Let's unpack the parallel paths of Rhaenyra and Alicent

1. Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) takes a break from political chess in House Of The Dragon’s latest episode. What choice does she have after getting pushed out of the Small Council by her rancorous son, Aemond, an act shocking to no one except perhaps Alicent herself? She doesn’t witness Silverwing’s joyride over King’s Landing or Aemond’s unsuccessful retaliation attempt with Vhagar. Instead, she goes on a solo camping trip to touch grass and avoid lying in a bed of her own making. Alcient has become the embodiment of the phrase “fuck around and find out” after, in a delicious bit of hypocrisy, she is treated pretty much how she treated her best-friend-turned-foe, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), deeply internalized misogyny and all.

It’s possible some viewers might find her swimming excursion to be a (splendidly filmed) waste of time that slows the story during a crucial hour. After all, in the Game Of Thrones, the penultimate installments were intensely action-packed. However, season two’s “An Army Of Bastards” offers some necessary insight into Alicent reckoning with the consequences of her actions. Rife with symbolism, including stripping herself out of the green clothes she’s synonymous with, each shot unpacks her state of mind as someone losing a war she helped start. Adrift and alone, an overtly religious Alicent might think she’s washing off her sins in the lake. (“Nothing is clean here,” she says while leaving the Red Keep. Scrubbing herself aggressively in the bathtub in an earlier episode didn’t do the trick.)

Meanwhile, Rhaenyra undergoes a doctrinal event of her own in the same hour. Her motivational speech helps the lowborn Targaryen bastards dive headfirst into the dragon pit (and to their fiery deaths). She gets a first-class view of the mass murder she inevitably orchestrated, and ultimately smiles when a dragon rider finally emerges at a perilous cost. After spending time at least attempting to be honorable, including reaching out to Alicent in—where else?—a place of worship, Rhaenyra has morphed into a fanatic driven by her vision to hold power. And with the new backing of multiple flying beasts, her ferocity will only grow. This is quite similar to what happened to her former BFF when she nabbed the throne and held more control via Aegon. Things might’ve seemed dire, but Alicent’s spirit reawakens when she spots a bird soaring through the sky from the lake, just as Rhaenyra’s eyes light up when Vermithor accepts a new rider. It seems to represent a clean slate. Yet the power dynamics shifting might not affect Alicent and Rhaenyra’s kindred connection in the future. 

Olivia Cooke and Emma D’Arcy in House Of The Dragon (Photo credit: Ollie Upton/HBO)

HOTD has always reinforced the idea that these two are victims of a wicked patriarchal society. Entwined since childhood, they’ve grown up in a space confined by walls and limitations, falling prey to what their fathers expected of them. Men made their decisions, manipulated and took advantage of them, binding them with growing pains and familial bonds. Rhaenyra and Alicent have inadvertently been pitted against each other, seeing this rivalry as their only option for survival. It’s hard not to empathize with that complicated dynamic while also accepting that, as adults, they’ve both done some evil shit. 

Their reactions to their seemingly doomed surroundings give the show an emotional spine in season two (way more than in the books). Rhaenyra has suffered great personal losses and is consistently met with roadblocks from the men around her. Meanwhile, Alicent ruled well in Viserys’ stead but has seemingly acquired no allies because she’s a mere woman. The dudes are ready to bend their knees for Aemond almost immediately, even if he has no political know-how and has proven himself to respond emotionally, not strategically. Rhaenyra might have tried by sneaking into the capital for that secret meetup, but there was no way to make peace, even if Alicent would’ve agreed because who would listen to her? 

Alicent’s experiences led her to a supreme sense of self before Aemond kicked her out. (It’s no surprise she secretly slept with Criston Cole, the exact thing she chastised her BFF about in season one.) And while she may try to make amends for her past, as seen by her protectiveness over Heleana, she’s the one who paved the way for her inept sons to take over the Iron Throne in the first place. Did she think prejudice wouldn’t come back to bite her as it always has for Rhaenyra? As for the latter, her crusade for a rightful claim has blinded her and led to plenty of deaths. 

It’s clear that in this particular game of thrones, at least for these two, there is going to be no winner.