House of the Dragon episode 5 was the last time we'll see Milly Alcock in the Game of Thrones prequel series. Don't worry, though – it's not the last we'll see of her character, Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Episode 6 is set to jump forward 10 years, and from this point onwards Rhaenyra will be played by Emma D'Arcy, while Olivia Cooke will be taking over from Emily Carey as Alicent Hightower. Rhaenyra's new husband Laenor Velaryon and his sister Laena will also be played by older actors going forward, with John Macmillan replacing Theo Nate and Nanna Blondell replacing Savannah Steyn. And while viewers are excited to see D'Arcy and Cooke's performances, they're sad to see Alcock and Carey go.
"Milly Alcock & Emily Carey deserve so much praise for the way they've embodied Rhaenyra and Alicent in these first 5 episodes," said one Twitter user. "Perfect casting. I hope to see them in other stuff in the future! It's crazy to think that all we've seen is just the Prologue. So much to come!"
"I think we should all give Milly Alcock a round of applause on what an amazing job she did playing Rhaenyra Targaryen," said another. "She made the character her own and did an incredible job. I'm excited for Emma D'Arcy but I'm going to miss Milly."
Another viewer wrote: "I am not ready to say goodbye to Milly Alcock on House of the Dragon. She's too badass and plays Rhaenyra so powerfully."
"Just wanted to acknowledge the incredibly nuanced performances Milly Alcock and Emily Carey gave to us as the teenage versions of the two leads," said another Twitter user. "They delivered the perfect origin story of them as key players in the show’s main conflict. I will miss them."
"Still crazy to me that Milly Alcock only gets 5 eps in this series, she killed this role. Both her and Emily Carey were great in their last ep," another viewer enthused.
Alcock herself is excited to see D'Arcy take over the character. "I’m so excited to see what Emma did with Rhaenyra," the actor told the New York Times in a joint interview with Carey. "There’s no way I could have played her in the later stages of her life because I don’t have the same lived experience that Emma has. So I’m so keen."
"We didn’t even read the scripts that we weren’t in, so we know very little about what happens after we leave," Carey added.
House of the Dragon airs on Sundays on HBO and HBO Max, before following on Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic and NOW TV. Make sure you never miss an episode with our handy House of the Dragon release schedule.
