WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 9, "The Green Council."Larys Strong exhibits a sexual attraction to Queen Alicent’s feet in House of the Dragon episode 9, which takes the nature of their alliance to another level. Alicent Hightower and Larys Strong have been working together since House of the Dragon episode 5 when he informed her of Rhaenyra taking moon tea, with Larys continually manipulating Alicent into giving him a dangerous level of power. While their connection began with Larys committing horrible acts for Alicent and feeding her information in order to raise his position in King’s Landing, House of the Dragon episode 9 reveals that their deal has transformed into something new entirely. Now, Larys gives Alicent the information she seeks or commits atrocities on her behalf as long as she shows him her feet.
Alicent and Larys’ meeting in House of the Dragon episode 9 reveals that the firefly symbol-wearing Larys has a sexual foot fetish, with Alicent showing more of her feet with the more information he tells. It’s unclear when their alliance turned sexual, but House of the Dragon episode 9 is not the first occurrence. Alicent's shame is visible when she tearfully turns away while Larys masturbates to her bare feet, which sadly demonstrates her hypocritical public adamancy about condemning "indecency." Alicent’s further devotion to the Seven in House of the Dragon is likely a matter of personal redemption and forgiveness for the perceived sins she tolerates and covers up, whether it be her own or those committed by her allies and children. Larys and the Queen's deal in House of the Dragon is also another example of the powerful Alicent Hightower refusing to combat the patriarchal system that imprisons her; she finds ways to utilize it to her advantage but does nothing to destroy it.
Why Larys Is Obsessed With Alicent's Feet In HOTD
Larys Strong’s foot fetish in House of the Dragon was likely born out of his obsession with untwisted feet, as Larys himself was born with a clubfoot. While it’s more than likely that Larys has a romantic or at least sexual attraction to Alicent Hightower that makes her feet more appealing, his deal with her is more beneficial than paying a woman in a pleasure house to masturbate to her feet. In this way, the Littlefinger-reminiscent Larys Clubfoot only has to trade secrets, knowledge, and crimes in exchange for his pleasures, and he knows Alicent won’t tell anyone out of her own personal shame.
Why Alicent Really Lets Larys Masturbate To Her Feet
This isn’t an empowering sexual moment for Alicent, as the fact that she turns away with tears in her eyes reveals how deeply ashamed she is that she allows Larys to do this to her. But, Alicent sadly realizes this is the only way she can accomplish what she wants as a woman in power under the patriarchal system, and she needs Larys’ skills and information to have an advantage over her father, Hand of the King Otto Hightower. Alicent has already raised Larys Strong up as high as she can – having given him the positions of Lord Confessor and soon the Master of Whisperers – so there’s nothing left to exchange him except for herself.
Since House of the Dragon implies that it’s still demeaning to her, Alicent likely agreed to Larys using her for his sexual fixations as long as she didn't actually have to touch or have sex with him. In Alicent's mind, all she’s actually doing is removing her socks, but the true implications of their deal are justified as a necessary evil to obtain vital information and protect her children. To Alicent, sex has always been a duty or means to an end rather than an act of passion, desire, empowerment, or love. House of the Dragon episode 4’s sex scenes already demonstrated how Alicent withstood intercourse with Viserys for two decades without finding any source of empowerment or joy, so at least she’s able to obtain key information by letting Larys sexualize her feet. Similar to how Alicent looked away while Viserys had sex with her, she looks away while Larys uses her feet for pleasure.
Larys & Alicent's Deal Exposes A Big Hypocrisy In HOTD
Alicent perceives casual sex and many sexual interests as being perversions, with young Alicent only approving of a woman’s sexual acts when it’s with her husband. Considering Alicent now covers up Aegon’s sexual assaults by giving young women moon tea and allows Larys to masturbate to her feet in House of the Dragon episode 9, adult Alicent is hypocritically tolerant of such acts in private while condemning them in public. As long as it benefits her to permit them, she’ll say nothing, but will simultaneously use Rhaenyra’s affair with Harwin Strong to vilify her. There’s nothing inherently wrong with Alicent willingly engaging in her deal with Larys; the problem is that she’s hypocritical for labeling others doing the same thing as depraved. Alicent’s piety and self-righteousness in public is a mask for her own shame, which is yet another instance of the Queen sadly upholding the patriarchal system that disparages her for what men can do freely and unabashedly.
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