The House of the Dragon fandom is too hard on Alicent — yes, even after the season 2 premiere

HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon returned with its season 2 premiere last weekend, and among the many new plot points to discuss, fans didn't hold back on their hatred for Alicent Hightower. Now the widow of King Viserys, Alicent is in a new chapter of her life; not only is her son Aegon sitting the Iron Throne, but she's also got a hookup situation-ship going with with Lord Commander of the Kingsguard Criston Cole.

Yeah, it's gross. But in my opinion, it's only gross because it's Criston! He certainly made a negative impression on fans in the first season, and he's only getting worse this time around. While we haven't seen the two characters talk much about their new dynamic — save from Alicent telling Criston that they couldn't have sex again before having sex again later in the episode — it's obvious they feel ashamed about it. They're being total hypocrites, going against the morals and values they clung to in season 1. But can you truly blame Alicent? I have trouble ignoring her unfortunate upbringing.

Since the season 2 premiere, "A Son for a Son," premiered on June 16, social media has been full of memes (some of them very funny!) poking fun at Alicent and Criston's relationship. The general consensus is that Alicent is a hypocrite for having sex with the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard after she spent the majority of the first season talking about how important "duty" was. Trust me, I felt the same way, and I 100% liked at least a couple of fans' tweets about it. But the question comes down to: Does Alicent deserve to be the most-hated character on TV because of this? No, she doesn't.

Alicent deserves to be messy

To me, Alicent is being super cringe-worthy right now, but I understand why she's doing what she's doing. I feel pity for her, considering everything she's gone through as a woman in Westeros. Yes, she grew up privileged in that she always had a roof over her head and food on her plate, but she was treated unfairly just because of her gender. Truly, if you had to marry the middle-aged, dying King Viserys when you were a teenager, you don't think you would act out? It's about time, honestly! Let's go over the bullet points of things Alicent has to face:

• Alicent is forced to marry King Viserys by her father when she's a teen; her friendship with Rhaenyra is forever changed
• As Alicent performs her duty by giving Viserys children, Rhaenyra is out galavanting and disobeying her duty
• Rhaenyra lies to Alicent about losing her virginity, any shred of their friendship still left is gone
• Alicent continues being dutiful as Rhaenyra gives birth to bastards and gets away with it
• Rhaenyra's son cuts out Alicent's son's eye and gets away with it
• Alicent aids Viserys in his final years, misinterprets his dying words
• Alicent thinks she's doing the right thing by putting Aegon on the Throne, is branded the villain
• Alicent waits until Viserys is dead to strike up a sexual relationship with another man, is hated for it

I mean, come on! Can't a girl let loose for once in her life? And yes, Alicent did wait until Viserys died to take her relationship with Criston to the next level. While speaking to Digital Spy after the season 2 premiere, Olivia Cooke explained that Viserys' death unlocked new freedom for Alicent: "It sounds horrible, but I think for Alicent, there was a little bit of liberation with that death. She was no longer this caretaker. She had some sense of agency and ownership of her sexuality for the first time, and she wasn't in service to this ailing husband."

In an interview with TV Line, Cooke shared similar sentiments, explaining:

"I think, initially, it’s teenage for Alicent. She’s never allowed herself to act on the feelings that she has. She was in a pretty passionless marriage. Now, her body is doing things that she didn’t think it was capable of."

- Olivia Cooke

It's easy to judge a character we're watching onscreen — especially when they're totally fictional! — but if you could try putting yourself in Alicent's shoes, you'd probably realize she's just being human.

Why is Rhaenyra allowed to make mistakes when Alicent can't?

Now, let me make this clear: I am team Black all the way! Rhaenyra is my favorite character in House of the Dragon and I support her through and through. That said, I can also admit that Rhaenyra has made many mistakes since the season 1 premiere and the fandom doesn't seem to judge her for it. If anything, her mistakes make the fans love her more! That's awesome, but why isn't it the same for Alicent? It could be that fans simply prefer Rhaenyra as a character and dislike anyone who goes against her, sure, but it does feel a little bit hypocritical.

From Alicent's perspective, all she's tried to do this whole time is follow the rules set in place for her, even when those rules are totally unfair. She follows her father's directives and is a good wife and mother, but she still gets the short end of the stick. She watches as her former best friend sleeps around and disobeys her father, things she could never get away with. Alicent envies Rhaenyra so much that she clings to her honor, making it her whole personality. It's a defense mechanism for her. While I don't like the things Alicent does, I also could never hate her for it.

If I support Rhaenyra's rights and wrongs, I've got to at least feel for Alicent. I'm not rooting for her, but all of this hate towards her is a bit ridiculous.

As the war begins, I'm sure Alicent will continue to make a negative impression on viewers, but try to see things from her perspective, maybe? New episodes of House of the Dragon season 2 are released every Sunday night on HBO and Max.

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