There is little doubt that it looked like things were finally going to go perfectly after House of the Dragon Episode 8. During a family dinner, Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower seemingly reconnected after realizing that the king is close to death. However, that all changed yet again when Viserys I Targaryen mistakes Alicent for his daughter and tells her that Aegon should be king. But did the queen simply misinterpret Viserys' final words or was she twisting them for her own good?
In House of the Dragon Episode 8, Rhaenyra Targaryen returned to King's Landing to defend her son Lucerys after Vaemond Velaryon contested the prince's claim as the heir of Driftmark. The weakened Viserys took his daughter's side and declared Luke as the next Lord of the Tides.
As the family later gathered for dinner, Viserys urged his family members to get along and it looked like Rhaenyra and Alicent had finally reconnected. This all changes when Viserys, mistaking Alicent for Rhaenyra, explains that he believes in Aegon the Conqueror's dream and that Rhaenyra is the rightful heir.
Naturally, Alicent could easily misinterpret the final words considering that she has a son named Aegon that she is hoping would be named heir. Episode director Geeta Patel confirms this with The Hollywood Reporter, stating that Alicent “genuinely thought he was telling her that her son was going to be the heir.”
Although it's an understandable error, it's still set to be a big one as it will finally lead to the dreaded Dance of the Dragons between the Greens and the Blacks.
The latest episode of House of the Dragon is now available on HBO Max. House of the Dragon Episode 9 is titled The Green Council and is set to premiere on Sunday, October 16, 2022, at 9:00 PM EST.
Related: House of the Dragon Episode 8: Helaena Possibly Predicted Her Own Terrifying Fate
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