Warning! SPOILERS for House of the Dragon episode 8House of the Dragon episode 8 contained a brutal insult by Alicent Hightower to her son Aegon that held an interesting callback to the Game of Thrones' Tywin Lannister. Episode 8 focused more on the tension and division between Queen Alicent Hightower with her supporters and Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen with her supporters. As Alicent not-so-quietly supports her son Aegon's claim to the Iron Throne, she continues to be disappointed and disgusted with her son's actions.
After Aegon forces himself on a servant girl in House of the Dragon episode 8, Alicent tells Aegon, "You are no son of mine," which serves as an interesting callback to Tywin Lannister. Tywin Lannister says this same quote to his son Tyrion, as Tyrion kills his father with a crossbow. Tywin never viewed his son Tyrion as worthy of the Lannister name, due to Tyrion's dwarf stature. This draws an interesting parallel to Alicent's disgust with Aegon's actions in House of the Dragon, as she similarly does not believe him to be worthy of his Targaryen and Hightower familial ties. At the least, he's certainly not worthy of sitting on the Iron Throne in her eyes. Aegon is Alicent's first-born son in title alone, but that title forces Alicent to support Aegon's claim to the Iron Throne after the passing of King Viserys I Targaryen.
Alicent's Brutal Aegon Insult Perfectly Flips Her Rhaenyra Battle
Alicent's comment to Aegon is an interesting twist on her treatment of Rhaenyra and her children. House of the Dragon's Alicent has been cruel to Rhaenyra over the questionable parentage of her children and takes actions to try and delegitimize their claims as heirs. While she is fueling discourse of Rhaenyra's bastard children, she is essentially disowning her own son. When Rhaenyra slept with Ser Criston Cole, Alicent judged Rhaenyra and looked down on her for drinking moon tea to prevent pregnancy. However, Aegon's actions have led to Alicent needing to take the same action she judged Rhaenyra for, and Alicent forces the girl to drink moon tea to ensure that she is not pregnant with Aegon's bastard child. As the dance of the dragons begins, it will be interesting to see if Alicent's support of Aegon will continue and if she will continue to take the moral high ground over Rhaenyra.
Alicent Will Only Become More Disappointed In Aegon (But Has To Make Him King)
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Throughout the dance of the dragons, it is likely that Aegon will only continue to disappoint his mother. At the very least, it is already clear that Aegon is not faithful to his wife, Helaena. It is likely that this will continue in the show, with Aegon more interested in extra-marital affairs than winning the Iron Throne. In the book Fire & Blood, Aegon fathers multiple bastards with different women, which may be a storyline that plays out on the show. It is possible that Alicent would have dropped her support of Aegon along the way, due to her disappointment. However, the end of House of the Dragon episode 8 led Alicent to misunderstand King Viserys' dying wish as a wish for Aegon to take the Iron Throne instead of Rhaenyra.
Alicent's comment to Aegon in House of the Dragon episode 8 shows that, just like Tywin Lannister, Alicent doesn't think that her son is worthy of the family name or the rights that come with being her firstborn son. However, the confusion over King Viserys and his dying words means that Alicent will need to reluctantly continue in supporting her son's claim to the Iron Throne. Viewers will be interested in keeping up with what more Aegon will do to disgust his mother and how much Alicent Hightower is willing to put up with.