Dragon House became more exciting with the release of each episode. The series has released its five episodes and five more remain. It has depicted several conflicts and wars so far. One of the most interesting storylines follows two best friends, Rhaenyra and Alicent Hightower. Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower were introduced as inseparable best friends in the first episode. However, their friendship is soon broken when Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys, decides to marry Alicent after his wife’s death.
The two characters even drift apart as the show progresses and after Alicent gives birth to a son. Rhaenyra, who was declared heiress, feared that Alicent’s son would cause her to lose the throne. While Alice fears the same for her son. As the show progressed, many concluded that Alicent would be the main villain. However, there is a part of the population that defends the character of being victims of medieval patriarchy.
Read more: House Of The Dragon Star Milly Alcock Thinks ‘Rhaenyra vs. Alicent’ Online Reactions Are ‘f***ing Ironic’
Alicent Hightower in the House of the Dragon
Since the first episode of the series, Alicent Hightower has been portrayed as a dominant character. She follows her father’s orders when he asks her to accompany him amid the death of his queen. Otto Hightower succeeds in his intentions when the King announces his decision to marry Alicent Hightower.
Emily Carey as Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon
She marries King Viserys, which causes a rift in her relationship with her best friend, Rhaenyra. Even after all of this, she has a major role in the events leading up to the Dance of the Dragons.
However, fans of the show have begun to defend the character, claiming that the men of Westeros are the real villains of their medieval patriarchy. Fans call out the trolls who denounce Alicent for marrying King Viserys. They pointed out that people should look for the political angle instead of taking it as a soap opera.
House of the Dragon fans defend Alicent Hightower
A discussion took place on Twitter about whether the character is the victim or the villain. In the argument to marry King Viserys, fans said Alice had no choice. Alicent was bound to obey her father and King Viserys after her marriage.
Alicent Hightower and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen
They also explained that she didn’t have the privilege of being a princess like Rhaenyra. Fans said that Alicent couldn’t afford to rebel because the consequences for her would be different than for Rhaenyra.
People also pointed out the politics on the show with how Rhaenyra becomes friends with Alicent again just for politics.
As if she had a choice 😂
— [email protected] (@jamaraehopkins) September 19, 2022
However, there is no doubt that politics has a huge role in the series and must be taken into account when judging the characters. Alicent Hightowers is trolled from the very first episode for marrying King Viserys. But trolling a character’s actions just because it’s a woman can’t be justified.
The prequel show is steeped in political decisions about how things play out like in the real England of the 15th and 16th centuries. This is how the monarchy was with the way marriages were arranged and wars started. It does well to pay attention to the history of the world.
— ☮️✨🎃🍂 (@HMUA416) September 20, 2022
also acting like she had a choice..
when episode 4 in particular made it incredibly clear she’s basically been married for years now.. obviously she doesn’t want to sleep with him or doesn’t want to???— sha (@elumaxluv) September 19, 2022
People even argued that Alicent Hightower was being trolled for being a woman and doing something she had no control over. However, if the roles had been swapped with a male character, none of this would have happened.
The internet really loves to shit on a “bad” female but doesn’t have the same energy towards men who constantly do bad things. Since episode 1 they already hate Alicent even though she hasn’t done anything yet, all because she did what her father told her
— … (@idlelize) September 19, 2022
And it’s so boring 😭 like don’t you remember this is a show where politics plays a big role
— Outer Aura (@thatfunnyguy_a) September 19, 2022
Read more: ‘They both married gay men and said ‘You do’”: House of the Dragon fans call Rhaenyra Targaryen a real scheming queen after episode 5, compare her to Margaery Tyrell
Milly Alcock and Emily Carey talk about their characters
Milly Alcock plays Rhaenyra and Emily Carey plays Alicent Hightower in Dragon House. Milly Alcock pointed out in one of her interviews how ridiculous and ironic fans pitting her character against that of Emily Carey were.
She says, “Because I think the irony that I kind of found over the course of the series coming out is that House of the Dragon highlights yes, patriarchy, yes, misogyny, but also internalized misogyny which these two women are forced to face. They are forced to be put at odds with each other by the choices of men.”
Speaking about her character, Emily Carey said in an interview that she was happy with the show’s reaction. She also says that any hate going forward is for the character and she’s moving on. But sometimes it can be overwhelming. She says“I love the buzz, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes it can be overwhelming, and that’s me being completely transparent.”
She also said she had to delete her Twitter account because it was too loud. She said she also needed a break from social media for the sake of her mental health.
Dragon House Episode 6 will air on HBO on September 25. All five episodes of the show are available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: Twitter
