When Olivia Cooke, who portrays Alicent Hightower on House of the Dragon, touched down in Paris a few weeks ago to promote the HBO show, she was embarrassed. She was looking at large structures being assembled, and found herself in disbelief of the fuss they seemingly went to for the show’s French premiere. But then it dawned on her. “We’d just got off a flight and were like, “Oh my God. This is all for us. How embarrassing,’” she tells me over Zoom. “But then we were like, “Oh, it’s the f-cking Paris Olympics. Get a grip!’” And, to be fair, Cooke can easily be forgiven for the mistake. HBO’s marketing team has gone above and beyond to promote this season, including turning the exterior of New York’s Empire State building green, and coiling a 270 ft. replica of the feared dragon Vhagar around the building’s mast. Cooke got to enjoy the moment with her castmates: “It was such a hilarious day. What a job.” House of the Dragon is one of the most talked-about TV shows of the year, with a recent episode hitting record viewing numbers for the series.
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While Cooke has been enjoying the moment, her on-screen character Alicent is in an entirely different headspace. Cooke and I meet the day before Episode 7 is set to air. Alicent’s appearance in the hour-long penultimate episode is fleeting, but significant. We see her more isolated than ever before, and although it might seem as though her position is weak, she’s in fact strategically plotting her next move.
TIME delved into the episode with Cooke, discussing Alicent’s precarious position, her complex relationships with various key players, and what’s coming up in the hotly-anticipated finale.
TIME: Let’s discuss Alicent’s position in Episode 7. Feeling discarded and despondent, she’s left the castle and ventured into the Kingswood with only one guard, and says she’s unsure about whether she intends to return. It feels like a pivotal moment for Alicent. Would you agree?
Cooke: Yes. Alicent needs to get out of King’s Landing to figure out the longevity of her house, family, and herself. The longevity of her life and her daughter’s [Helaena] life, and how sustainable it is at this point. She needs to be able to plot without Aemond looming, and without being used as a chess piece. She’s gone off to try and make all of these humongous decisions that will impact the regency, possibly, forever. Alicent saying, “I’m not yet certain I do” [when asked when she intends on returning to the city] is actually her saying “I don’t know what will be in my future after the course of what I’m about to do.”
I always came at the narrative as a point of Alicent’s liberation. She’s not useful to Aemond or Aegon anymore, so she can sort of move within the shadows because she’s not being monitored 24/7.
Read More: What to Know About Rhaenyra’s New Dragonriders and If More Are on the Way
It’s incredibly difficult to merely exist as a woman in House of the Dragon, let alone thrive. Alicent is denied the opportunity to serve as Queen Regent and is later removed from the small council altogether, with Aemond advising her to spend her time on “domestic” pursuits instead. Even Rhaenyra, who is the Queen, has to contend with her male council talking over and around her.
The patriarchy is at full force. I think Alicent, naively, thought she could bypass it because they are her own kin. But she’s still seen for her gender, and her gender only. It’s funny watching Rhaenyra’s journey, as we’re all so separated during filming. Seeing Emma [Rhaenyra] in their small council chambers, and how she is just so overlooked and underutilized within those walls, it’s so frustrating.
It’s an issue on House of the Dragon—a fantasy world based many, many years ago—yet there are parallels to now.
Yes! With Kamala [Harris] being announced as the [presumptive presidential] nominee the other day. People were just ready to spout all this disgusting, misogynistic hate. It was just right at the tip of their tongues, ready to come out. You think, “God. Have we moved along at all?”
In Episode 7, we see Alicent remove her outer dress and enter the lake, floating on her back as she looks up at the sky. There’s no dialogue, yet it’s an incredibly powerful moment, and it seems to be cleansing for her.
There’s a theme with her feeling shamed and unclean throughout the season. We saw Alicent with Ser Criston Cole and what happened in the aftermath of her being romantically involved with him. She never felt pure from that moment on. There’s this compulsion to scrub her skin raw in order to purge the rot from what she did and how she feels she is to blame. This felt like a baptism. Stripping the outer layer, and that f-cking collar [laughs]. Her getting into the lake on her own is embryonic, in a way. It’s weirdly a coming-of-age moment for Alicent—the start of the rest of her life, what she’s about to do, and the woman she’s possibly about to become.
