‘House of the Dragon’ Star Says Rhaenyra and Alicent’s Friendship ‘Deteriorated’
At the start of the House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower are best friends. As time goes on, that friendship falls apart thanks to circumstances outside their control. Both Milly Alcock and Emily Carey have discussed the complicated events that led their characters’ relationship to deteriorate.
[Spoiler Alert: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 1 Episode 4.]
Milly Alcock discusses how Rhaenyra and Alicent’s friendship fell apart
At the end of House of the Dragon Episode 2, King Viserys announces his intentions to marry Alicent Hightower. The next episode skips forward several years. Alicent is pregnant and her first son with Viserys is two years old. Rhaenyra behaves coldly toward her former best friend, as well as her father.
“I think fundamentally their relationship had completely deteriorated,” Rhaenyra actor Milly Alcock said during an episode of The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon.
“It’s like you picked a side, and it wasn’t me. You also didn’t have the balls to stand up for yourself. So she’s just angry. She’s angry at the world. She’s angry at everyone. She’s angry at her dad. She’s got a lot of rage and I think that [episode 3] especially explores that rage which was so much fun.”
Alicent and Rhaenyra find themselves in difficult situations
It’s worth noting that Alicent didn’t have much choice in becoming the new Queen. Her father, Otto Hightower, pushed Alicent to comfort Viserys after his wife Aemma’s death. Otto clearly intended for Alicent to become the apple of the King’s eye.
By episode 4, Rhaenyra embarks on an evening of debauchery where she kisses Daemon in a brothel and later sleeps with Ser Criston Cole. When rumors spread that Rhaenyra slept with her uncle, she swears to Alicent that they aren’t true.
Alicent believes Rhaenyra and defends her to Viserys, even going against what her father told the King. “It’s not Rhaenyra’s fault that she feels the need to rebel,” said Alicent actor Emily Carey in a featurette.
“It’s not Alicent’s fault that she married her dad and ruined this friendship unintentionally. Alicent is feeling completely stuck, and she doesn’t have any friends. She feels isolated and alone,” the actor continued.
Emily Carey doesn’t see Alicent as a villain
Some fans have pointed out that so far, House of the Dragon is portraying Alicent in a more sympathetic light than the books. During a panel shared by Deadline at the San Diego Comic-Con, Carey shared her thoughts on the character.
“I think she’s so multi-faceted. There’s so many layers to her. I think lot’s of people are expecting her to be the villain of the show already, but I think bringing her in younger, there was a lot more to explore. We were saying earlier as well that we didn’t really talk to our older counterparts because there’s such a huge character progression for both Alicent and Rhaenyra.”
House of the Dragon airs Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
