“House of the Dragon‘s” fifth episode is actually significant for logistical reasons, essentially marking the end of the chapter before the show time jumps ahead, featuring older versions of some characters and somewhat shuffling the deck.
However, the horrible death that took place in the hour could generate just as much excitement, provoking discussions about long-standing worries and wounds about how LGBTQ characters are treated — and more specifically, killed off — in TV dramas.
The advancements in more inclusive storytelling have coincided with disagreements over how those characters are represented and their outcomes, giving rise to the hotly debated cliche known as “Bury Your Gays.”
The expression alludes to a historical trend in which LGBT characters have frequently perished as plot devices, giving the impression that they are more disposable in the eyes of writers.
Given that, the “Game of Thrones” prequel potentially waded into controversy with its most recent episode, subtitled “We Light the Way,” which again demonstrated, among other things, that in Westeros not much good ever happens at weddings. (The series plays on HBO, which, like CNN, is a unit of Warner Bros. Discovery.)
As part of the plot, Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) agreed to a marriage of convenience to Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate) — a royal merger designed to fortify their respective lines’ hold on power, where they can indulge their “appetites” elsewhere.
Knowing that Laenor is gay, Rhaenyra — having been reminded by her uncle Daemon (Matt Smith) that marriage is merely a political arrangement — reassured him that they would essentially live separate lives, allowing him to continue his relationship with Ser Joffrey Lonmouth (Solly McLeod). Rhaenyra, meanwhile, had been dallying with a knight of her own, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).
At the wedding feast, Joffrey let it be known to Criston that he is aware of the knight’s relationship with Rhaenyra, which clearly unsettled and disturbed him. When the event chaotically erupts in violence a short while later, Criston is on top of Joffrey, brutally pounding him to death during the melee. He then flirts with taking his own life, before Rhaenyra’s budding political rival, Alicent (Emily Carey), intervenes.
Martin’s vision is of a medieval world where life is often cheap. That includes everything from orgies to incest, and from the horrors of childbirth to securing regal succession even if that means marrying off under-age girls.
Still, introducing the relationship between Laenor and Joffrey only to dispatch the latter so quickly and horribly almost immediately prompted questions on Twitter on Sunday night about whether the “Bury Your Gays” trope applies here. Notably, past discussions of the practice have often surrounded science fiction and fantasy series, including “The 100” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and more recently, BBC America’s dark spy thriller “Killing Eve.”
It’s also worth noting that during “Game of Thrones’” heyday some asked if the show had a “gay problem,” as Vulture put it in a 2016 piece citing the number of LGBTQ characters who, up until that point, had met a violent end.
The arc of Laenor’s character doesn’t conclude with the latest episode. How that story unfolds could potentially offset or soften this latest turn of events in the eyes of those who would criticize it.
For now, though, based on the high-profile nature of the franchise that magnifies almost everything about the series, “House of the Dragon” could face some near-term heat.
HBO declined a request to address the episode.
Source:CNN