House Of The Dragon Introduces Gay Dragon Rider
Image: Theo Nate plays Laenor Velaryon in the Game Of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
Fans of HBO’s House of the Dragon, the prequel to Game of Thrones, were ecstatic to witness the introduction of a gay character in the series’ third episode. The character in question, Laenor Velaryon (played by Theo Nate), makes his epic debut in the series as he swoops into battle on his dragon, Seasmoke.
The first episode of House of the Dragon was released in late August this year and is the highly anticipated prequel to the blockbuster television show, Game of Thrones. Episodes of the series are released weekly which seems like somewhat of a rarity in today’s streaming era.
This more traditional release structure is perhaps the reason for all the social media hype following the release of each episode, with much of the focus this week being on Laenor Velaryon.
Introduction Of Gay Character
We got our first bad ass gay dragon rider tonight! #HouseVelaryon #LaenorVelaryon #Seasmoke #HouseoftheDragon #HouseOfTheDragonHBO pic.twitter.com/9UWOSM4GBt
— KYLE B. (@digital__junkie) September 5, 2022
The teenage Laenor Velaryon, played by Theo Nate in episode three, is the heir to Driftmark and son of Lord Corlys Velaryon and Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. His twin sister is Laena. The episode sees him with Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod). In the book series by George RR Martin, Jeffrey is Laenor’s rumoured lover.
One fan tweeted, “We got our first bad ass gay dragon rider tonight!”, with another saying, “The gays keep winning because THIS MVP is eating everybody with his 0.3 seconds of screentime”.
The introduction of a gay character in House of the Dragon is giving many fans hope that the series will provide meaningful quality LGBTQI representation for the community as well as for people of colour. One fan wrote on Twitter, “HotD might actually do Laenor’s homosexuality justice” and another adds, “We riding dragons now! Black folks riding dragons!”.
‘Not Another Bunch Of White People On The Screen’
The excitement over the diversity Laenor Velaryon brings to the House of Dragon series comes at a time when, although much progress has been made, television series and movies are still facing backlash over the inclusion of black and/or LGBTQI characters.
Recently, the Netflix series The Sandman received criticism for trying to push “woke” culture due to its diverse cast that many claimed was unfaithful to the comic books the series is based on. Earlier in the year, the film Lightyear received similar backlash due to its inclusion of a same-sex kiss, causing the film to be banned in several countries.
Showrunners Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik spoke on the topic of diverse casting prior to the release of House of the Dragon.
“The world is very different now than it was 10 years ago when [Game of Thrones] all started. It’s different than 20 years ago when Peter Jackson made The Lord of the Rings. These types of stories need to be more inclusive than they traditionally have been,” Condal told Entertainment Weekly in December.
“It was very important for Miguel and I to create a show that was not another bunch of white people on the screen. We wanted to find a way to put diversity in the show, but we didn’t want to do it in a way that felt like it was an afterthought or, worse, tokenism.”
Whilst these comments sound promising, fans of the HBO show will have to wait until next week’s episode to potentially see what House of the Dragon has in store for Laenor Velaryon.
