Alicent Hightower - Blog Posts

the redhead with heart-eyes and their blondie that tries to run away is my favorite trope (i'm literally crying on the floor)

We reasonably talk a lot about how that final scene was a character assassination for Alicent, but not nearly enough about what an entitled, unreasonable, and insufferable asshole Rhaenyra was acting like that entire scene.

Let’s start to hold Viserys accountable for how his children turned out not just their mother.

everyone’s like “ ha ha daeron’s kind because he wasn’t raised by alicent” but guess who else he wasn’t raised by? viserys. he wasn’t raised in an environment where he was a second thought always to his father. he didn’t see the abuse his mother and siblings faced from viserys. not absolving alicent of her questionable parenting but viserys f*cked up the green kids just as much if not more and daeron was spared of that.

As much as I hate the fact that they don’t follow the show and that many people say that “Fire & Blood is not a reliable source” (what is a hole new thing) it is so true so many characters (especially Alicent & Rhaenyra) Are just going from side quest to side quest. And you get the feeling (especially Alicent) like these characters, from season 2, are not the same people, as thei are from season 1, and not in the characters arc kind of way more in the: “we are inconsistent with how we write these characters, but pretend it all makes sense.” ???????????

"fire and blood isn't supposed to be a completely true story. the showrunners can adapt things how they want, they don't have to follow the source material."

my brother in christ they are not even following season one

Is this a fucking joke?!

ALICENT has never sacrificed anything?!

Alicent has sacrificed EVERYTHING

She sacrificed her choices and happiness for Otto by marrying the King. She sacrificed her friendship with Rhaenyra. She sacrificed her bodily autonomy to give the king a male heir. She sacrificed her own safety for the safety of her children. She was prepared to die by dragonfire for Aegon, sacrificing her own life for his

But no. She has never sacrificed anything. Everything has been handed to her on a silver platter according to these writers

Meanwhile wtf has Rhaenyra sacrificed? A random knight so she could marry Daemon? A ton of innocent people for more dragons? Those aren’t personal sacrifices the way Alicent’s are. She’s sacrificing other people for herself

Not the same at all

And everything she has, she has been handed on a silver platter. Daddy named her heir, despite her treason in passing off bastards as heirs to Driftmark. She fucked off to Dragonstone and still was heir. She got the Riverlands because of Daemon, not anything she did. She got the dragons through evil means. Alicent offers her everything she wants

It it’s Alicent who has never sacrificed anything?

And now she’s being forced by the writers to sacrifice her son; the person she did all this to protect. Now she’s choosing Rhaenyra because this is redemption to the writers instead of the character assassination that it is

At least Olivia tries to save what she can by making Alicent have a panic attack

Love that we can say this now without getting de@th threats

it’s honestly very frustrating to try and see people paint alicent as some sort of karen and rhaenyra as some sort of feminist icon. newsflash: none of the women in this show are feminists. AND THAT IS OKAY!! we’re looking at a story that predates those sort of progressive ideals and it’s not fair to hold either character to such a modern standard.

rhaenyra is out for herself and for her own claim, she’s not fighting for the right of all women to sit the iron throne. this is pretty clearly spelled out for us when she tells rhaenys that baela and jacerys’ sons will inherit the iron throne. but this isn’t a criticism of rhaenyra, she’s a woman living in an incredibly oppressive time, and while it could make for a great story, it should not be her responsibility to fight for the hypothetical claims of other women. as the the legitimate heir to the throne, her only concern should be fighting to take back her crown from the usurper.

as for alicent, she can really only cling to two things: duty/honor and trying to protect her children. her whole life has been nothing but miserable. losing her mother, being pawned off to viserys by her own father, being forced to have four children while she was still a child herself. and in the aftermath of all this, she’s lost her best friend and one true love. so of course she’s bitter and resentful, and of course she’s so preoccupied with duty. all she’s done since she was 14 years old is give and give, and it’s been rotten, thankless work.

it’s pretty easy to understand why both of these women are the way they are, and to acknowledge their deep complexity. sometimes it feels like people are being willfully obtuse in order to stay loyal to their respective “teams”, and I know it’s not that deep and the end of the day, but it’s still very frustrating.

Im Till this day shocked that Rheanyra didn’t even feel bad about Aemond‘s Eye. I believe in, if Luce would apologise and maybe acted out a little Aemond and the rest wouldn’t hate them so much.

