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Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 premiere of House of the Dragon.
Despite Game of Thrones' controversial finale, Westeros is so back for those with a HBO Max subscription. Following the first season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, House of the Dragon Season 3 has officially begun, with more major characters already kicking the bucket. The premiere also featured another wild incest plot, and Olivia Cooke spoke to CinemaBlend and other outlets about what was on in Alicent's head when her son Aemond kissed her.
HOTD has had tons of incest in the first two seasons, as House Targaryen isn't hung up by relatives getting together. We've seen both siblings and cousins get married, but the Season 3 premiere shocked fans when Aemond kissed his mother Alicent out of nowhere. CinemaBlend did a roundtable interview with the cast about the first two episodes, where Cooke revealed what he character is thinking during this already-viral moment. As she put it:
Well, Aemond is one of her children that she has least control over and least sway over. So it's already quite tricky to get him to listen to her and to hear her and to take heed. But then, you know, the relationship changes in that instant when he kisses her. And I think she is trying to calculate what this means, try to not show any sort of projection on her face because that could spell her death. She's trying to tread very, very carefully. And then ultimately I think she's then left with, 'Well, I can only try and use this to force him to leave the castle.' But yeah, it's, it comes out of left field for Alicent, for sure.
While House of the Dragon fans need to keep up with which dragon belongs to who, the interpersonal relationships between its cast can also be mystifying. Case in point: Aemond kissing Alicent, who seems as shocked as the audience was. And Olivia Cooke's comments offer some much-needed context, revealing how few options her signature character has when dealing with this incestuous connection.
Despite being a Targaryen by marriage, Alicent is a Hightower at heart who deeply worships The Faith of the Seven. You can see the confusion and fear in her face when her son kisses her, but she ultimately hides that in order to get Aemond on her side and out of King's Landing. She succeeds in this, and it should be fascinating to see how the two characters' relationship changes moving forward.
Olivia Cooke also addressed this wild scene during the Inside The Episode video for HOTD's Season 3 premiere. The actress offered:
I think Alicent has always thought that there's something more malignant with the feelings that Aemond has towards his mother, but didn't ever think that they would manifest. She's completely left dumbfounded and fearful of what that means.
Honestly, same. But Aemond is one of the most volatile characters in House of the Dragon, and has arguably the most powerful dragon of them all in Vhagar. And this is yet another reason to fear what he'll do in the ongoing war against The Blacks.
House of the Dragon airs new episodes Sundays on HBO as part of the 2026 TV schedule. And it seems like no character is safe from the Dance of the Dragons.
