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"House of the Dragon" actor Emily Carey said that Alicent Hightower was originally "in love" with Ser Criston Cole.
In the fifth episode of the prequel "Game of Thrones" series, Criston (Fabien Frankel) reveals to queen Alicent that he slept with her friend and stepdaughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock).
Alicent already felt betrayed because Rhaenyra had lied to her beforehand and swore on her mother's grave that she hadn't lost her virginity.
But in a recent interview with Variety, Carey said that there is another reason for the feelings of betrayal.
"She goes through so many emotions in one go — a concoction cocktail of all of these feelings," Carey said. "It's the betrayal of, 'Hold on. You slept with him, and I'm in love with him, and you know this. That's not fair.' Alicent is all about duty, through and through. It's always duty versus heart with her… I'm glad that I got to show how she became this angry woman. And I think that scene is such a turning point."
She added: "There's the betrayal of, 'You lied to me.' Then the betrayal of, 'I swear this upon the memory of my mother,' which is what you see in episode two with their shared trauma. It's something that they bond over. Alicent took Rhaenyra to the Sept and showed this emotional vulnerability, and let her see this part of her that she doesn't really show to anyone."
HBO
The idea that Alicent is "in love" with Criston has shocked fans because "House of the Dragon" hasn't really alluded to romantic feelings between Alicent and Criston.
In the first episode, Alicent and Rhaenyra discuss Criston briefly when he appears during the jousting tournament but there aren't any other scenes where Alicent explicitly shows affection for the Kingsguard.
In addition, some fans thought Alicent's feelings of betrayal were actually jealousy due to romantic feelings for Rhaenyra. The pair shared a close bond in the first episode and many fans believe that the characters may actually be queer.
During a roundtable interview, which Insider attended ahead of the series, Carey said that she thought the characters were "in love a little bit" when she first read the script.
"I think any woman could think back to the best friend that they had at 14 years old, and it's a relationship and a closeness unlike any other," Carey, who is also queer, said. "You do toe the line between platonic and romantic."
In a later interview with the New York Times, Carey and Alcock said they felt like they were "about to kiss" after an emotional scene in episode four where their characters reconnected.
New episodes of "House of the Dragon" air Sundays on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.