... she never made an effort... she only ever furthered herself from her siblings... she only made herself look like a threat, having it made clear viserys would always favor her, protecting her lies at the risk of others, after abandoning her mother when she needed her most, and used and lied to her, hurting her more than she already was from Viserys, for her own benefit (not to mention her manipulative father buried those thoughts deep in her mind while she was still a CHILD herself)... she had every reason to "hate" (fear) Rhaenyra and in her attempts to protect her children, extend that fear/hatred to them. even then, outside of Aemond (justifiably, considering she felt entitled to his eye and wanted to have him tortured) none of them even really hated her until the dance, at the very most, they felt resentful because their father loved her 10x more than he loved all 4 (including Daeron) of them combined, and at the very least, they felt nothing as she was never there, never mattered to their lives outside of court and politics.

this take is shit. Rhaenyra never cared. she never wanted her siblings in her life. she felt entitled to Aemond's eye, and you want to tell me she gave a shit, not even enough to spare her 10 year old brother, over an insult?

(and before you bring up her call for her siblings to come bend the knee, we know how she can kiss up and lie through her teeth in times of need, her words hold little backing. see it as truth if you want, but I can't trust it, not with how she's acted previously.)

HotD episode 9 was bewildering. Being the first episode solely about the greens, I was apprehensive regarding how it'll be carried by the audience... in one word? Powerful.

What truly made the episode were certain quotes which blew my mind.

"We do not rule, but we may guide the men that do."

"And yet you toil in your service to men... you desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison."

The words which truly sparked the desire to break free in Alicent. Free from the clutches of her father, free to make her own decisions.

We see this particularly during the coronation when:

Alicent is the one on screen, between the swords when the words 'A new king' are spoken.

Alicent stands between Meleys and Aegon. A dragon facing another desiring equal standing. Two queens who never were facing each other.

"It is our fate, I think, to crave always what is given to another. "

Helena's words overlapping with Alicent's meeting with the lords to establish Aegon on the throne. And in the end Alicent and Aemond craving it for themselves.

And finally "There is no power but what people allow you to take."

Mysaria's words left me gaping. It truly embodied the entire scenario of power is temporary being highlighted in the episode.

I believe that we might also compare these words to Aemond's condition as he too is not able to take anything apart from what is handed to him.

(I have not read the books and all my interpretations are based solely on the show.)

This episode, not only as the end of an era but the beginning of one, serves its purpose in being the most symbolic, yet breathtaking depiction of what growth feels like.  As always, House of The Dragon, does not fail to properly enchant it’s viewers. I, for one, am extremely invested and interested in knowing if it maintains its magnificence. 

Episode 5 of House of The Dragon marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another, not just a new chapter but a whole book.

Needless to say, the episode in itself was phenomenal and as always I've got quite a few things to say, or rather, point out.

A targaryen can never be nameless, ser Criston had already marked a path that Rhaenyra wouldn't walk upon. I see the origin of his fury. His proposal wasn't out of love, it originated out of regret and desperation to save his dignity.

We once again see the display of absolute dominance by the Targaryen's when Viserys stated that Rhaenyra's children may be born Valarion but they shall rule as Targaryens.

And again, when Viserys refuses to accept a chair in Corlys' throne room as no king, (especially not one residing on the iron throne) shall ever sit beneath another.

We finally see Otto sow the seed of Rhaenyra's betrayal in Alicent's mind which is further watered by ser Criston, (just because he wasn't patient enough to let Alicent complete her sentence).

I loved the subtle comparison of Alicent to the flowers which thrive where they aren't supposed to. She was expected to wither without her father by her side, but instead further solidifies herself as a formidable force by wearing her house's colors of war to Rhaenyra's betrothal celebration.

An enchanting parallel was drawn between the carriage ride in episode 3 and one in episode 5, both times Rhaenyra is treated as a commodity to benefit the realm. Earlier, she was expected to be a paragon of virtue and behave like an ideal sister (during Aegon's 2nd name day) and this time, she is expected to marry for the sake of an alliance between house Valarion and Targaryen.

We also see that Rhaenyra has completely forsaken the necklace gifted to her by Daemon as she attempts to erase him from both her subconscious and physical self.

I, for one, loved the phrase dining as we see fit because not only did Rhaenyra dine very well last episode, she wishes to continue to do so after, which again highlights how she loves to be in control.

Coming to the feast.

The entry of House Valarion gave me literal chills!! (I would be lying to say that I didn't start clapping tbh)

Daemon's entry was extremely symbolic of his mistakes. Last time, he entered with Rhaenyra walking by his side but now, he walks alone, TOWARDS Rhaenyra.

