House of the Dragon's adult Alicent actor, Olivia Cooke, teases the Queen's future following episode 6's time jump. Throughout its first five episodes, the Game of Thrones prequel show has developed Lady Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey), the Hand of the King's daughter, along with Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Mily Alcock), King Viserys' daughter and heir apparent, as its central female characters. The two begin the series as childhood friends and soon find themselves on opposite sides of the looming Targaryen civil war.

Rhaenyra and Alicent's relationship first begins to sour when the latter marries the former's father, effectively becoming her step-mother. The Queen later gives birth to a son, Prince Aegon, who as a male, naturally has a stronger claim to the Iron Throne than Rhaenyra, even as Viserys vows to stand by his promise. Episode 6's 10-year time jump will introduce audiences to Rhaenyra and Alicent as adults played by Emma D'Arcy and Cooke, bringing the show a significant step closer to the Dance of the Dragons.

Related: Why Alicent's Green Dress Is So Shocking & What It Really Means

During a recent interview with EW ahead of her first episode, Cooke teased the Queen's future on House of the Dragon. Now that Alicent is older in episode 6, audiences will see "how she's been bittered and twisted over time." Cooke also discussed how adult Alicent will break free from the control of those around her and teased a "complete existential crisis" in her evolution. Read what she shared below:

You're seeing her struggle with her womanhood and the power that she does have to play that is completely separate from her husband or her father or even her children. And also just moralistically where she stands when she isn't listening to her father anymore. Rhaenyra can just get away with anything, and it's so fine. The king turns a complete blind eye, whereas Alicent has always had to walk this tightrope for her whole entire life. Just the injustice of it that she feels, until things happen and she realizes that none of it f---ing matters. She looks around her family, and they're all f---ed up. She's like, "I've been so perfect all my life. I haven't taken a step wrong, and it doesn't f---ing matter." I think what we see in her evolution is this complete existential crisis.

Olivia-Cooke-House-of-the-Dragon

Based on Cooke's comments, it sounds like Alicent will become her own independent woman following episode 6's time jump. In the past, she's been firmly under her father's thumb, who sent her to privately console the grieving king after Aemma's death, putting Alicent in a favorable position to become the next Queen. It was also her father who advised Alicent to begin preparing Aegon to rule in the event of the King's eventual death. But according to Cooke's comments, with Ser Otto no longer in King's Landing, it sounds like Alicent won't be listening to her father as much from here on out.

However, without Alicent's father around to console or counsel her, the Queen will find herself with very few allies in King's Landing, especially if Viserys continues to support Rhaenyra as his heir. This is likely what will lead to the Queen's "complete existential crisis" which Cooke mentions. That can't be good news for the Realm as it moves one step closer to an all-out civil war in the next episode of House of the Dragon.

Source: EW