“Rhaenyra represents what she could never have”: Olivia Cooke on Alicent’s jealousy

Game of Thrones fans are all hyped up about the new prequel House of The Dragon. The show has received a lot of love so far, the World Premiere was attended and praised by some of the most renowned critics. Things are looking quite bright for the tale of the Targaryen family and those who were directly affected by the show’s two central characters, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower.

The Targaryen civil war is a tale of jealousy and betrayal, stemming from the clash in beliefs of the above-mentioned characters. Actress Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower in the prequel show, recently opened up about how much her character has changed during the course of the first season.

Cooke said in the latest episode of the Official Game of Thrones Podcast, “She feels like a fully-fledged queen. She has the heir to the King, but she also shares that with Rhaenyra. who she has a huge amount of resentment for. That resentment has snowballed over the past 10 years. She feels that Rhaenyra’s unseriousness and lack of duty and courtly conduct is severely lacking and disrespectful. In her mind, the mental real estate that this resentment holds is ginormous.”

She also goes on to talk about different ideologies between the two, “They both hold completely different ideologies in terms of how to rule a kingdom. And those two do not blend, like oil and water. And you know, there’s a lot of jealousy there for Alicent. You’re constantly having to look at someone who represents something that you could never have, and that’s power and freedom.”

“Rhaenyra’s ruling will be really progressive. But Alicent firmly sits in the patriarchy, where she feels that is the order of things and that’s how to rule a kingdom.”

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