I have to applaud Daemon for coming back to king's landing (while in exile), to attend a feast (he certainly wasn't invited to), and to try and tempt the bride (his literal neice) to chose him instead. He not only dances with said bride but also proceeds to (almost???) Kiss her in front of her father (his brother) AND GET AWAY WITH IT.

(Rhaenyra tempting him like this didn't help either, but I loved each second of it)

(Viserys' face here is so funny)

And finally...

Alicent's entry was breathtakingly powerful, I couldn't take my eyes off her. I even felt an urge to bow, I believe she brought a perfect end to the chapter of her trying to reconcile with Rhaenyra and finally having enough.

(My fav scene, undoubtedly!l)

I have not read the books and all my interpretations are solely based on the series.

Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower House of the Dragon — 2.03 "The Burning Mill"

Anyone else pretend that Rhaenyra or Alicent can somehow give birth to a poc baby while reading fanfics?

House of the Dragon Incorrect Quotes

You: Are we fighting or flirting? Aemond: I'm pinning you against a wall with my hand around your neck- You: Your point?

You: I feel like doing something stupid. Aegon: I’m stupid, do me.

You: Crushes are the worst. Whenever I’m near mine, I start acting stupid. Aemond: You always act stupid. Aemond: Aemond: Wait...

Alicent: Did you wash the dishes? Aegon: I thought you wanted to do that... Alicent: *chuckles* You were WRONG.

Aemond: People tell me I have a unique way of lighting up a room. You: It’s called arson and those people are called witnesses.

You: Are you ever going to listen to me? Daemon: Yes. Absolutely. You: When? Daemon: When you're right.

Aegon: We have a problem. Aemond: No, YOU have a problem. I have an idiot who keeps making them.

You: I still have no idea how I’m attracted to you... Daemon: Yeah, well, you’re stuck with me, and no take backs, honey.

Aegon: I committed all 7 deadly sins in 30 minutes. You: Wow, I've gotta hear this. Aegon: I was angry and envious of my neighbor so I lazily seduced his wife and ate all his groceries and didn't share. You: You forgot pride. Aegon: No, I'm pretty proud of this.

Aegon: What do you call people you go out with but don’t try to sleep with? You: ...People?

Daemon: This is bothering me. You: Well, you are digging up a corpse. Daemon: No, not that. That's, uh, pretty par for the course, actually.

House of the Dragon Incorrect Quotes

Aemond: If we don’t get out of this alive… If we’re both about to die… I love you, y/n! *Neither of you die* You: … Aemond: … You: So do you wanna talk about somethi- Aemond: No thank you.

Aegon: Why should I make my bed, when I'm just gonna unmake it to sleep in it anyways? Alicent: Why should I feed you if you're just gonna die anyways? Aegon: Aegon: I'll go make my bed-

You: Aegon won’t wake up, what do I do? Aemond: Did you try kicking him? You: Yes. Aemond: I’m out of ideas.

You: Your Honor, I hereby submit the following to the court: You: Aegon, what the actual FUCK?

Aemond: Y/n, I am nothing if not a man of principle. Aemond: Now let’s break into this apartment.

Daemon: I'm a reverse necromancer. You: Isn't that just killing people? Daemon: Ah, technicality.

Aegon: I was arrested for being too cool. Aemond: The charges were dropped due to a lack of supporting evidence.

You: I want to wake up with you every day for the rest of our lives Aemond: I wake up at 4:30 AM You: You: I want to see you at some point every day for the rest of our lives

Aegon: Change is inedible. Aemond: Don't you mean inevitable? Aegon, spitting out coins: No, I did not.

Aemond: What the fuck is wrong with you?! Aegon: Wow, you could start with a 'good morning'. Aemond: Good morning. What the fuck is wrong with you?!

You: We’re getting married, bitches! Daemon: And we're about to make it everybody else's problem.

Aegon, struggling to keep upright in his 1 inch heels: Yeah, I-I don’t really think heels are for me Rhaenyra, pointing at them and walking flawlessly in sparkly golden 6 inch heels: WEAK.

The amount of ppl who don’t realize that Alicent choosing Helaena’s safety over her sons and Helaena willingly giving up her son to protect her daughter are direct parallels drives me crazy. LIKE ITS SO OBVIOUS!!!!! And it’s such an important part of the message of the show and also Alicent’s character development!!!!

I think that’s why it makes me so mad when ppl berate Alicent in the finale for “choosing Rhaenyra”! Because she wasn’t choosing Rhaenyra, she was choosing her daughter! Her now being able to be at peace with Rhaenyra was an obvious benefit, because her love for Rhaenyra is also important, BUT she never would have made that choice for JUST Rhaenyra.

