House of the Dragon brings a lot of new people into the Game of Thrones world. The Targaryen family, who sits on the Iron Throne, is in the middle. But even they are different from what we’ve seen before, and their history is marked by new friends and foes.
The series is mostly about three main families: the Targaryens, who fly with their dragons, the Velaryons, who rule the sea, and the Hightowers, who are one of the oldest families and are very important to keeping things stable. There is peace in the kingdom.
In this story, the Hightowers come into play because Otto (Rhys Ifans) is an advisor to King Viserys I (Paddy Considine). King Viserys I’s daughter, Alicent, who later becomes one of the Hightowers, marries Otto’s second wife, who is also his daughter. the reasons why the Targaryens lose power and everything ends in a bloody Civil War in which thousands of people die.
Alicent is queen and the mother of the king’s children, but the fact that Viserys has a daughter from his first marriage, Rhaenyra Targaryen, causes her a lot of trouble.
Who plays Alicent Hightower on the series?
Olivia Cooke is the actress behind Alicent Hightower. She has won IMDB Awards, been nominated at many international festivals and awards, and even been in an Amazon Prime movie that got multiple Oscar nominations in 2021.
We remember Cook as Emma Decody from Bates Motel, but she was also in Sound of Metal, Modern Love, Slow Horses, a great spy thriller on Apple TV+, and Thoroughbreds with Anya Taylor-Joy.
Who is Alicent Hightower, why is she important in House of the Dragon?
Before Aegon came to power, Oldtown, where the Hightowers come from, was the most powerful city in the realm. King’s Landing was built after The Conqueror won his battles.
Otto Hightower, who was Hand of the King to both King Jaehaerys I and King Viserys I, gave birth to Alicent Hightower. When King Viserys I’s first wife, with whom he had Rhaenyra, died, he started looking for a second wife. He found Alicent, with whom he had four children: Aegon, Helaena, Aemond, and Daeron.
Alicent was like a partner to King Jaehaerys, and he thought she was one of his daughters, according to A Wiki of Ice and Fire, so Viserys thought it made sense for her to be his wife.
Trouble started when Viserys decided to name his successor. Instead of choosing his son Aegon, as was the custom, he chose Rhaenyra, which led to the deaths of Alicent and her oldest son, Aegon. Take the throne and go to war with Rhaenyra. This is what started the Dance of the Dragons.
The kingdom was split in two: those who supported Rhaenyra Targaryen and those who thought Aego should stay on the throne. This led to the idea of the Greens, who supported Alicent, and the Blacks, who supported Rhaenyra’s right to the throne.
On the other hand, Alicent never got along well with Viserys’s younger brother Daemon Targaryen, who married Rhaenyra after her husband died. Daemon was also on the side of the Velaryon, another powerful family involved in the civil war between the Targaryens.
Alicent’s allies include Criston Cole, who was first a friend of Rhaenyra’s and then became Lord Commander of the Kingsguard. He helped her come up with her plans, and it is what happens next that leads to battle.
