House of the Dragon episode six gets ‘review-bombed’ after featuring same-sex kiss
Season 2, episode 6 of House of the Dragon was “review-bombed” by viewers. (HBO)
House of the Dragon has returned for season two to the delight of fans. But despite the series’ success so far, episode six found itself being “review-bombed” by viewers after featuring a same-sex kiss.
Warning: House of the Dragon spoilers ahead.
Sunday night’s (21 July) episode featured a fiery kiss between Queen Rhaenyra and her ally, Mysaria, in the Game of Thrones spin-off, sending fans after they initially believed a relationship between the monarch and her former best friend Alicient Hightower could come to fruition.
But despite the sapphic moment (which turned out to be unscripted) making a lot of LGBTQ+ viewers and allies happy for revealing queer romance on-screen, others didn’t quite share the same sentiment.
A whopping 33% of viewers on IMDb rated episode six of House of the Dragon, titled “Smallfolk”, just one star.
One viewer called the kiss — which follows Rhaenyra and Mysaria discussing their situation and complimenting each other on their strength in the face of chaotic events — as part of “the agenda”.
“Thou shalt not escape from the agenda,” the viewer titled their one-star review, while another suggested that their kiss was “ruining his own great work with just 30 sec of unnecessary scene that will drag the storyline to its doom”.
The scathing review continued: “Adding this kind of pointless scene suggested by some actress who plays the character or unstudied ideas by a writer who doesn’t even understand this world and treats it’s his own will shift the story from deep conflict between a family and a deadly war to some cheap version that doesn’t relate to the main conflict.”
Meanwhile, a two-star review criticised: “What was with that scene towards the ending? It was not necessary and completely ruined the mood of the show. From this point forward I’d not be surprised if I can’t keep watching this show. It’s ruined. Ruined…”
Thankfully, the second-most voted-for rating for the episode was 10 stars, which still stood at a strong 20.4% despite the backlash.
Fans of the scene revelled in the storyline, with one fan writing online: “If I say that Rhaenyra and Mysaria’s kiss is thousands of times hotter than any of the straight sex scenes on the show, then what?” one fan wrote.
House of the Dragon season two is available on HBO and Max in the US and on Sky Atlantic and Now in the UK.
