We don’t pretend to understand the world of Game of Thrones. In recent weeks, we’ve compared a real prince to the now-king consort to the Iron throne and a royal family to the likes of GoT. But, the one thing we’ve wanted to talk about since before we’ve binged the first season of House of the Dragon is Queen Alicent Hightower’s father, Ser Otto Hightower. It has not escaped our notice that the on-off Hand of the King has manipulated the situation to favour him.
His desire for power comes from being born the second son. His brother, Hobert Hightower, is the older child. Otto’s youngest grandson, Aemond Targaryen, will feel the same way. King Viserys I Targaryen’s brother, Daemon Targaryen, doesn’t like being second best, nor does Larys Strong.
Otto Knows He Cannot Take The Throne For Himself
Otto knows he cannot usurp the throne but can pull the strings behind the scenes. His plan to have his descendants on the Iron Throne starts with his only daughter, Alicent. After the death of Viserys’ beloved wife, Queen Aemma, the small council starts pushing for the widowed king to marry again.
Little does anyone realise Otto has been pushing Alicent to seduce the king. A slight hiccup occurs when Viserys’ cousin Princess Rhaenys Targaryen and her husband, Lord Corlys Velaryon, attempt to betroth their 12-year-old daughter, Lady Laena Velaryon, to the monarch. However, Viserys declines as Laena is only a child.
Viserys Decides NOT To Marry Laena
Laena puts her foot in it when she tells the king that she wouldn’t have to bed him until she was 14 if he chose her to be his Queen. Finally, Viserys sees right through Corlys and Rhaenys’ attempts to marry their daughter to him. Instead, he announces he will wed Alicent sometime later, much to the distress of his daughter, Rhaenyra Targaryen.
Three years later, Otto is a grandfather to Viserys and Alicent’s 2-year-old son, Aegon. The Queen is heavily pregnant with her second child and only daughter, Helaena. Her father and his supporters now want the king to remove Rhaenyra as heir to the Iron Throne and place his firstborn son in her place.
Hey, Otto! Don’t Push Viserys, He Could Have You Killed!
Viserys refuses to buckle to pressure. Now, there is a reason why he doesn’t replace Rhaenyra as his heir. While he loves his children, he loves his eldest daughter more, as she is the last living reminder of Aemma.
As the years pass, Viserys gets sicker. Otto continues to play his part in getting Aegon on the throne. This continues even after he is deposed and replaced by Lyonel Strong. The former Hand continues to use his daughter, who has turned against Rhaenyra. The girls, now adults, are no longer friends, mainly after rumours spread that the princess slept with Daemon, even though nothing happened. However, Alicent learns later that her best friend did have relations with Ser Criston Cole. The latter later becomes loyal to the Greens.
Alicent’s Friendship With Rhaenyra Rapidly Declines
Alicent’s changed demeanour makes her despise Rhaenyra because she has more freedom to do what she pleases, despite being heir to the throne. For example, when the princess gives birth to her third child, Joffrey, Alicent sends a handmaiden to fetch the child so she can check the baby’s hair colour to ensure his legitimacy. She even alludes to Laenor, Rhaenyra’s husband, that she knows he is gay.
What Alicent and Otto knew about Rhaenyra and Laenor’s agreement to play their parts is unclear. Also, it should be noted that the entirety of King’s Landing knows Jacaerys, Lucaerys, and Joffrey are NOT Laenor’s sons. They are Harwin Strong’s bastards. Supporters of the Greens rally to derail the princess’ claim to the throne and that of her eldest son, Jace. Viserys refuses to acknowledge that his grandsons are not legitimate.
Did Otto Take Advantage Of Viserys’ Ailing Health?
Viserys’ illness makes him unable to do anything due to the pain. So Alicent sits on the small council on her husband’s behalf. Meanwhile, Otto, as the reinstated Hand of the King, sits on the Iron Throne, the closest thing to the crown.
Otto’s time sitting on the Iron throne has hardened, not just him, but Alicent too. This becomes a problem for the queen as her sons don’t listen. Aegon and Aemond have become spoilt brats who don’t care about anything. Helaena isn’t too bad, as she’s sprouting dragon dreams half the time. She got the rough end of the stick when her mother betroths her to her brother to become his sister-wife.
Aemond Develops A Hatred For His Nephews After A Pig Prank
Aemond becomes bitter towards Jace and Luke for the prank they and Aegon pulled on him when they were children. They played in the dragon pit, where the boys gave him a pig to ride. He holds this grudge. Moreover, this is the same way Alicent still resents Rhaenyra for not being held accountable for having bastard sons. This comes while Alicent has to follow the rules.
Alicent’s personality shifts throughout the years due to her inability to say no to her father. Both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon makes it abundantly apparent that women are supposed to be the bearers of babes. Not all women in Westeros fall into this category. Many ladies are forced to follow the status quo and walk behind the men in their families.
Turning A Blind Eye And Otto Viserys Are Total Opposites
Alicent is one of these women, whereas, Rhaenyra is not, and this is what she envies. Everyone turns a blind eye to Jace, Luke and Joff being bastards because they’re heirs to the Princess of Dragonstone. Viserys never tried to tell his daughter what to do. Instead, he showed her love and guidance in whatever way he could.
Otto was doing the polar opposite of Viserys. He planned to ensure his descendants had bond ties to the Iron Throne. The Hand only cared about his project and never about how Alicent felt. This is why she was kept in the dark about the plan to kill Rhaenyra and her children.
Alicent, despite being her father’s pawn, didn’t want Rhaenyra or her children dead. All she wanted was her friend back, but her father kept her trapped in a life she could not escape. Her sons are uncontrollable, and in a way, it’s her fault for being so focused on Otto’s plan.
Otto Fully Turns Alicent Against Rhaenyra
He made her paranoid that Rhaenyra would kill Aegon, Helaena, Aemond and Daeron if she took the throne. However, this is not what she would do. Alicent likely believes this but goes along with whatever Otto tells her.
Alicent is also the only person who cares that Aegon is going around raping servant girls and fathering bastards. Meanwhile, she can do little about Aemond’s bloodlust and need to be in a fight.
The Peace Will End In Season 2
Come Season 2, the short-lived peace Rhaenyra and Alicent forged will end. This comes due to Luke’s death. It was indirectly caused by Aemond and his need to maim his nephew years after losing his eye and the pig joke. We’ll address this in another post, but Aemond, unlike his book counterpart, never wanted Lucaerys to die. So you can tell by the look on his face when Vhagar kills Arrax, and Luke falls to his death.
Otto wanted what Viserys had. He has caused a civil war between the late king’s children, where one of his [Viserys] grandsons died due to his youngest sons’ need for an eye. Rhaenyra’s need for peace is no longer an option. The Hand will soon realise he underestimated the Black Queen, and now his descendants are paying the price.