It’s all about making sacrifices as a mother. And how when it comes down to it, society wants you to choose your sons, because they’re the heirs, and they’re the ones who are “more important”. I mean, come on people, the reason why Aemma died is because Viserys was so obsessed with having a son. That’s a major part of the message about misogyny.

And so Alicent and Helaena choosing their daughters was their rebuttal against the patriarchy, and the only one they could really make.

And when it comes down to it, it was also Alicent choosing her younger self. This season also showed that Alicent really sees herself in her daughter, so in a way, choosing Helaena was also her way of making things up to her younger self. So, she also chose herself over her sons. Which again, she never would have done if she wasn’t protecting Helaena. But it annoys me when people call this selfish, because it’s like…. Yeah! She’s allowed to be selfish for once in her life. I was shocked by the amount of ppl who are self proclaimed “Alicent apologists” being annoyed once they perceived her as not a saint anymore. I also admired her love for her kids in the first season, but I’m also proud of how she’s growing to choose herself! And while she’s definitely not evil like her weird misogynistic haters make her out to be, she DOES have flaws. She’s a genuinely complex character, which is the reason why I thought everyone who liked her liked her in the first place.

But yeah it just annoys me when people say the finale was out of left field because I thought that Alicent’s actions in it made a lot of sense honestly. Idk maybe it’s because it’s different from the book and I’ve never read the book…

But during Blood and Cheese when Helaena chose her daughter I was like “I sense a parallel coming” … this is going to show Alicent something important… and I was not surprised when the parallel delivered 🤷

Dare I say…. Rhaenyra AND Alicent

I will be coming back to this concept. We're not done here

For everyone who is saying “Alicent wouldn’t let Rhaenyra kill Aegon” I have something to tell you. Alicent is human and can change over time. She is not who she was. She no longer wears green or is religious.

From A Wiki of Ice and Fire, “Alicent remained in her chambers for the last year of her life. Her only company was her septa, serving girls, and guards. Alicent often wept, began talking to herself, and came to dislike the color green”

We have seen her start to decent into grief and madness. She just wants everything to stop. She wants to save who she can and run. You saw her hesitate. You saw her cry. She didn’t want to agree but she had to in order to save Helaena. To save herself. She made a mistake and is trying to reconcile the best she can. This is her only play other than abandoning her entire family and running off. Y’all are all for complex characters until you don’t like the complexities.

Idk if this is real or I’m just going crazy from sleep deprivation, but am I the only one that thought in the most two recent episodes Rhaenyra and Alicent were being paralleled in their internalized misogyny? (Not a hate post, I love both of them and I think it’s impossible NOT to have internalized misogyny in that setting. Just talking about something I noticed.)

Like in episode two we see Alicent having Helaena do the whole political funeral thing, and it’s so obvious that before, during, and after it, Alicent sees herself in Helaena. The whole thing is like Alicent reliving her earliest days as Queen all over again where not only was she also just a political pawn for the men in her life, but also where her biggest fear started. This fear being something happening to the kids she was forced to have. While the political pawn thing is majorly important too to the generational misogyny discussion, I think the more major relation that registers within Alicent’s brain is the fear of her children dying, and her consciously forcing Helaena to suffer through an extended version of that pain, and it is what will be relevant later in my post. Keep that in mind.

Similarly, in episode three, we see Rhaenyra narrowing Rhaena down to nothing more than an idea of motherhood. Rhaenyra basically tells Rhaena that her main purpose in the war is to take care of her children, even though Rhaena is less than enthusiastic about it. Even before I made the distinction that I make in this post, this whole scene struck out as odd to me, because my first thought was “teenage Rhaenyra would have hated to be told this,” yet Rhaenyra didn’t seem to care about Rhaena’s feelings at all. And then I realized that was the point. Sure, Rhaenyra’s fear of motherhood surrounded around childbirth mainly, but still, her greatest fear had been motherhood for most of her life, specifically being forced to mother children she didn’t want, and yet she forced it onto Rhaena without a second thought.

So. Alicent’s greatest fear, suffering the loss of a child, befell Helaena, and instead of comforting her in her time of need, Alicent furthered her daughter’s pain. Rhaenyra’s greatest fear, being forced into motherhood, was easy for her to force onto another young girl. It’s disturbing, and shocking, and upsetting, but it’s such a good decision for their characters. It shows how easily women can forget their girlhood fears when they come into more power, contributing to the misogyny around them. But that’s not all. Because then I realized something else.

