House of the Dragon owes Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship more

Only nine episodes are required to complete the series. Game of Thrones Prequel House of the DragonIt has covered much ground over a period of decades. There have been many characters who have aged multiple times. A half-dozen children have been born. Rhaenyra, the heir to Rhaenyra, has been fake widowed several times and then remarried twice in as little as a couple of hours on TV. The showrunners made smart decisions about how to present large periods of time, and laid the foundation for the Targaryen succession battle.

As a result, Alicent and Rhaenyra — perhaps the central relationship of the show — have precious few scenes together after the first episode, making the reasons for their falling-out-turned-civil-war at times maddeningly unclear: What Was Alicent’s deal with Rhaenyra? Why did she? So mad about her former friend’s sexual exploits? Why didn’t Rhaenyra just tell Alicent the truth about sleeping with Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel)? Do they love each other? House of the Dragon succeeds in bringing the rote history of George R. R. Martin’s Fire & BloodThe conflict is brought to life by the film, however it fails in revealing the motives of both women involved.

Within the first ten minutes of the program, we are reminded of how important this bond is and the intimacy between these young ladies. Rhaenyra is seen getting up from her dragon to walk towards a carriage. Alicent then waits for her to follow her. Later, they stroll casually through the Red Keep arm-in-arm, and Rhaenyra fantasizes about flying together on dragonback while lying in Alicent’s lap under a weirwood tree. This relationship is more than a duty between handmaidens and princesses. As the season unfolds, and as we get closer to the fight for the crown, the details start getting murkier.

Fire & Blood, Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship sours on the basis of politics. They’re both vying for the Iron Throne and, therefore, become enemies — simple. There’s likely more to the story, beyond the purview of the in-book narrators who can only observe so much. At its heart, however, the fissure is about power and simplicity. You can find it here. House of the Dragon, showrunners Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal elaborate on that source material by imagining what the pair’s intimate relationship was like, inserting an array of personal clashes into the story. The first of these blows to the friendship is Alicent’s marriage to Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys. Prompted by her own father and Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, Alicent consoles the king as he grieves his wife’s death, winning his favor. But she simultaneously acts as Rhaenyra’s main confidante as the latter worries about challenges to her claim on the throne. This seems to be a conflict of interests. Rhaenyra, who is obviously hurt by the engagement, feels blindsided.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

In the following episodes their relationship will change. Their warmth and closeness is replaced by cold and distant. But because of the time jumps, we don’t get to see how. What’s more, after the first three episodes aired, Greg Yaitanes, director of “The Rogue Prince” and “Second of His Name”, revealed that a few key moments between Alicent and Rhaenyra had been cut. These cut scenes feature a violent fight between the pair after Viserys announced his intent to wed Alicent and Rhaenyra helping her friend dress for her wedding. This seems like pretty crucial content to ax: We don’t know how Rhaenyra feels after her father’s declaration of marriage or what of those feelings she shared with Alicent. We don’t know what terms they were on during the wedding. We’re also ignorant of how Alicent responded to Rhaenyra’s confrontation and how shereacted to her engagement. They are not necessary. But these gaps diminish our insight into the pair’s dynamic as it evolves.

In episode 4, Rhaenyra and Alicent nearly make amends, telling each other how they’ve missed one another, but it’s just a blip (one of many). The next nail in the coffin for their relationship is Rhaenyra’s night of sexual escapades, first in a brothel with her uncle, and later sleeping with Ser Criston. When Alicent catches wind of the rumor, she’s furious… for reasons the audience is never fully given. And when she later learns Rhaenyra didn’t sleep with Daemon (Matt Smith), but with Ser Criston, Alicent seems devastated.

Part of her anger can be explained by her father Otto’s (Rhys Ifans) dismissal as Hand as a result of bringing the rumors to the king. However, her rage is directed at Rhaenyra, not her husband, and seems to be more about her friend’s actions themselves, rather than their ramifications. By the fifth episode, viewers understand that Alicent is pious, dutiful, and trapped in a marriage where sex is an obligation, not a pleasure — which is juxtaposed starkly with Rhaenyra’s brothel antics. But without additional context about Alicent’s values, and joint screen time to develop the women’s relationship as it shifts and crumbles, the Green Queen’s level of indignation doesn’t land: Is Alicent really declaring war because her friend had sex?

