Otto Hightower's daughter, and the Dowager Queen, Alicent, represents the Greens in House of the Dragon. She carries too many titles by virtue of her position. She is Aegon the Usurper King's mother, and Princess Rhaenyra's childhood companion, and stepmother. There's a rigid dichotomy between Alicent's role as the King's mother and Rhaenyra's old friend, so much so, that she is torn between motherhood and the desire to show mercy.

Alicent outrightly rejects Otto's suggestion to murder the King's daughter but has honorable peace terms sent to her instead. Things take an ugly turn only when Alicent's younger, Prince Aemond, murders Rhaenyra's secondborn, Lucerys Velaryon in the aftermath of a diplomatic mission in House of the Dragon's finale. Queen Rhaenyra in the official trailers means but fears war, while Alicent emphasizes caution. Alicent's character is overshadowed by her father, husband, and now, sons, but her story is interesting, nonetheless.

Related

House Of The Dragon Time Jumps, Explained

Here is how HBO's House of the Dragon intelligently paces the story with time jumps.

Who Is Alicent Hightower?

Otto Hightower's Daughter, Viserys I Targaryen's Wife And Aegon II's Mother

Otto faithfully serves Viserys' grandsire, the Old King Jaehaerys, during the last years of his rule. He is appointed to the position of Hand after Prince Baelon dies of appendicitis in 101 AC. Otto has also brought his daughter, Alicent, to court, who at some point becomes close friends with Viserys' daughter, Princess Rhaenyra.

Born in the year 88 AC, Alicent remains Otto's only daughter, among several sons. The show's canon features Alicent's only known brother (in lore), Ser Gwayne, at the Heir's Tournament. The siblings have a role to play in the upcoming Dance of the Dragons, with Alicent acting as the Dowager Queen and Gwayne as the second-in-command of the City Watch of King's Landing. Alicent in lore, tends to the Old King Jaehaerys during his last days. She strikes up a friendship with him in 103 AC, to the point that the dying king mistakes her for his daughter, Saera Targaryen. The Old King passes away during their reading time together.

Who Is Alicent Hightower In Love With?

Alicent gives Daemon a flirtatious smile as he asks for her favor after unhorsing Gwayne Hightower at the Heir's Tournament. Otto is clearly spurned, but Alicent wishes her father's bitter rival good luck. This exchange at the beginning of House of the Dragon could be perceived as a nod to the court fool Mushroom's telling of Alicent's tryst with Prince Daemon Targaryen. Mushroom's perspective is one of the three that make Fire & Blood, and he claims that Alicent lost her virginity to Prince Daemon. Moreover, Mushroom says that Alicent and Jaehaerys' bond was seemingly innocent, suggesting that she was more than the King's caretaker. House of the Dragon disregards Mushroom's commentary on Alicent's maidenhood in order to fit her character within the mold of "the Pawn" TV trope. Everything Alicent does is for the greater good of the realm, the family, the kingdom, and the law. That said, she exchanges a glance with the mystery knight at the tourney, whom she calls "a Cole of the Stormlands." Cole asks for the favor of Princess Rhaenyra after defeating Prince Daemon in a joust. He briefly looks Alicent in the eye, and she is in awe of him.

"Gods. He's Dornish!"

By House of the Dragon season 1, episode 5 "We Light the Way," Rhaenyra has lost her maidenhood to Criston Cole, and rejected his proposal to run off. The Kingsguard Cole is a spurned lover, living with the guilt of breaking his vow of celibacy. He is driven by hate, and lives for Queen Alicent, helping her in every way possible. He favors the Queen's children over Rhaenyra's at sparring sessions, but their relationship is platonic. Though House of the Dragon doesn't make Alicent and Criston Cole's arrangement explicit, their platonic love is strongly implied. In the hours after Viserys' death, Alicent trusts no one but Criston Cole to fetch her missing son, Prince Aegon, from the city. Alicent whispers into his ear, "Everything you feel for me..." but tilts the tone by adding, "... as your Queen."

"I will not fail you," replies Criston Cole.

In the TV adaptation, Alicent's story is spiced with shocking incidents, the first and foremost of which is her putting her feet out for Lord Larys Strong. The "clubfoot" lord is infatuated with her feet, in that, he looks at them for gratification. This is the royalty that Alicent pays for Larys' loyalty, indicating that even the most powerful have to bend to someone's will in the complex politics of Westeros. Alicent may call the shots after Viserys' death, but structures in the Westerosi society, precedents, laws, and relationships impede her agency. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen mocks Alicent for toiling "in service to men."

