Olivia Cooke Put A Lot Of Thought Into How Alicent Lived During House Of The Dragon's 6-Year Time Skip
The following post contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" season 1.
A lot can happen in six years. Children grow up to become evil monsters. Queens get religion and force it on everyone else. Wounds heal, and new ones open. Resentment grows, and jealousy festers. In the HBO series "House of the Dragon," that could all happen in one episode — and often does. It also happens off-screen, however, as the first season of the "Game of Thrones" prequel made several significant time jumps over its 10 episodes.
Between episodes 7 and 8, for example, there is a six-year time gap. Olivia Cooke's Alicent Hightower, queen of Westeros, has changed quite a bit. In episode 7, one of her children gets his eye cut out by a child of Rhaenyra's (Emma D'Arcy) after stealing a dragon. (How are you going to argue with something that big who says it's okay to jump on and ride?) In her anger and shock, Alicent slices Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) with a dagger after demanding that one of her former friend's sons lose an eye as well.
It was a shocking move for a character that seemed to be so pliant to her father's wishes, and to her husband the king. When we see Alicent six years later, she's very different in manner, ruthlessness, and even appearance. The queen is religious now: a paragon of the virtue of the Seven gods, with a severe style of dress, a demure hairstyle, and a giant religious symbol on her chest.
In an interview with Vulture from October 2022, Cooke offered some insight into what happened during that six-year time jump.
' ... she's taken to religion to repent'
The "eye for an eye" scene was a pivotal moment for Alicent. Cooke says that in the wake of that outburst, she, director Miguel Sapochnik, and showrunner Ryan Condal had to discuss what had taken place, explaining:
"With Alicent, because of her public display of violence, she's taken to religion to repent. She's a lot more measured, a lot more thoughtful, and a lot more closeted in terms of her emotions. Having had those six years in the castle with very few allies, thinking long and hard about what she did — she wants to be a closed book."
Having the queen of the realm attack the heir to the Iron Throne is obviously an embarrassment, despite the provocation. Like many of us do when we're embarrassed by our own behavior, Alicent does a complete turnabout. It allows you to say, "Oh, that was the old me, but I'm different now. I'm religious. I'm practical. I'm no longer volatile."
While she may or may not truly be devoted to the gods, she's undoubtedly a closed book in episode 8. Her machinations are quieter now and far more dangerous. Alicent sits on the council, and while she's often parroting her father's plans, she's also trying to present a strong front regarding a very messy and unstable royal family. Her husband is failing, and Alicent knows that there is a limited amount of time before he's gone, and Rhaenyra takes the throne and power away from her and her family. It's not like she can count on her awful children to help out.
' ... she's watching him grow up into an absolute killer'
Alicent's children aren't making it easy for her, Cooke elaborates:
"[Alicent] doesn't interact with many people, and she's trying to wrangle her children, but the three of them are so explosive and unique, and have such different personalities, that it's incredibly difficult. The closest relationship she had is probably with Aemond [Ewan Mitchell], but she's watching him grow up into an absolute killer, which is terrifying for her."
The whole situation is very messy for Alicent. She knows she did something really icky by marrying her best friend's father. She is very much aware that Rhaenyra is the heir and has far more freedom than she does. Rhaenyra is able to have lovers. She can do as she pleases for the most part, while Alicent is basically a baby machine for the crown ... except that, unlike other queens, the children she's obligated to have won't have any chance at the throne. What was the point of ruining her friendship? There is guilt at following the orders of her father Otto (Rhys Ifans) to the detriment of her own relationships, jealousy of Rhaneyra's lifestyle, and fear that her children are monsters. (Note: They are monsters.)
Living in the guilt and shame
Alicent becomes cold and disapproves of sex because of what she sees as its resulting issues. Her children are assaulting maids and fathering children everywhere. Her daughter is having visions. Rhaenyra's children are clearly not her husband's, but the product of infidelity. So Alicent goes in the other direction, sitting in judgment of others for getting to do what she wishes she had the freedom to do. She uses sex (kind of) as a tool to help her manipulation of events by letting the creepy Lord Larys (Matthew Needham) ... um, enjoy her feet in exchange for information, but stays well out of it in her mind.
Alicent doesn't have anyone other than Ser Criston (Fabien Frankel) to talk to, and being rooted in mutual hurt and spite, even that isn't exactly a friendship like she had with Rhaenyra as a child. Losing the person she loved the most when she made the decision to marry her best friend's father has done nothing but hurt her. The young princess gave the shy Alicent a sense of joy from what we saw in the early episodes. The guilt and the shame have destroyed her life and any happiness Alicent might have had. It makes sense that she would close herself off as she watches every domino fall around her. And there are many dominos still to fall...
"House of the Dragon" season 1 is streaming on HBO Max.