I had somewhat forgotten that Alicent had another son: Daeron, who was mentioned earlier this season. We see Alicent talking about him to her brother, who tells her that Daeron is “kind.” Something Alicent notes will set him apart from his brothers. Is Daeron someone we can expect to hear more about and even perhaps soon meet?
It’s not a flippant mention. He’s mentioned for a reason in this season, for sure. I think that’s all I can say, really. I found that scene really beautiful to film, because it’s another moment for Alicent to reflect on what is the cause of her children’s behavior. Is it the court, their mother, or nature? It’s all the more reason why she does want to protect her daughter Helaena from the poison that does seem to be the Red Keep.
We are seemingly gearing up for an almighty battle. The final shot in Episode 7 is of Rhaenyra standing firm with her dragons and newfound dragonriders, glaring at Aemond. We’ve previously seen Alicent push for temperance rather than a full-out war, so where does she stand in all of this as we’re heading into the finale?
Temperance is something she still wants, but she knows it’s a lost cause at this point. I think her daughter Helaena—and trying to protect her—is at the forefront of her mind. Helaena’s a dragonrider. Who’s to say they won’t try to utilize that? Helaena is a seer—which Alicent doesn’t really know—but she knows her daughter is both vulnerable and remarkable in different ways. She doesn’t operate on the same plane as everybody else, so trying to helicopter-parent over that, as much as possible, is Alicent’s motivation at this point.
Do you think viewers will be surprised by what lies ahead for Alicent?
Yeah, I do. I do. I think for someone who tried to kill Rhaenyra out of duty and sacrifice in an eye-for-an-eye scene… this is a very different, humbled Alicent than we’ve seen before.
Can you describe the finale for us in three words?
A sacrifice made.
We’re in the Dance of the Dragons, so it wouldn’t feel right to not address the creatures at the heart of this. Alicent isn’t of Targaryen blood, but are there times you wish that she [and you] could share in the dragon-riding experience, even just once?
Yes, I do. I see everyone on the buck, which is like a bucking bronco. They get hoisted into the air on this saddle. It’s electronic, so they move around and get blasted with wind. It does look like so much fun, so I wish I could have had a go on it. Maybe next season I can petition to be on a dragon’s back with someone.
Read More: Breaking Down the Complex Targaryen Family Tree on House of the Dragon
The relationship between Rhaenera and Alicent is so complex. Due to the nature of the war unfolding, we haven’t had much screen time between the two this season. Is that something you’ve missed?
Yeah. It’s a masterclass watching Emma work. It makes me a better actor, as well. I’m so trusting of them, I will sometimes be like, “If you see something I’m doing that’s a bit naff, just tell me what to do.” [Laughs] We give each other direction in that way. We’d have stolen moments [behind the scenes] where we’d hold each other and, you know, feel how much weight we’d lost from sheer fatigue but fingers crossed for more scenes together! I liken it to Rhaenyra sneezing and Alicent catching a cold. No matter where they are in the realm, there’s always a ripple between them. It was amazing to get that scene together at the end of Episode 3.
During that scene in the chapel, it felt for a fleeting moment that there might be resolution. Yet the stumbling block proved to be the miscommunication over the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy and what Viserys had said to Alicent. When informed of her mistake, Alicent walked off, saying: “It’s too late, Rhaenyra.” Is it a case of Alicent not admitting her mistake, or does she still not truly recognise it as one?
Since Episode 3, I think she fully is like, “Oh f-ck. I got this completely wrong.” And is now battling with this secret, because how does she admit it? She can’t course correct it. It’s too late. I think she longs for ignorant bliss at this point. She’s playing at some sort of denial, but she can’t quite embody it anymore. She knows in her gut that she got it completely wrong. But it’s all underway—there’s a war that’s happening. Aemond can taste blood. What can be done?
There’s a loud chorus of fans online who want Alicent and Rhaenyra to get together in a romantic relationship. They have a ship name for the duo—Rhaenicent. Is this something you’ve been aware of?
