Guest
«For Cooke, the motherhood mentality hit in Episode 9, written by Hess and directed by Clare Kilner: “That moment in the carriage where Alicent's hungover son asks her if she loves him, and she says it by smiling and saying, 'You imbecile. Like, it's so obvious, this is all for you. Everything that I've done. Everything that I've sacrificed. All the awful things I've done in order to facilitate your ascension is because I love the bones of vou.“» -- via Variety, 'House of the Dragon's Female Gaze' I started making this as a sort of response to a question that many people have had after watching HoTD, or maybe an exploration of my own feelings towards it. The question being: Why didn't Alicent/Aegon/the Greens just let Rhaenyra ascend the throne in peace? Surely she would be merciful toward them and not cause them any harm. Though I love Rhaenyra and understand that she still cares for Alicent and would perhaps want to mend the rift between herself and her brothers, peace under such a solution wouldn't last for long due to the expectations of a violently misogynistic nobility that extends far beyond the Hightowers and Lannisters. They're all patriarchal, Rhaenyra's cause certainly is as well (Though she and Alicent are both victims of patriarchy and misogyny throughout Fire & Blood and this first season). In its essence, I believe House of The Dragon is a tragedy. We already know how it's going to end for each side, and that House Targaryen is going to eventually lose the Iron Throne during Robert's Rebellion. Characters in tragedies could attempt to escape their fates, try and run (as Aegon did) away from their ultimate destiny, but it could never work out. I think it's a great way to come to realise that a lot of the problems of the world aren't due to individuals and their actions (What Alicent, Otto, Viserys, Rhaenyra etc. have done), but are rather caused by things that are out of our grasp and ability to control (Though not without their collusion, their actions lead to their downfalls). In House of The Dragon, these things are feudalism (a term to use tentatively) and the way patriarchy functions within it. I could attempt to explain why my sympathies lay with the Greens despite my great love for Rhaenyra, but I fear it would be the length of a proper dissertation. Ultimately, what I tried to convey is this sense of inevitability, that there's no way to back out of this problem, all solutions were insufficient, and that, sadly, Alicent was forced to choose between her great friend (and childhood companion *wink wink cough* THEY ARE GAY!), and her children. In truth, I wish I had made this longer, but my apprehension toward such a course of action primarily stems from a fear of wandering aimlessly through images and words that I find compelling. This is done and finished though, and I hope you all like the video :) . FOOTAGE | House of The Dragon (2022) COLOURING | MINE SONG | . #houseofthedragon#aegontargaryen#alicenthightower
