What happens to Alicent Hightower in ‘House of the Dragon’?

Warning: spoilers ahead! If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones – and now House of the Dragon – you know that there is one absolute rule in George R.R. Martin’s universe: “All men must die.” With Lady Alicent Hightower having made her debut onscreen, fans hope this remains true.

The world of Westeros has long been popular for its unique proclivity toward killing off the show’s main characters. It is often in brutal and hard-to-watch ways. However, in cases like that of Joffrey Baratheon or Ramsay Bolton, it can be incredibly satisfying for fans to watch the show’s villains die savage deaths.

Since the House of the Dragon (HOTD) premiere, one character has gained the ire of viewers across the world: Lady Alicent Hightower (later known as the Queen). In only eight short episodes, Queen Alicent – played by Emily Carey in her teenage years and Olivia Cooke as an adult – has become one of the most interesting villains to be brought to life from the A Song of Ice and Fire (ASOIAF) universe.

HOTD fans wonder how the leader of the ‘Greens’ meets her doom in Fire and Blood, the book House of the Dragon is based on.

What happens at the end of the Dance of Dragons?

King Viserys' legacy lives on.

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After the death of her husband, Viserys I, Alicent Hightower does not allow his appointed heir and daughter, Rhaenyra, to ascend the throne.

Instead, she hosts a small council of Greens loyal to the Hightowers. In one fell swoop, the small council crowns her son, Aegon II, as king and marries her daughter, Helaena, to Aegon II. This initiates a bloody civil war between the two Targaryen factions – the Greens and the Blacks – known as ‘The Dance of Dragons.’

The Blacks defeated the Greens, Rhaenyra’s supporters, at the end of the conflict, with heavy casualties on both sides. Lady Alicent loses all of her children, and all her supporters die through beheading afterward, including her father, Otto Hightower. The last of her line with Viserys II, her granddaughter Jaehaera, is then married to Rhaenyra Targaryen’s eldest living son, Aegon III.

How does Alicent Hightower die in Fire and Blood?

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Following the end of the Dance of Dragons, the Velaryons arrested Alicent. As Aegon III takes the throne, she was in Maegor’s Holdfast, in the Red Keep in King’s Landing. Alicent also refuses to admit defeat after her arrest. She even suggested to her granddaughter that she should slit Aegon III’s throat.

Eventually, Alicent becomes known as the ‘Queen in Chains.’ She spends the rest of her life in Maegor’s Holdfast. Her only company is her septa, serving girls and guards. She also goes mad, often weeping and talking to herself. Notably, Alicent also hated the color green – the Hightower house color.

Alicent dies of Winter Fever in 133 AC. Her granddaughter, Jaehaera, commits suicide the same year – though it is unknown whether she dies before or after her grandmother.

Will Alicent meet the same fate in House of the Dragon?

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Despite being based on Fire and Blood, House of the Dragon has already diverged from the novel in many ways. Though it is unlikely that Alicent’s plotline will change drastically from her story in Fire and Blood, it is still very possible that the showrunner, Ryan Conwill decides to tell it differently.

House of the Dragon has already been renewed for a second season, so fans will find out. Until then, we’ll eagerly await the first season’s remaining episodes alongside everyone else!

The ninth episode, “The Green Council,” will premiere on Oct. 16, 2022.