‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 8: How Alicent’s Religion Sets Her Apart From the Targaryens
In House of the Dragon Episode 8, Daemon and Rhaenra return to King’s Landing. They find that their former home has changed significantly, in a large part thanks to Alicent Hightower’s religious devotion. Here’s what you need to know about Alicent’s faith and how it sets her apart from the Targaryens.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 8.]
Alicent turns to religion in ‘House of the Dragon’ Episode 8
Rhaenyra and Alicent’s sons violently fought each other in House of the Dragon Episode 7, resulting in Aemond Targaryen losing an eye. Alicent demanded that Lucerys lose his eye as well to make things even. She marches toward the boy with a knife but slashes Rhaenyra instead. At the end of the episode, Rhaenyra and Daemon marry and depart King’s Landing.
House of the Dragon Episode 8 jumps forward several years in time. When Daemon and Rhaenyra return home, they find that much has changed. “As the years have gone by, post-Alicent’s outburst, Alicent has found religion as a way to redeem herself,” co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said in a featurette.
“We know that Alicent holds closely to the new religion of the Seven Gods, which is not something the Targaryens do,” co-showrunner Ryan Condal added. “It’s part of what sets her apart from the house that she married into.”
What is the Faith of the Seven?
The Faith of the Seven was introduced in Game of Thrones. It teaches that there is one god with seven aspects: The Father, The Mother, The Maiden, The Crone, The Warrior, The Smith, and The Stranger. According to Inverse, this religion forbids “kinslaying, bastardy, incest, and homosexuality.”
It’s easy to see how much Alicent’s religion sets her apart from her husband’s family. In House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones, the Targaryens practice incest frequently, and many of them appear to believe in multiple gods.
Alicent’s pious nature has always been apparent in House of the Dragon. She is a rule follower, someone who always does what is asked of her. When rumors circulate about Rhaenyra having sex with Daemon in a brothel, Alicent seems more disturbed than anyone, except perhaps Viserys.
King’s Landing looks very different in episode 8
Now, as Viserys’ health is failing, Alicent has gone all in on the Faith of the Seven, and it’s apparent throughout King’s Landing. “In the scene where Rhaenyra and Daemon return to King’s Landing for the first time, they see a difference,” director Geeta Vasant Patel said in a featurette.
“There were no words that were going to describe the difference. There was nothing in particular that they would point out to us. We figured out how to make it read immediately,” she continued. An enormous seven-pointed star now hangs in the main hallway, and the mood of King’s Landing has shifted.
“It’s become a much more quiet and conservative place,” Condal added. “It’s much more like a monastery now than it was when we first saw it. In episode 1, it’s full of light and life, and there’s Targaryen erotica on the walls, dragon erotica. And now it’s all been replaced with objects of the Seven, and the murals have been covered up.”
House of the Dragon airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
