No one could have predicted the sexual relationship between Dowager Queen Alicent and Criston Cole in House of the Dragon Season 2’s premiere. What’s more is this uncharted territory as it never happened in the book, Fire and Blood, on which the show is based.
To add to the confusion, when did this start? We know from articles that have come out that Criston is still hung up on Rhaenyra, despite her having rejected him all those years earlier. Also, Alicent is recently widowed as her husband, King Viserys, only died… what? A few days before?
For a bit of context, the second season picks up just days after the first season’s finale. From the verbiage that is used, it sounds like there is a lot more to Alicent and Criston doing the horizontal than it appears.
Alicent has never had the same freedom to do what she wants as she was ordered to marry Viserys and give him children. She always envied Rhaenyra because, despite being the heir to the throne, she could do what she liked. This is why she and the Black Queen went from being close as teenagers to despising each other.
Viewers from Season 1 will recall that Criston was Rhaenyra’s first sexual conquest. His obsession with her probably leads him to Alicent because she is everything that he wants Rhaenyra to be.
Alicent And Criston Have Been Shagging For A While It Sounds Like
It sounds like, given the dialogue, that this has been going on for a while as Alicent mentions to Cole “We shouldn’t be doing this again.” The keyword is ‘again.’ It’s not unusual in Westeros for couples to stray, like in real life. However, the difference is that real couples choose to get married.
Look at Rhaenyra and Laenor. They had an open marriage where they were married on paper but were allowed to take lovers. Rhaenyra mentions in Season 1 that she and Laenor tried to have children of their own, but were unable, hence why they passed Rhaenyra’s illegitmate sons, Jace, Luke and Joff, off as Laenor’s.
Oh, The Hypocrisy!
Alicent could see Rhaenyra’s boys weren’t Laenor’s from the beginning. The biggest hypocrisy is that she and Criston shamed her for sleeping around when they’re doing the same thing.
Imagine what will happen when it comes out that Criston was nowhere to be found when Blood and Cheese snuck into the castle in an attempt to kill Aemond, but murdered Prince Jaehaerys instead. He and the Dowager Queen have blood on their hands for thinking about their sexual desires over the wellbeing of Aegon’s reign, meaning the survival of his son.
Did Viserys Know About Alicent’s Affair With Criston Cole?
Unlikely, given his rapidly declining mental state and overall health, Viserys was likely unaware of Alicent and Criston’s affair, if it was going on when he was alive. Though, a lot can happen in a few days.
It’s possible that the boning started just after Viserys died, though the mental longing was going a while.
Alicent believes that it was Aegon that Viserys was referencing in his final moments of life, not Rhaenyra. You could think that she would be a little more cautious if she wanted her son as the king.
If the affair were to get out, it could cause a ton of issues for the Greens going forward.
