Emma D'Arcy With Long Hair Will Change How You See Rhaenyra Completely
It's sad but true that the number of derogatory comments about (and directed at) Emma D'Arcy for their portrayal of Rhaenyra Targaryen would almost certainly have been lower if they had the long hair we see in the photos of one of their previous performances.
It's fair to say that a lot of the criticism was directed at their portrayal of the character – but it often felt like people were pleased to be afforded the opportunity to knock D'Arcy's iteration of Rhaenyra.
And we know the haters came out as soon as the casting for House of the Dragon was revealed. And, of course, there were numerous comments about D'Arcy's appearance and the fact that they're non-binary.
So, the negativity was already in the air by the time we got to see the older Rhaenyra onscreen.
Naturally, some of the negative comments targeted the portrayal, and D'Arcy would no doubt see the genuine critique of their performance as perfectly acceptable – even if some of it was misguided as it failed to recognise the character arc of the time jump (but that's for another day).
But a quick look at some of the social media comments posted when the pictures of a long-haired D'Arcy were revealed recently shows a much softer reaction. Ok yes, they were re-revealed, but they didn't gain the same hype the first time around. Compare these with some of the nastiness thrown Emma's way over the years because of their appearance and personal life, and it raises a significant question.
Would the long-haired Emma D'Arcy have attracted as much hate as the one who was cast for the show?
The answer, of course, is absolutely not.
For a start, very few people would have felt the need to make any kind of comment about D'Arcy's physical appearance so that would have removed a hefty chunk of hate straight away. And let's not forget here that there were a lot of people saying Emma was not pretty enough.
Then you've got those viewers who would have been predisposed to like a character they view as conventionally 'pretty'. Yes, they walk among us.
How this would have translated into commentary on the characterisation of Rhaenyra Targaryen, of course, we'll never know. But even if those that have knocked the acting had still had their say, it seems quite clear there would have been significantly less online hate.