Although some fans complain about the creative liberties that House of the Dragon took concerning the book, one of the successes was the one they took advantage of to recontextualize Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Repressed, hurt, and religious more than necessarily ambitious, Alicent is not a foe to be underestimated, though she still is to both her allies and opponents.

The only one who treats her with caution is Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), whose youthful love and friendship turn into visceral hatred. According to the most attentive people, already in the second season, what many summarize as “Alicent’s madness” is pre-announced, and in fact, the trailers suggest that what the book described her state of mind in the last days of her life has seeds in the dredge which we will see in less than three months. Considering that a “mad queen” was the subject of controversy in Game of Thrones, how to deal with the fragile mental health of the Hightower women? It will be interesting to follow.

More than ambition, commitment to the rules

In the series, where Alicent is younger than in the original work, she grows up amidst a lot of political pressure, but with lower dreams than her father’s. Orphaned by her mother, in the shadow of her father’s career, Otto Hightower (Rhys Iphans), Hand of the King, the young woman ends up being used for her House to rise once and for all, unexpectedly (for her) becoming Queen when Viserys I (Paddy Considine), becomes a widower.

For a girl who already hurt her hands, tearing the skin off her nails when she got anxious, the Crown only makes everything worse. She has to have a relationship with a much older man, have children, be discreet and obedient, lose her best friend, her stepdaughter who now resents her for having married her father, and practically see her life end in the face of the plots of Power. Alicent has everything except autonomy and a future. Wear and tear is an announced tragedy.

In the book, she had a good relationship with Rhaenyra, but when Alicent’s firstborn, Prince Aegon, was born, she saw Rhaenyra become even more guarded and strange, at the same time living a life of pleasure and happiness that Alicent was deprived of. The series is no different, showing that the maternal relationship with her offspring is radically opposite to Rhaenyra’s: cold, distant, and complex.

In addition to Aegon II, Alicent has a daughter, Princess Helaena, and other sons, Prince Aemond and Daeron, all without entering into the succession by Viserys’ choice.

Alicent’s mistakes until adopting her home’s war color: green

While young, Alicent did not have a defined personal style or personality, which changes when she feels ignored and manipulated by Rhaenyra and Viserys, adopting the Green of her house as her signature, declaring a veiled war on those who support the princess, who only wears black.

As time passes in the series, we see how the Queen consort changes and gains leadership, acting “out of good customs”, defending her children, and being eager to witness Rhaenyra’s fall. Alicent had a hard time deciding which side she would embrace and for a while, her father was harmed by his daughter’s lack of political maturity. Luckily for him, others shared his desire to prevent Rhaenyra from sitting on the throne, but Alicent’s ‘delay’ in taking leadership hindered the Hightowers’ plans.

Alicent has two faithful personal supporters, with whom she can be honest and with whom she makes all her political plans: Ser Larys Strong, who keeps her informed of everything, and especially Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Rhaenyra’s former companion who changed his life. side after the princess’s marriage to Laenor Velaryon. He has since been named Alicent’s sworn personal shield and is always with her.

In the series, Alicent does not pressure her husband to change the succession order and only starts to want her children when Rhaenyra clearly has bastard children and nothing happens to put her at risk. Although her stepdaughter is indifferent to her half-siblings, Alicent becomes convinced that once Queen, she will kill anyone who puts her Crown at risk, becoming dangerous and somewhat paranoid.

Witness to the tragedy of revenge: a tactic that only generates pain

Before Viserys’ death, Alicent had a single open confrontation with Rhaenyra, when Aemond became blind in one eye when he fought with his nephews, especially Lucaerys. She tried to attack the child with a dagger, asking for an eye for an eye to balance the tragedy, of course without succeeding. What resulted from that fateful night was the shadow of death over his own children.

In the book, Viserys I determines that Alicent and her children would remain at court in King’s Landing, while Rhaenyra and her family would remain in Dragonstone, but in the series, the separation was before the drama and only makes relationships between relatives even more toxic.

Her marriage to Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) gives Rhaenyra the support she needs to stabilize her position as heir, and, unlike Rhaenyra,

In the book, we do not see Alicent losing her temper when she learns that Rhaenyra baptized her firstborn with Daemon as well as Aegon, seeing the choice as contempt for her own son.

Years later, Aemond attacked Lucaerys and killed Rhaenyra’s favorite son, leading Daemon to argue the use of the same “eye for an eye, one son for another”. Alicent will experience Targaryen’s revenge firsthand.

The attack on Helaena and her children will be in the Queen’s bedroom. Alicent will be surprised, tied, and gagged, expecting the worst.

She will also see her daughter cry and beg for her children, and witness the murder of Prince Jaehaerys, son of Aegon II. The Queen Mother’s pain will be doubled when she loses her grandson and sees her daughter go crazy. After all, Helaena will never be the same again from that night onwards, we can say that neither will Alicent.

The Mad Queen?

In the book, it is somewhat open whether Alicent “accelerated” Viserys’ death to carry out a coup d’état, but in the series, the queen genuinely is confused by what she hears and believes that her children are the ones who will bring stability to the kingdom. But so far, Alicent is insecure and obsessed, but aware.

With the trauma of Helaena, her only daughter and whom she placed her own crown on her head before calling her “my queen”, Alicent will have a chance in House of the Dragon to become the “new Cersei Lannister”, that anyone who knows Game of Thrones is dangerous.

The concept of the “mad queen” has flirted with the public for a long time, with Cersei Lannister blowing up enemies and Daenerys Targaryen destroying the capital. Before the end of the series, both Helaena – who eventually kills herself or will be killed – and Alicent will be the mad queens. Who would blame them?

It is imagined that season two will end with Rhaenyra taking King’s Landing, where. violence against the greens escalates. It will be in the third season that Alicent will get worse, but in the two trailers, we see that Alicent will have moments where she will dive alone, kind of seeming to seek silence. For many, it is confirmation of Alicent Hightower’s loss of reason.

In the final part, Alicent will witness the execution of her father, and the death of her three children (Aemond, Helaena, Daeron, and even Aegon II, in addition to her two male grandchildren), which will contribute to her isolation and aversion to the Green. To make matters worse, she will see Rhaenyra and Daemon’s son take the Iron Throne and marry her only granddaughter, Jaehaera, against her wishes.

It will be incredible to follow Olivia Cooke’s great work in one of the most interesting roles in the entire saga. Will Alicent’s journey of pain have an emotional imbalance? What is certain is that it is one of the dangers.

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