Despite the idea haunting her for almost her entire life, Alicent never had to suffer the loss of a child. But Rhaenyra did.

And in the end, Rhaenyra did get to choose who the father of her children was, and when she had them. But Alicent didn’t.

They lived each other’s worst fears. It adds another layer of tragedy to them, because it would have been so easy for them to understand each other, their fears and grievances matching perfectly, but they never really got the chance because of how they viewed the other as having caused their issues in the first place. And even later, they get another chance to understand both themselves and each other through their daughters, but it makes no difference.

None of them will ever win, because they don’t help each other. Everyone complaining that “so-and-so” is better than “this character” because “so-and-so” is a true feminist and “this character isn’t” doesn’t understand the point of the show.

The point is that they won’t help their mothers, they won’t help their best friends, and they won’t help their daughters. If you think any of the men in House Of The Dragon are an ideal image of feminism…. I don’t even know how you’re on my page in the first place. And all the women in the show are only looking out for their own best interests. Which is totally fair for the time period theyre in, and I would probably do the same. But it all goes to show that they could’ve been so much stronger if they all stood together.

Labour by Paris Paloma is for Alicent Hightower and Vampire by Olivia Rodrigo is for Rhaenyra Targaryen. Just for if anyone was wondering.

"Alicent resents Rhaenyra having the freedom that she never did." This is a pretty common hotd take which is complicated by the fact that Rhaenyra doesn't actually really have that much more freedom (she also has to marry and have children, and also ends up in an abusive marriage). So I'm wondering what if Alicent knows that? What if her resentment isn't that Rhaenyra never has to pay the price for her transgressions/freedoms, but that Alicent and her family are the ones who pay for Rhaenyra's freedom. When Rhaenyra goes out with Daemon, putting her reputation and marriage prospects in jeopardy, it's Otto who loses his job (after he saves her from likely having to marry Daemon). When Rhaenyra has obvious bastards that will create multiple succession crisis's, it's Aemond who loses an eye and is threatened with torture, and Vaemond who gets murdered. Alicent spends most of the series under the assumption that if Rhaenyra has to choose between giving up being queen and murdering her half brothers she'll choose the latter, gaining her freedom by harming Alicent. In this context her resentment makes a lot of sense and is more than just spite and jealousy (though I'm not saying those aren't present).

This also has me thinking what if Alicent is the more self aware one of the two of them? I think she knows how shit her situation is in a way that Rhaenyra might not until episode 10 when Daemon chokes her. Alicent at least by episode 9 recognizes her father for what he is and in her own small way able to fight for what she wants (Rhaenyra's survival and peace). She at least knows she's in a prison and is able to build a window in it, as Rhaenys condescendingly described. Rhaenyra on the other hand might truly believe that she's the exception to all the sexism in Westeros. That her name, her dragon and her father mean that she isn't like all the other girls. And for a while that's true. She gets to do things that no other woman in Westeros could get away with. She either doesn't see the cost to Alicent and Criston and Otto and Aemond and Vaemond, or she see their fates as their own faults. That all collapses in episode ten when she sees how completely alone she is. The men who are supposed to be obeying her seem more inclined to listen to Daemon and Daemon will not place her needs above his own or at least won't without first assaulting her.

This then allows for an interesting thesis of the show if it was intentional. We're given two women who have very different responses to patriarchy, but neither approach can save them. Obedience won't save them, promiscuity won't save them, a dragon won't save them, the right husband won't save them, the right father won't save them. The only thing that could have maybe saved them is solidarity, something that we see Alicent give up on in episode 5 (whether Rhaenyra has ever considered using her position or privilege to help another woman is an open question).

Obviously there's no definitive proof of this idea, but I find it interesting and that it adds depth to the tension and bitterness between Rhaenyra and Alicent.

ALICENT HIGHTOWER WOULD LOVE THE BARBIE MOVIE!!!!!!!!!

barbicent !

Labour by Paris Paloma was written for Alicent Hightower btw.

No, but I’m going crazy over this. PEOPLE DONT UNDERSTAND.

“Team Green”

“Team Black”

ALICENT AND RHAENYRA ARE BOTH SAPPHIC AND IN LOVE AND THEY WERE GROOMED BY MEN TWICE THEIR AGE AND THEY BOTH HAD SHITTY FATHERS AND DEAD MOTHERS AND THEY WERE BOTH TRYING TO PROETCT THEIR KIDS AND AND AND-