Later, and with additional pushing from her power-hungry father, placing her son on the Iron Throne becomes Alicent’s driving force. But when taken at face value, her anger seems to be more of a reaction to Rhaenyra’s exploration of her sexuality, ultimately amounting to slut-shamey pearl clutching. Compared to the princess’ response when Alicent marries her dad — arguably a bigger, more pointed slight than having sex before marriage — the degree of Alicent’s distress feels disproportionate to the complaint, court politics or no.

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Photo: Ollie Upton/HBO

Milly alcock and Emily carey (who play Rhaenyra in the series’ first five episodes) have repeatedly confirmed their romantic connections. They are not close or platonic, but they were able to portray them as such. In a conversation with The New York Times, Carey said, “As a queer person myself, I read an undertone in the script that I knew could be played.”

Are Alicent and Rhaenyra really in love? That would explain a lot, particularly Alicent’s rage. This is a decision made by the actors and not a hypothesis that writers or creators deliberately inserted. As Carey clarified in the interview: “I don’t think Ryan Condal sat there writing a Sapphic drama.” Maybe he should have! To make sense and reinforce the foundation of the show, the performers and the viewers create the context. House of the Dragon’s core conflict. Without this backstory, Alicent’s motives feel insufficient, and her anger rings hollow.

By injecting Martin’s record of Targaryen ancestry with a deeper humanity — relationships, disputes, untold secrets — the showrunners have created interesting characters out of one-dimensional historical figures. However, the canonical succession struggle and these new interpersonal dynamics don’t always mesh. And time and time again, it’s Alicent who bears the brunt of such imperfect changes. In the context of a larger fight over who will rule Westeros, Alicent cutting off a childhood friend because she slept with someone seems petty and vindictive, and the narrative doesn’t make space to explore this further.

When the characters age up in episode 6, viewers are once more left to fill in the gaps themselves to understand how Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship has changed. And it seems clear from the writing of Alicent’s early scenes that the wound of their division has calcified at least partially because she still has a problem with Rhaenyra’s sex life. Speaking to the co-president of the “I hate Rhaenyra because she fucks” club, Ser Criston, Alicent comments, “I have to believe that in the end, honor and decency will prevail,” referring to her former friend’s extramarital affairs and resulting children with Harwin Strong.

An episode later, Alicent’s anger comes to a head when she slashes Rhaenyra with the infamous Catspaw Dagger after a brawl between their sons results in one of them losing an eye. “What have I done but what was expected of me?” Alicent yells. “Forever upholding the kingdom, the family, the law, while you flout all to do as you please. Is there any duty? Is there any sacrifice? It’s trampled under your pretty foot again.” With these lines, the writers finally offer viewers a glimpse into Alicent’s feelings: envy, nostalgia, bitterness. However, it’s too late.

After yet another time jump in episode 8, Alicent and Rhaenyra are once again on the precipice of reconciling (it’s enough to give you whiplash), but the brief truce undercuts Alicent all the more. Her convictions seem to be flexible and she can change them at will. It reinforces the unsubstantial nature of her anger and the additional development that needed to happen to make Alicent’s motives less flimsy.

It’s episode 9, “The Green Council,” where House of the Dragon really takes the time to shed light on Alicent’s wounded nature. Alicent, as a mother and wife and queen, has seen it all and emerged from the experience jaded and isolated. Although Rhaenyra isn’t in the episode at all, the absence of their relationship is felt more profoundly than at almost any point in the series before.

Rhaenyra and Alicent’s relationship is the most compelling part of House of the Dragon —and the most annoying. They are the Targaryen matriarchs and have set the stage for the main conflict. These two women are the foundation of the series, yet it neglects them. Showrunners raced through season one at warp speed in order to establish a war which, by episode 9, was just beginning. They also added a new story. They forgot the core of the show and built the central conflict on unstable ground.