Why does Alicent attack Rhaenyra with Aegon’s dagger?

Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship deteriorated significantly during the 10-year time jump. During the House of the Dragon episode 6 trailer, they are seen butting heads during a small council meeting. You could literally cut the tension with a knife. Alicent is also trying to upset Viserys against Rhaenyra by making her believe the rumor regarding the children of Princess Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon. Due to their dark hair, Ser Harwin Strong is rumored to be the real father of the three children. So it’s no surprise that Alicent wants Rhaenyra out of the way. But a clip in the trailer shows her making a much more drastic decision and it has something to do with Aemond Targaryen.

Queen Alicent attacks Princess Rhaenyra in House of the Dragon trailer

Alicent is seen attacking Princess Rhaenyra with Aegon’s Cat’s Paw Dagger while surrounded by a group of people. Rhaenyra manages to stop her just in time and hold her back. Meanwhile, Ser Criston Cole steps back and lets it go without even trying to intervene. We knew Criston would switch sides, but that’s quite the turn his character took. It is the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Ser Harrold who comes to his aid and rushes over. Even Daemon can be seen wanting to help Rhaenyra. However, he is stopped by three Kingsguards. So why exactly is Alicent attacking Rhaenyra in the first place? Well, there might be some kind of justifiable reason behind it.

Why is she attacking Rhaenyra with the cat’s paw dagger?

If you’ve seen brief shots of Aemond Targaryen in the House of the Dragon teasers and trailer, you’ve probably noticed his eye patch. Well, there’s a whole story behind it. The entire royal family, including King Viserys, Rhaenyra and her three children, and Queen Alicent and her sons Aegon and Aemond traveled to Driftmark to attend Laenor Velaryon’s funeral. Here, Aemond wanted to claim a dragon to prove himself to his father. So he chose Vaghar, the oldest and strongest dragon. Aemond escaped from the rest of the family and tried to climb on Vaghar. However, Rhaenyra’s youngest son, Prince Joffrey noticed this and started screaming. Aemond retaliated by slapping the 3-year-old and pushing him into dragon droppings.

Naturally, Joffrey went to see his older brother Lucerys and Jacaerys and recounted the events. The four boys got into a fight with their wooden practice swords. However, things really got worse when Aemond called them “strong boys”, which was obviously a dig for the three boys and Rhaenyra. This was a reference to the rumor that Rhaenyra had conceived her three boys with Ser Harwin Strong and not her husband Laenor Velaryon. The comment agitated Jacaerys who threw himself on Aemond. However, Aemond was an outstanding fighter and fighter even when he was just a young boy. He quickly managed to get the better of Jacaerys and began beating him black on blue. It was then that Lucerys stepped in to help her brother. He threw his dagger at Aemond and gouged out his eye.

An eye for an eye

Queen Alicent was supposed to be enraged by the situation. She told Viserys that Lucerys would also have to lose one of his eyes in return. However, Viserys being a kind man torn between his sons and grandsons, refused this request. This is where the trailer clip comes into play. Queen Alicent attacks Rhaenyra out of sheer rage and heartache for her son. However, it could also be that Alicent ran to attack Lucerys and cut out her eye, which was prevented by Rhaenyra. This would make his actions absolutely unjustifiable.

Additionally, Rhaenyra asked the King to investigate further how Aemond had heard of the rumor about her and Harwin Strong and wanted the source reprimanded. Unfortunately, the source was none other than Aemond’s older brother, Aegon. This probably spurred Alicent on even more. House of the Dragon is about to get even crazier!

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