The next episode of the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is set to introduce a significant 10-year time jump, welcoming Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke to play the grown-up version of Rhaenyra and Alicent.
The first five episodes of House of the Dragon were already filled with jaw-dropping moments, including Rhaenyra's (Milly Alcock) incestuous make-out with his uncle Daemon (Matt Smith), Alicent's (Emily Carey) unexpected marriage to King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Ser Criston's (Fabien Frankel) outrage in Episode 5.
However, the prequel series is set to undergo a monumental timeline transition, with the story jumping forward for 10 years, and will introduce an older yet more complex version of Rhaenyra and Alicent.
In the latest appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Matt Smith — who plays Daemon Targaryen in House of the Dragon, revealed that the time jumps are essentially over after Episode 6. Without divulging too much information, Smith teased that after the 10-year time jump, the audiences will be sticking to that timeline for the subsequent seasons. Check out Smith's full quote below:
“Once we make the jump, we’re in. I’m pretty sure from then on there’s not any big huge time jumps, particularly next season and the one after.”
There's no denying that Alcock and Carey both did an excellent job in portraying their respective roles as Rhaenyra and Alicent, and it's absolutely disheartening that we will no longer see them in the future of the series. Nonetheless, it's worth noting that House of the Dragon is just getting started, and the turmoil between Rhaenyra and Alicent will grow tremendously as the series continues. Now that D'Arcy and Cooke will finally take over, fans can expect a more intense rivalry between the two older versions of the character.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.
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