This Character is To Blame For Everything That Went Wrong With Alicent Hightower
You can most certainly guess who we are talking about.
Alicent Hightower is arguably one of the most controversial characters in HBO Max 's House of the Dragons. Quickly evolving from Rhaenyra's best friend to her sworn enemy, Alicent is set to be her rival in the looming Dance of the Dragons. However, her evolution into an apparent antihero is not to be blamed on her... entirely.
According to fans, it is largely the fault of her father, Otto Hightower, that Alicent has become such a "paranoiac" who believes that Rhaenyra is out to harm her kids simply because of their existence and therefore their possible Iron Throne claim.
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Indeed, it was Otto who has been setting Alicent against Rhaenyra since his daughter was a child. According to Otto, Rhaenyra would try and get Alicent and her kids in order to secure her position on the Iron Throne. He continued to inflict his thoughts on Alicent even though Rhaenyra continuously tried to make it clear that she was not antagonized against her former best friend.
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Now that Otto appears to have gotten what he wanted — which is return to the king's court and regain his lost title of the Hand — fans hate him even more than they did at the beginning of the season. Remember Otto's parting advice to Alicent right when he was leaving King's Landing? "Your former best friend will murder your children no matter what." Who even does that?
However, there are people who believe that Otto was right all along.
"The kick is, he['s] probably not wrong, and given the circumstance Alicent found herself in, it wasn't hard to believe at all. Is Alicent supposed to trust someone who has lied to her, got her dad fired for doing his job, and went after her reckless pursuits without a sense of duty to actually spare Alicent and her children when Daddy V isn't around especially if Rhaenyra has Daemon 'Grooming and Bashing' Targeryen as the king consort?" Redditor hoxtonbreakfast argued.
While not denying the influence her father had on Alicent, people argue that she still remains a complex and compelling character.
"She really is a product of her environment and someone who was very easily moldable—which is a shame. Super complex character, though." – u/spicysoy
In episode 7, Otto appeared to have praised Alicent after she suddenly assaulted Rhaenyra with a knife — clearly not in the mood for taking a step back and attempting to ease the escalation. The Blacks, in turn, are also nowhere near giving up, with Rhaenyra and Daemon coming up with a plan to put Laenor out of the equation and finally marry each other, while delivering a threat to their enemies at the same time.
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max, with three episodes left until the first season comes to an end. New episodes arrive every Sunday, with the finale to be aired on October 23.