Summary
- Season 2 of House of Dragon explores the complicated and secretive romance blossoming between Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole.
- Viewers can expect personal growth from both characters as they navigate new feelings for each other in a brand new relationship.
- Unlike Game of Thrones, this show presents complex characters in a grey area, with both Targaryen and Hightower Houses vying for power.
As House of the Dragon returns to our screens for its eagerly anticipated second season, one budding relationship from the first season has bloomed into full 'romance,' which could have disastrous consequences. Following the death of King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) in Season 1, his wife, Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), left their marriage of duty to pursue her own desires. In Season 1, Alicent begins to develop feelings for Sir Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), although their desires remain secret and buried. Season 2, however, has blown the casket wide open, and Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole have formed a new, somewhat secretive, romance.
House of the Dragon
Taking place about 172 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells 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 Alco*ck 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.
- Release Date
- August 21, 2021
- Cast
- Paddy Considine , Olivia Cooke , Rhys Ifans , Matt Smith , Eve Best , Steve Toussaint
- Main Genre
- Fantasy
- Seasons
- 2
Alicent & Criston's Relationship Explained
Speaking to Collider, House of the Dragon's showrunner, Ryan Condal, discussed the emergence of their relationship in Season 2. Condal is excited for Season 2 to explore their personal growth, both as individuals, and as a pair, as both characters have complicated histories with romance, marriage, and duty. Condal also said that not every detail about how their relationship truly formed will be revealed, believing it is more interesting for the audience to imprint their own interpretations on the show. Condall started off by analyzing the relationship from Criston Cole's side, saying:
"Are they comfortable with each other? It feels very awkward there. They're literally talking about the weather. So, that's the thing, it's a brand new relationship. We don't specifically get into, intentionally, when and where it started. Part of that is the fun of leaving it up to interpretation by the viewing audience. But it's certainly a new thing, a new romance. And the idea is that these two characters have this very stunted emotional development, particularly in the world of intimacy with a partner. Cole, because he's been a canned man his entire life in the order of the Kingsguard and his past sins with Rhaenyra and wearing that like a millstone around his neck."
Alicent Hightower's Desires Come From Her Former Duty to the King
Unlike Game of Thrones which had a relatively clear-cut set of 'heroes' and 'villains', House of the Dragon positions the audience right on the fence, providing the good and bad of both House Targaryen and House Hightower, as both begin their fight to secure the Iron Throne. While Criston Cole has risen from being a sell-sword to the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, Alicent Hightower was born a noble, and was used as a political pawn from a young age to strengthen her family's allegiances. Now free of her duty to the deceased King (to whom she was married at just 14 years old), Alicent is, according to Condal, trying to find her own pleasure in life. Condal explained:
"And on Alicent’s side, she was married off at 14 years old to a guy that was 20-plus years her senior. She doesn't really have a — certainly, she was physically intimate with Viserys, but I don't know that they had a romantically intimate or emotionally intimate experience just because of the huge age gap between them. So it's led us to this place where you see these two characters who don't experience a lot of pleasure, experiencing great pleasure together in a nice way that I think makes the audience go, “Oh, okay. These are two humans enjoying themselves.” But they don't have the emotional know-how and modeling for how to exist in something like that, particularly, something they have to keep a secret."
Related
Fans have taken to social media to react to the shocking, violent, and controversial season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon.
Only the first episode has been released so far, and already their relationship could cause problems, not just for them, but for all the Seven Kingdoms. During the episode's depiction of the Blood and Cheese storyline, a distinct lack of guards were roaming the castle while the pair of assassins were searching for their target. Some fans believe Criston Cole had left his post to meet with Alicent in her bedchamber, as Helaena Targaryen walks in on the pair together in the night.
House of the Dragon Season 2 airs weekly on Sundays on HBO and on the Max streaming app. Season 1 can be streamed on Max.
