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Why did Alicent go to the Kingswood? House of the Dragon director Loni Peristere explains

Director Loni Peristere talks about Alicent’s state of mind.

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Alicent in the woods
Credit: Theo Whiteman/HBO

In the podcast Still Watching: House of the Dragon, director Loni Peristere discusses the seventh episode of Season Two, titled “An Army of Bastards,” which he directed. Hosts Richard, Chris, and Hillary spoke to him about Alicent’s journey to the Kingswood. Peristere shared insights into how he portrayed Alicent’s emotional state and the symbolism behind her actions.

Read More: George R. R. Martin says The Winds of Winter will reveal how and why Targaryens were able to bond with dragons

Director Loni Peristere talks about Alicent going to the Kingswood in episode 7

house of the dragon

Photograph by Theo Whiteman/HBO

In the podcast, Peristere explained Alicent’s emotional state and the struggles she is facing. He said:

“She can feel the pressure from all sides. She’s getting pushed out by everyone and there’s nowhere to run. And so when we started looking around for those spaces, we started to think about, okay, where wouldn’t I be seen? Where would I have run as a child, and I would have taken the horse and I would have run as fast as I could into the woods. And then as soon as I ran that far enough away that I didn’t feel like my mom was looking over my back, I would slow down. And it’s a place where I could literally have that alone time to make a decision.”

Read More: “She’s expecting a surrender”: Emma D’Arcy on Rhaenyra’s plans after expanding the Blacks’ weaponry

Loni Peristere talks about creating Alicent’s Kingswood scene

Alicent on the shore of a creek

Photograph by Theo Whiteman/HBO

Peristere went on to talk about his vision for the scene and how it evolved from the original concept. He explained:

“And I really wanted it also to be not the best day. In fact, like I remember when David wrote it, it was like kind of this idealistic day, in this beautiful meadow and she’s very Ophelia-like, like a ghost kind of passing through the light. And I actually kind of wanted it to be the opposite. I wanted it to be like, it would be beautiful, but it’s shitty and it’s raining and it’s cold. And yet that doesn’t matter.”

“And I wanted to create that sense of ambiguity about what she’s doing and where she’s going so that the audience starts to feel nervous in this silent cinema as she sees the lake, which for her could be the end or it could be a baptism. And we don’t know. I wanted everyone to go right back into that classic painting, right back into Hamlet.”

Peristere also discussed the powerful underwater shot of Olivia Cooke. He said:

“And when we have that shot underwater of Olivia’s beautiful red hair kind of moving into the camera, I wanted everyone to say, she’s gone. And then she moves and she opens her eyes. And then there’s this magical thing that happens where you see what she’s seeing and she sees the bird in the sky. And you’re like, she’s free as a bird. She’s as free as a bird. It was so wonderfully done. And you absolutely hit the nail on the head of read the gray area because Richard thought that she was gone and I thought that she was having a baptism. So we really split the difference.”

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Ved Prabhudesai is an avid enthusiast of all things pop culture. He has a special interest in the field of animation and art, with a background in Fine Arts and Digital Media Arts. He has begun his first into the field of Entertainment Journalism with Wiki of Thrones, and has been writing for them since 2023. He also has experience working as a screenplay writer, animator and comic book artist. His hobbies include holding discussions and organising events focused around pop culture, dissecting the importance of media in today's world. He began reading A Song Of Ice And Fire shortly before Game of Thrones debuted on HBO. He has followed the series religiously and has spent hours reading Wikis learning about Targaryen history and possible plot points we will see in the Winds of Winter.

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