Something more elusive than House of the Dragon‘s battles? Its queer characters.
Each season brings queer subtext between certain characters, but much of it goes nowhere.
Since the show killed off its first gay character in Season 1, there haven’t been attempts to bring a more permanent and consequential replacement.
But first, let’s take a moment of silence for #Jacegan, who lit up the screen in Season 2 with insane chemistry when Jace (Harry Collet) went to seek support for his mother with the Night Watch.
It turns out nothing will ever materialize between them because Jace is dead. The Prince Who Serves died in the House of the Dragon Season 3 premiere.
Meanwhile, the new season has expanded the roles of some characters, chief among them being Alicent’s brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox).
The story finds Ser Gwayne in Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) campaign, but he decides to leave because Criston has been taking one L after another and is too stubborn to know when to fold.
House of the Dragon Season 3 Episode 6 takes him back to King’s Landing and to meeting his older brother, Ormund Hightower (James Norton), where an interesting — albeit sad — conversation unfolds that hints at Ser Gwayne’s sexuality.
Television relies on various methods to introduce queer characters, some of them worse than others.
In House of the Dragon, Ser Gwayne faces what appears to be veiled homophobia from his brother.
Photo: Ollie Upton/HBOOuting Via Homophobia. Who Would Have Thought It?
Gwayne: “I’ve marched a long road. Fought and killed and suffered my comrades to be killed about me.”
Ormund: “Yes, you have endured much. I’m sure you found solace with some of your brothers in arms.”Gwayne: “I am fatigued. It’s been weeks since I’ve seen a feather bed. By your leave.”
Ormund: “You might see Ser Gwayne to his quarters, Your Grace. Make sure he bathes. Oh, and, uh…mind yourself. Backs against the wall.”
The above conversation is the telltale sign that Gwayne is gay and Ormund knows it.
Every one of Ormund’s responses is a veiled homophobic retort aimed at shrinking Gwayne so that he doesn’t question Ormund’s actions.
Finding solace in some of his brothers-in-arms is Ormund’s way of saying Gwayne might have been hooking up with other soldiers.
The idea is repeated in another, but in a very crude manner, with the “backs against the wall” comment.
It’s a Westeros equivalent of don’t drop the soap.
Photo: Theo Whiteman/HBOWhile these comments are not definitive confirmation that Gwayne is gay, they recontexualize some of the scenes that did not make sense.
When Gwayne realizes that assassins have been sent to kill Daeron (Benjamin Evan Ainsworth), he immediately kills them all.
But the suspect moment comes during his justification, when he describes the real Ser Arrion Baratheon (Will Stevens) as more “comely.”
Still a bit of a stretch, but the description begs the question of how he recalls such details about Arrion — unless he had focused on them intensely before or they had been intimate.
It’s Westeros’ equivalent of a birthmark in his inner thigh.
The final hint is the casting decision itself.
Freddie Fox’s Fruit Basket
For over a decade now, Freddie Fox has been a constant presence in queer television. He has led two shows from Queer as Folk creator Russel T. Davies.
Cucumber and Banana are signature Davies shows with an unashamed portrayal of queerness, and Fox is at the center of them, playing Freddie Baxter, an attractive twink.
Of late, he was seen on the final season of The Sandman, playing the bisexual god Loki, who is in a relationship with Puck, played by Game of Thrones icon Jack Gleeson.
Back in 2015, when Fox was interviewed by The Telegraph, he gave a very PR-crafted answer regarding his sexuality.
Photo: Theo Whiteman/HBO“I wouldn’t wish to go, ‘I am this, or I am that,’ because at some time in my life, yes I’ve had girlfriends, but I might fall in love with a man,” he said. “The majority of my life to date has been as a straight man. But who knows what will happen next?“
So we can assume that he’s still identifying as straight, or he might have fallen in love with a man. We’ll never know.
But if he is indeed queer — and the roles seem to be making a case for that — Gwayne might also be queer.
A lot has changed since 2015, with productions aiming for as authentic casting as possible.
House of the Dragon has numerous queer cast members, and if Fox is one of them, Gwayne might be queer.
It remains to be seen if the writers will be explicit with it or lean into the homophobic bullying in later episodes.
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