The following article contains MAJOR spoilers for House of the Dragon.
Last Sunday’s episode ofHouse of the Dragonfeatured a lot of action involving fighting dragons, something we don’t see often in theGame of Thronesprequel. However, before thelethal dance of dragonsthat blew everyone’s minds in the third act,there was another surprising scene involving Alicent Hightower.
That scene featured a common practice in the series and one that Alicent has been shown to use in the past — just not on herself. The scene sent viewers into a social media frenzy that showed their outrage at one of the most divisive characters in the show. This is what happened during Alicent Hightower’s special “teatime.”
After Episode 3, everyone sort of knew Alicent wouldn’t do anything withthe information given by Rhaenyra. If she did, it would have made Aegon’s reign crumble because he’s certainly not the prince Viserys talked about on his deathbed. In Season 2, Episode 4, titled “The Red Dragon and the Gold,” things are still quite tense in King’s Landing. Aegon’s council members view the king with disdain because of his fruitless and desperate attempts to rule. Aemond’s presence at the table distresses Aegon when he’s unable to respond to his brother in High Valyrian. The only one who could restore order at that moment would have been their mother, Alicent. So, where was she?
House of the Dragon
Taking place about 172 years before the events ofGame of Thrones,House of the Dragontells the tale of the rise of the Targaryens, the only family of dragonlords to survive the Doom of Valyria. The popular HBO spinoff show first starred Milly Alcock and Emily Carey as Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower before they were replaced by Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who play the older versions of the characters. Also starring in the series is Matt Smith (Prince Daemon Targaryen) and Paddy Considine as Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys Targaryen.
As it turns out, Alicent isn’t present at the council because she’s busy in her room. Grand Maester Orwyle arrives at her quarters and gives her a small bottle wrapped in a cloth. We’ve seen this tea on previous occasions when the maesters specially brewed it as a method to stop pregnancies in their early stages. Moon tea is the name, and Alicent lets Orwyle know that she will deliver it to the innocent soul that needs it herself. However, when the maester leaves the room, we see Alicent drinking it. This means the predictions by some viewers were true: Her relationship withSer Criston Colehas resulted in pregnancy. It’s not clear if Alicent is terminating or preventing pregnancy, but in either case, it is still a key plot point, considering that the entire series' conflict depends on heirs.
Fans of the show were quick to react to Alicent’s teatime. Early on after the season premiere, when we found out Alicent and Criston had something going on, people were stunned and perplexed because Viserys had just died and Alicent was already sleeping with someone else. Chronology and time are secondary to the events in all of Westeros, so guessing how long the relationship has been going on is useless. Now that fans are aware that Alicent is using Moon Tea, it could mean that it has been taking place for some time. These are some of the reactions:
@mysariasmokes agrees with Alicent’s decision because it’s practical:
@melaninhunty adds some sense to the conversation:
@310princess_ believes it’s karma doing its thing:
Alicent is Still a Powerful Player in House of the Dragon
Many might’ve guessed that Alicent’s so-called pregnancy would have made the episode and heirs. Nevertheless, the only other thing that happens with Alicent’s “issue” is that Lord Larys Strong, the nosiest dude in King’s Landing, finds out about it when he comes to visit after she misses the council meeting. He looks at the moon tea cup and draws his own conclusions after seeing that Alicent isn’t feeling well at all due to the side effects of the drink. We know he has a fetish, and Alicent satisfies it somehow, but he’s much too evil to forget a piece of information that he could use in the future — especially one that could also be damaging to Alicent.
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InHouse of the Dragon,there’s almost always a plot development that undermines our predictions. Last Sunday’s episode had one of those:Aemond used his pet dragon to kill Rhaenysand potentially disabled his own brother, King Aegon. Ser Criston Cole looked very shaken when he saw the remains of a still-living Aegon (Aemond didn’t exactly seem regretful). When Alicent finds out about this, she will have to return to the council and offer some explanation for what inevitably will be Aemond’s hellish plans. The biggest question fans have at the moment is: What will happen if Aegon dies?. A question whose answers could all be influenced by Alicent if she knows how to play the game her own son just started.
New episodes ofHouse of the Dragonpremiere every Sunday on HBO and are available to stream on Max.