Your father. Your husband. Your son. You desire not to be free but to make a window in the wall of your prison. Have you never imagined yourself on the Iron Throne?

Why Does King Viserys Targaryen Choose Lady Alicent Hightower?

Viserys sanctions the forcible mutilation and death of his wife, Queen Aemma Arryn, in childbed at Grand Maester Mellos' suggestion. Mellos believes that Viserys' child can be saved, but either way, Aemma has no chance of survival. The infant boy (Baelon) lives a day, and Viserys becomes a widower, making him eligible to be remarried. Otto takes advantage of the tragedy and pushes his daughter, Alicent, forward without even giving anyone else a proper chance to broker a marriage. Alicent meets the king secretively, feigns sympathy, and manages to ensnare him for the time being. Other great Houses in the realm, such as the Velaryons, hardly have time, and no strong matches to put forward. Viserys does meet with the twelve-year-old Laena Velaryon in House of the Dragon season 1, episode 2 "The Rogue Prince," but he cannot go ahead with it. He announces his marriage to Lady Alicent Hightower and in doing so, antagonizes his daughter, Rhaenyra, who feels betrayed.

Viserys likes Alicent from the get-go. She is pleasing, attractive, and of the age. On the surface, she makes an excellent match, but her and Viserys' marital union means trouble for the realm. In marrying Alicent, Viserys risks the crown's relationship with House Velaryon but calls her "a calculated distraction" when she sees through Otto's plans to replace Rhaenyra with his grandchild.

Alicent is a mere pawn in Otto's hands, and he uses her at the right time. She feels trapped and desires to be seen and heard, just as Rhaenyra does. She detests that the King's heir has the agency to choose her life partner at a time and age when duty and family were impressed upon her by her father. Alicent did not desire to become Queen but wanted to reclaim her freedoms until House of the Dragon episode 5. Thereafter, she is truly in chains of duty and family. She had to succumb to her father's diktats and do what he thought was best for her them.

What Happens To Alicent Hightower?

Aegon may wear the crown, but Alicent is the face of the Greens. The Dance of the Dragons, among other things, ensued because of everything the Dowager Queen had to sacrifice for her children and whatever the Princess took by her privilege. After Viserys' death, Alicent calculates the cost of the war and rejects Otto's counsel to have Rhaenyra and her kin murdered. She sends honorable peace terms through her envoys to Rhaenyra. Now that war is certain, she stands fiercely behind her son and advises her faction to exercise caution. Prince Aemond in the Final Trailer, accuses Alicent of holding love for the enemy while she wants to end the "senseless war." She sounds persistently hopeless in various House of the Dragon trailers, and remarks in the Official Green Trailer:

All my life I have endeavored to serve both my House and the realm, and somehow... none of it matters.

How Does Alicent Hightower Die in The Books?

Alicent is arrested by the Velaryons after King Aegon II/ Aegon the Elder is mysteriously poisoned. The Lord of Winterfell, Cregan Stark, sentences the conspirators behind the poisoning and Alicent's arrest to death.

Rhaenyra dies before Alicent in 130 AC, while the latter survives the Hour of the Wolf, Aegon III's coronation, and his wedding to Aegon the Elder's daughter, Princess Jaehaera. The King's Hand, Tyland Lannister, has her confined to Maegor's Holdfast because she opposes the very idea of a reconciliation between the Greens and the Blacks. She does not attend the wedding of her granddaughter's wedding to Rhaenyra's son, Aegon the Younger/ Aegon III. Attended by a Septa, maids, and guards, she weeps and laments everything that went down in the war. Alicent Hightower breaths her last in her chambers during the epidemic of Winter Fever in 133 AC.

Otto Hightower wouldn't have been where he currently is, if it wasn't for Alicent Hightower. She rightly remarks that she was "a piece" that her father moved about the board.

House of the Dragon - season 2 premieres at 9 p.m. ET Sunday, June 16 on HBO.

House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon is HBO's prequel series to Game of Thrones. Set hundreds of years earlier, the show follows the inner machinations and rivalries of the Targaryen royal family. The show was created by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin, and stars Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Rhys Ifans, and Olivia Cooke.

More

House Of The Dragon: The Life Of Viserys Targaryen, Explained

Viserys I was the last of the strong Targaryen kings, but how did he die in House of the Dragon?