House of the Dragon paired King Viserys (Paddy Considine) with Alicent Hightower before Olivia Cooke played her. Emily Carey played the young Alicent who Viserys took as a bride after his wife died in childbirth. Now that Alicent has settled into her role as queen, Cooke debated her feelings for Viserys.
Cooke was a guest on the House of the Dragon podcast on Oct. 2. She suspected Alicent’s true feelings towards the king are complicated. New episodes of House of the Dragon premiere Sundays on HBO Max.
Yes, Alicent loves King Viserys on ‘House of the Dragon’
Even though Alicent was a teenager when Viserys married her and they had their first child, Cooke believes love has grown between them.
“I think so,” Cooke said on the House of the Dragon podcast. “I think she’s got a genuine love for Viserys. I think a fondness and a love has really grown but I think that’s also because they’ve had these children but also Alicent is almost like a primary caretaker for Viserys now in his various ailments.”
Respect is another question entirely
Cooke questioned whether Alicent respects the king. She’s been in the kingdom long enough to see how things really work.
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“But I don’t know if she respects him,” Cooke said. “I don’t know if she thinks that he’s the best ruler. I think she thinks he’s too soft and that’s probably because of the way he handles his relationship with Rhaenyra and that he’s so blinded by his love for his children that he doesn’t see their wrongdoings.”
There are a lot of factors here. One, how can you respect a guy who marries a teenager? Then, Rhaenyra will always be his daughter. How does Alicent cope with that? It already came to a head in episode 7 when Alicent pulled a knife, and this is only season 1 so expect rivalries to get even more vicious.
Alicent is discovering her power on ‘House of the Dragon’
Even though Alicent is the queen and bore sons for Viserys, she knows he intends to turn the throne over to Rhaenyra when he dies. So, Alicent is finding her own ways to exercise her power.
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I think originally there’d been a willful naivete of how much power she wields with these men. I think with Larys when they had that discussion in episode 6 towards the end about Rhaenyra and my father and the current hand, I think she’s pushing boundaries. I think she’s saying things and seeing what sticks with Larys. I don’t think she ever thinks he’s then going to murder his family to show his loyalty or to further his position in the kingdom. I don’t think she thinks he’s capable of that but of course, I think she’s seeing who she’s got on side and seeing what people can do for her. And then after that in episode 7, she realizes oh my God, the power that she holds. I think she thinks she has the best ideas. She’s learned from the best, she’s learned from her father. She knows how to wield power and she’s very adept at the goings on of the court and the kingdom. She’s been around it since she’s a baby.
Olivia Cooke, House of the Dragon podcast, 10/2/22
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