Yeah, we’ve been aware of it. There’s been us trying to plot our back story and why there was so much animosity between us—as Emma and I were introduced into the fold as adults. I think it’s when you’re really close to your childhood best friend and how lines can become blurred in that sense. It is this mini relationship and who knows to what effect? But we’ve spoken about that a lot. There has been shipping of our characters.
It was so amazing to see the kiss between Rhenaeya and Mysaria. I thought it was so beautiful, tender, and wanting. That need to be held was so human against the backdrop of propriety and the war.
Alicent’s sexual encounters with Ser Criston Cole have been quite controversial in part due to him being a rather divisive figure. We’ve seen Alicent feel betrayed by Criston failing to speak up for her at the table—how would you describe the nature of their relationship as it stands now?
This weird freedom came from her husband, who she was caring for, dying. There was room for herself and her own sexuality. This closeness had developed with Cole and I think it’s also the fact that he used to always back her up. He was such a protector. In Season 1, we saw young Alicent having a bit of a crush when he appears. This was all borne out of desire and a want for more when it comes to her own sexuality. It was a teenage obsession that was acted upon. But the veil very quickly lifted on that. As it sometimes does when you have an obsession with someone, then you have sex with them and you’re like, “Oh, it’s gone now.” [Laughs] Alicent probably never experienced sex where she’s been pleasured, and that’s intoxicating when you have that for the first time.
It’s nice in those scenes where we do see female pleasure being prioritized. Although we know she does feel shame, as we discussed earlier with the cleansing scene.
Yeah, and she’s a massive hypocrite. It’s often the most repressed people who are spouting about how things should be done, but they’re the ones breaking their own rules. I think Alicent feels deep shame about that, but it’s a drug at this point. And because she felt that Rhaenyra always acted on impulse, she [Alicent] had to be the one that was more measured. But you can’t push down instinct for that long without something boiling over.
Another relationship of Alicent’s that I want to discuss is that between her and Larys Strong. Larys has been there, in Alicent’s ear, since she was a girl. He killed his own kin and professed it was for her. And then there was the scene where he withheld information until she exposed her feet to him, before he proceeded to touch himself. It’s a curious exchange of information and power. How do you view it?
Ultimately, he’s always had the power. After she found out he murdered his family, she’s terrified of him. Before that, she sort of felt like he was a confidante, but I don’t think the sexual assault element of it was happening then. It was only when he was then appearing in her chambers that this exchange of information and then, in return, assault, was there so that her life at court could be spared. Interestingly, when Larys comes to her chambers and sees how disillusioned she is, I think that’s the end of their relationship. He’s like, “You’re of no use to me anymore. You don’t hold power in this council. So therefore, I’m done with you.”
What do you have going on outside House of the Dragon?
I’m filming a psychological thriller called The Girlfriend. Robin Wright is directing it and she stars in it. It’s a two-hander between us. It’s really juicy and sexy. Robin is a force. She’ll do a scene where she has to break down in the most unbridled way, then she’ll be like, “OK, and cut.” It’s incredible to witness, she does it all with so much energy and enthusiasm. I’m a husk, and I’m only doing the acting bit.
You’re also working on Takes One to Know One with Jamie Bell. And you’re producing that as well. What can you tell me about it?
Yes! I’ve been working on that for a few years now. We’ll hopefully film it in Rome next year. Nathalie Biancheri is our director. It’s a beautiful romance that is light on the com[edy]. I’ve produced before and I love being a part of something from the inception. Further along in my career, I’d like to make it more of a priority. I like spit-balling with people rather than just getting there on day one and saying the lines. That collaboration feels like summer camp for me. You feel like you can take more ownership of it. I struggle sometimes to be proud of the work that I’ve done… I’m proud of the people that have made the films and TV shows, but feeling prideful of my acting… maybe that’s my inherent misogyny. Why do I feel like it’s not a worthwhile job? I don’t know, but yeah, it [producing] feels more muscular. I need to unpack this with my therapist now that we’ve gone down this rabbit hole. [Laughs]
TIME interviewed Cooke about Alicent’s precarious position and what’s coming up in the hotly-anticipated ‘House of the Dragon’ finale.