‘House of the Dragon’: Alicent Hightower’s Nervous Habit, Explained
House of the Dragon takes place in a time when women like Alicent Hightower had very little agency. At the beginning of the series, Rhaenyra and Alicent are still young girls at the mercy of the wishes of the men around them. The series has already established that violence toward women is commonplace. Alicent has a nervous habit that briefly appears in the first two episodes. Here’s what it means.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 2.]
‘House of the Dragon’ hopes to handle female characters better than ‘Game of Thrones’
House of the Dragon hoped to answer to Game of Thrones‘ poor handling of female characters. The prequel series focuses heavily on the matter of succession and that the patriarchy would do anything to keep a woman out of power.
The series begins with fifteen-year-old Rhaenyra being named her father’s successor. Meanwhile, in the wake of her mother’s death, her friend Alicent Hightower is being pushed by her own father to bond with the recently widowed King Viserys. In episode 2, Viserys announces his intentions to marry Alicent.
Halfway through the series, House of the Dragon will jump forward ten years in time, and Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy will take over the roles of Alicent and Rhaenyra.
“There are times where Emma is on one stage and I’m on the other, and we’re both surrounded by [male characters] being idiotic,” Cooke told The Hollywood Reporter. “And we know if all these men just f***ed off, and it was just us two, the realm would be fine. It’s the meddling and the peacocking and egos that completely muddy everything.”
Alicent has a skin-picking habit in ‘House of the Dragon’
House of the Dragon takes its inspiration from medieval Europe, in a time when violence against women was all too commonplace. In the first two episodes, a teenage Alicent nervously picks at her fingers and nails until she draws blood.
Dermatillomania is a disorder that causes the sufferer to pick at their skin uncontrollably. According to the NHS, the person affected may pick their skin when feeling anxious or stressed and may not even realize they are doing it. The condition can also cause bleeding or bruising.
Alicent’s habit doesn’t go unnoticed. In episode 2, her father, Otto Hightower, notices her bloody fingers. “You are the most comely girl at court,” he tells her. “Why do you destroy yourself?” It’s a disturbing comment when paired with the fact that Otto is pushing her to become Viserys’ next wife.
Fans feel sympathy for Alicent Hightower
Alicent is an interesting character in House of the Dragon, and many fans feel sympathy for the young girl. “Poor Alicent, I really felt for her every time she started biting/picking her fingers/nails. Her anxiety was palpable. And when Otto mentioned she ‘might wear one of your mother’s dresses’ – that’s the moment that she ceased to be a child,” one Reddit user wrote.
“When I read F&B, Alicent struck me as more of a tragic figure than an evil one,” another fan said. “The daughter of a second son of a noble house, hers is not necessarily a bright future. In episode one, we’re watching her come to terms with the fact that she will have to sacrifice her innocence to survive and move upward on the social ladder.”
New episodes of House of the Dragon drop Sundays on HBO Max.
