra and Mysaria shared a passionate moment during one of their private meetings.
After Mysaria opened up about her painful past, Rhaenyra ran over to Mysaria and hugged her. This closeness evolved into a heated kiss that was only interrupted because one of Rhaenyra’s Queensguards walked in. Mizuno spoke with TV Insider about this game-changing kiss, why this romance has been a possibility from day one, and how she thinks Daemon (Matt Smith) will react to this lip lock. (Reminder: Daemon is not only Rhaenyra’s husband, he’s Mysaria’s ex!)
Scroll down for our full conversation.
How long have you known that this is where Mysaria and Rhaenyra’s relationship was headed?
Sonoya Mizuno: After I got the job and spoke to the showrunners, they said that this was a potentiality. They said the plan was definitely for Mysaria and Rhaenyra to start working together with a potential for romance. So I knew before we started Season 1. I think it was then we got the scripts for Season 2, and at the end of this episode, I remember it said, “Their foreheads are touching. There’s just breath between them. And then what happens next is interrupted.” But it didn’t define what the thing was that happened, and we had many conversations about it in pre-production and during production, but both Emma and I felt very strongly that we didn’t want the moment to be queer-baiting in any way, so there was that. But there was also kind of finding the truth of that moment and their relationship, and it felt very right that was where it was going. It was kind of a collaborative decision to get where it got to.
Ollie Upton / HBO
Did the writers of the episode leave it in your and Emma’s hands whether or not there should be a kiss?
Yeah, it was very much an ongoing discussion in pre-production and in-production. I think at some point the decision was it should be a kiss. It should be intimate. But how that moment happened, we didn’t actually plan until the day, and it was Emma who felt in that moment that Rhaenyra wanted to hold Mysaria and comfort her. She’d been so open with her and wanted to comfort her. I think the hug was so, in a way, enlightening for both of them because I don’t think either of them get hugged or have been hugged like that. I mean, when do you see people hug in House of the Dragon? You see people f**king, and you see people slapping each other on the back. There was something in that moment that felt so thrilling to be so intimately connected, and it felt then so organic to move into the kiss from there. I think our relationship has a kind of frankness to it, and it was there from the beginning. Mysaria was like, “This is what I’m like.” They had that frankness with each other, so to get to that place felt organic, and it also didn’t feel snaky in any way or manipulative on either part.
Did Mysaria have romantic feelings for Rhaenyra before the kiss?
When you look back in hindsight sometimes you’re like, “Yes, of course, I fancied that person for ages.” And you realize they’re the only thing you can think about. There’s something in that which is going on. I don’t think Mysaria thought it would get to where it gets to at the end of this episode, but I do think that she has huge admiration for this woman. She’s incredibly attractive, not just in the physical sense, but just as a soul, as a human, what she represents. How can she not be attracted to that in a way? But it’s not like she’s got a crush on her or anything like that.
In a previous episode, Mysaria and Rhaenyra were talking about Seasmoke, and Mysaria commented that he was lonely. Rhaenrya’s look in that moment showed a similar loneliness. I feel like Mysaria and Rhaenyra have both been lonely.
They’re both these kind of women who are lone islands. That’s how they both live. They’re deeply outsiders, both of them. I think to meet another who you think is so unlike you but actually shares so much with you is surprising and then it’s an awakening.
How will this kiss impact their relationship going forward?
Well, who’s to know? All I’ll say is there’s a civil war brewing, so I don’t know how much time there is to talk about what happened last night.
Will there be more opportunities for romance?
You bloody well hope so. I hope so. For the sake of all the gays, I hope so.
How do you think Daemon will react to this kiss?
Oh, my God. I can’t wait until Daemon reacts to this. I mean, it’s not going to be pretty, is it?
How far do you think Mysaria will go for Rhaenyra?
That’s a good question. I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to see. I think that Mysaria really believes Rhaenyra should be queen in this moment. But Mysaria is an opportunist, and I say that in the nonpejorative sense. She will take the moment for what it is with her survivor mentality and make the most out of it. So whether that means she has to leave her at some point, who knows?
But do you think her feelings are genuine?
As Mysaria, I think Mysaria thinks, yes. Actually, at this point, I kind of think it’s what people want to think.
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