We are in the middle of Westeros’ wedding season, and yet another Joffery has been murdered. When it came to midseason peaks, House of the Dragon delivered in spades. Explosions in Season 5’s “We Light the Way” come from atypical locations. After being pushed to his breaking point, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) isn’t the only one who loses it. Emily Carey’s Alicent Hightower has had enough of everyone’s falsehoods and has decided to rebel in her own quiet manner. What drove her to snap is revealed in a new special feature. Like Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner), Alicent is the devoted daughter of the Hand of the King, who has married for status but is too naive to see that her father’s position might be “taken” because of her misguided faith. After Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) leaves, he tells her straight out that she needs to take charge or be prepared to perish in this game of thrones. Ifans interprets this as him saying, “I’m terrified for you and I love you. But we just don’t have the language to express that here.”
Certainly, the parting moment between a father and daughter is the most genuine display of emotion we’ve seen between the couple throughout the series, and it’s really moving. Carey adds, “It’s a lot for her to try to comprehend because it’s a dialogue that she wasn’t anticipating” when Alicent bids farewell to Otto. In addition, I doubt she regularly sees her dad in this light. Characters like them have a hard time letting their guards down. And yet, right now, there’s a desperate longing.” She goes on to admit that Alicent is naïve since she doesn’t want him to go at this time, but she believes what Viserys (Paddy Considine) and Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) have said, and “more than anything else, that duty portion of her mind screams “this is the proper thing. This is exactly what must occur. Writer Ryan Condal describes this episode as Alicent’s “coming out,” with Otto asking her, “Who you are going to be with me not here to lead your way?” In earlier episodes, we saw Alicent come to terms with the manipulation that preceded her marriage to the king, which left her feeling lonely and dissatisfied. Yet, it appears that the final straw was discovering Rhaenyra’s dishonesty that led to her father’s resignation. In the end, “she’s absolutely alone,” says director Clare Kilner. She must look within herself to discover her own character. Finally, she said, “Sometimes that’s what it takes, rage and betrayal, and then people come out of the ashes of that and realise who they are.”
Alicent loses it when “she learns she’s been lied to by Rhaenyra and tries to make a statement about where her allegiances are,” as explained by co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik. She arrives late to dinner, dressed in green, and towers above the other diners (like a high tower) in a room full of dragons as a quiet protest. Alicent is an observer, but contrary to popular belief, Carey confesses that she hates being watched. She finally has a royal appearance. An extremely cryptic message was sent when Kilner used the terms “rebellious, forceful, and powerful” to describe Alicent’s mental condition. This is how Carey summarises it: There’s no reason for her to come in here and yell at Rhaenyra. Simply by virtue of the outfit she is wearing, we can draw our own conclusions. She was born and raised in the Hightower household. She is acting on behalf of her dad. This is her way of saying, “F*ck you. For what it’s worth, I know the truth and I know my position.
On September 25th, we will be able to see the sixth episode of House of the Dragon.