After going from best friends to enemies as teenagers, Alicent and Rhaenyra finally make genuine peace in House of the Dragon episode 8. In an effort to put aside her grievances over Viserys, Rhaenyra gives a heartfelt toast to Alicent, to whom she apologizes and thanks for standing by her father.
Alicent returns the compliments by saying that she and Rhaenyra are mothers who have more in common than they admit, with the toast ending when Alicent shockingly says that Rhaenyra will make a good queen. The problem, however, is how long this truce will last; Aemond's "strong boys" speech causes a physical altercation between his sons moments after the queen and princess forgive each other, with the king dying later that same night.
Initially, Rhaenyra and Alicent forgiving each other was a way to respect the wishes of the old King Viserys and give him a final dinner where his family was at peace. However, their words of repentance turned out to be sincere, revealing that the love that teenage Alicent and Rhaenyra shared as best friends was still there deep down. Alicent and Rhaenyra forgiving each other in episode 8 from House of the Dragon It also implies that the entire war had the potential to be avoided. Aside from her father Otto, Alicent was the most passionate figure in keeping Rhaenyra off the Iron Throne and crowning Aegon in her place. As such, Alicent's comment that Rhaenyra will make a good queen indicates that she has finally come to accept her as the next ruler, which would mean letting Aegon off the hook and keeping House Targaryen as a unified front. However, the ending of episode 8 of House of the Dragon proves that this reconciliation is only brief.
Too late to end Alicent and Rhaenyra's rivalry?
Despite such sincere apologies, Rhaenyra and Alicent's rivalry will be reignited after episode 8 from House of the Dragon. Alicent may have briefly leaned toward letting Rhaenyra ascend the Iron Throne, but her misunderstanding of the dying King Viserys's last words sent her back on the path of stealing the crown.
Even if King Viserys Targaryen hadn't accidentally told Alicent about Aegon's dream, the princess and queen's rivalry would have reignited due to the animosity between their children. Alicent has spent the past 16 years instilling resentment and enmity in her children against Rhaenyra's children, with the nature of the boys' arguments going far beyond their mother's manipulations. Alicent will always choose her own children, and Rhaenyra will do the same, meaning they will be involved in the next Targaryen generation's feuds regardless.
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Did Viserys's final words accidentally cause the war? Why did Alicent change her mind?
Alicent seemed intent on letting Rhaenyra rule until she visited Viserys at the end of episode 8. House of the Dragon . While at the milk of the poppy, Viserys mistakes Alicent for Rhaenyra when his wife comes to give him his "tea", as his daughter had snuck into his room the previous night to discuss Aegon the Conqueror's prophecy. Thinking he is speaking to Rhaenyra, Viserys says that he believes in Aegon's dream of the Prince That Was Promised, his sacrifice, and the threat in the North. Viserys then states: " You are the only one. You must do it .” This was meant to indicate that Viserys still believes that Rhaenyra is the one who should ascend the Iron Throne and carry the burden of Aegon's prophetic dream, but Alicent mistakenly thought the king was referring to his son Aegon.
Alicent interpreted Viserys' words to mean that Aegon II was the "promised" prince who was to ascend the Iron Throne and unite the realm against Rhaenyra's moral darkness. After everything that happened at the dinner in episode 8 of House of the Dragon , Alicent thought that Viserys was declaring Aegon as his rightful heir in his dying words. So, in response to Viserys saying “ you must do this Alicent accepts her duty, meaning she will go ahead with usurping the crown. Had Viserys not confused Alicent with Rhaenyra, and Alicent not misunderstood which Aegon was being discussed, then perhaps Alicent would still be content to let Rhaenyra become queen. It is this grave mistake, however, that justifies her actions in crowning Aegon after Viserys's death and beginning the Dance of the Dragons.
Do Rhaenyra and Alicent meet again after Viserys' death?
After their reconciliation, Rhaenyra and Alicent made plans to meet again – but that was before Viserys's death and the misunderstanding of his last words. The book Fire & Blood by George R.R. Martin reveals that Alicent and Rhaenyra will eventually meet again in House of the Dragon , but only under disastrous circumstances. As Rhaenyra will rule from Dragonstone while Alicent rules with Aegon in King's Landing, the two characters from the House of the Dragon They probably won't see each other again until the war is almost over.
In fact, it could be at least another year after episode 8. from House of the Dragon when Rhaenyra and Alicent face each other face to face. This would be when Rhaenyra takes King's Landing from Aegon, but spares Alicent out of love for Viserys once had for her. Alicent is then held captive during Rhaenyra's short reign, with neither character forgiving the other for the atrocities committed during the Targaryen civil war.
