Of COURSE This Is How ‘House of the Dragon’ Review Bombing Gets Started

Review-bombing is a technique commonly used by bigots these days. It was used against The Acolyte and The Rings of Power to protest against their inclusive casts, and against episode three of The Last of Us to object to the (very sweet and lovely) relationship between two older men.

Now it seems like House of the Dragon is getting review bombed, too, because … there was a kiss between two women. This is a show that has featured baby murder, dog kicking, incest (so, so much incest), people burning to death … but a kiss between two women is apparently where some people draw the line.

In the most recent episode, “Smallfolk,” Mysaria shares her tragic past with Rhaenyra and the other woman comforts her with a hug. The two remain remain hugging for a good few seconds … and then suddenly the hug turns into a kiss. The kiss was actually totally unscripted, says actress Sonoya Mizuno, and it was Emma D’Arcy who came up with the idea for it.

According to IMDb, 34.6% of people who reviewed “Smallfolk” gave it one star. When all reviews from all over the world are counted, “Smallfolk” has a rating of 6.3—the lowest of the season.

There are some legit reasons why the episode might be rated so low. It’s generally considered that House of the Dragon is starting to drag on (get it?) a little at this point. Daemon has been stuck having visions at Harrenhal for most of the season, and there’s been one big dragon fight so far and that’s it. It’s perfectly valid to be frustrated by the pace of the show.

But when you start reading the bad reviews, it’s clear a lot of people had issues primarily with the same-sex kiss. Some mention “DEI” (diversity, equity, and inclusion), which has become a buzzword for conservatives in the same vein as “woke.” Others complain that the scene was “unnecessary” or refer to an “agenda.”

And some of the other complaints simply don’t gel. You can’t complain that Rhaenyra’s arc is not moving forward, and then object when she does get a storyline—the relationship with Mysaria. Make it make sense!

While review bombing may not be the biggest problem in the world right now (House of the Dragon is still a massive hit by anyone’s standards), it’s still an unsettling look at how people respond to same-sex relationships on television. These outpourings of bigotry have happened time and time again, and it’s incredibly frustrating.