House of the Dragon season two has solely dropped two episodes so far, however each Group Inexperienced and Group Black have already been through the emotional wringer because the Dance of the Dragons heats up. On the middle of the maelstrom is Alicent Hightower; because the Dowager Queen and mom of King Aegon II, she’s one of the vital highly effective individuals in Westeros, however that doesn’t imply she has any sense of management.
io9 spoke to Alicent herself—Olivia Cooke—as a part of a latest Home of the Dragon press day, and requested her a couple of particular second in last night’s episode, “Rhaenyra the Merciless.”
It’s an action-packed episode; we see Alicent (as soon as once more) getting used as a political pawn by her father, Hand of the King Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), and made a focus of the grim funeral extravaganza surrounding her murdered grandson. Then, we see Alicent coping with the quick fallout after her father is fired as Hand of the King by her petulent son, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney).
On the finish of the episode, Alicent—who’s been lower than impressed with the conduct of each Aegon and his youthful brother, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell)— observes Aegon sitting alone, sobbing his eyes out. As a substitute of shifting to consolation him, she watches him for only a beat, then silently exits the room. “I believe Aemond and Aegon particularly maintain the mirror [up] to the weather of herself that she despises,” Cooke mentioned about Alicent’s response. “And I believe his vulnerability in that second, and his ineffectiveness, simply repulses her. It actually does. I believe she sees all the things that’s weak in him [as the same as what’s] extremely weak—and [that] she’s making an attempt to get a lid on—in herself. I believe that was it. However he’s grieving as effectively, and she or he doesn’t wish to be confronted with that so instantly. She desires her son to rule and she or he desires to have bred a pacesetter. And he or she hasn’t in any respect.”
io9 additionally obtained an opportunity to ask Cooke a couple of character who’ll quickly be arriving in Home of the Dragon season two: Alicent’s brother, Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox). “[Their relationship is] is estranged. It’s actually estranged. She didn’t develop up with him; he was introduced up in Oldtown, she was introduced up at court docket,” Cooke teased. “I believe it’s Alicent, once more, determined for connection and neighborhood, and making an attempt to forge that in a method that simply isn’t attainable as a result of they don’t have a shared language. I believe that causes her lots of ache, particularly seeing how well-adjusted he’s, and the way well-adjusted he’s as a result of he’s been away from this atmosphere.”
Home of the Dragon drops new episodes Sundays on HBO and Max.
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