WARNING! This post contains SPOILERS for House of the Dragon season 1, episode 2!King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) chooses to take Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) as his second wife in House of the Dragon episode 2, a decision that causes strife within the great houses. House of the Dragon’s season 1 premiere saw King Viserys become a widower when his wife Aemma died in childbirth along with his one-day-old son Prince Baelon, after which point he named his only child, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, his heir. As a relatively young man who could still produce several more heirs, the king was advised to choose another wife even as he continued to grieve for Rhaenyra’s mother.
In the six months following Aemma Arryn’s brutal death, noble houses around the realm began conspiring to see their daughters become the next queen consort. The Hand of the King, Otto Hightower, had already taken advantage of this situation at the end of House of the Dragon episode 1, where he strategically sent his teenage daughter Alicent to Viserys’ room under the guise of consoling the grieving king. In House of the Dragon episode 2, many marriage propositions were put forth for King Viserys’ next wife, such as Rhaenys Targaryen and Corlys Velaryon’s 12-year-old daughter Laena. In the end, however, the king chose his daughter’s best friend, the slightly older Lady Alicent Hightower.
While King Viserys’ obligation to remarry was primarily out of a sense of duty and a need to continue the vulnerable Targaryen family line, his choice was primarily due to his established companionship with Alicent. Otto had been sending Alicent to meet with Viserys in his chambers for the past six months after Aemma Arryn’s death, with the two forming a friendship that was kept secret from Rhaenyra. Alicent is slightly older than Rhaenyra, her father is the Hand of the King, she’s at an age where she can give him multiple heirs, and Viserys genuinely enjoys her company, making her a reasonable solution for the next queen. While Alicent is still young, she’s not a child like Laena Velaryon, and Viserys understands that she and Rhaenyra are also particularly close friends, so she seemingly wouldn’t be a very objectionable choice.
What Viserys Marrying Alicent Means For House Of The Dragon
The ending of House of the Dragon episode 2 already hinted at the problems to come once King Viserys marries Alicent, namely in the feuds that will develop with Rhaenyra. Milly Alcock’s House of the Dragon character had already voiced her worries that Viserys remarrying would mean producing heirs that counter her claim to the Iron Throne. However, when Rhaenyra discussed these fears with Alicent in confidence, Emily Carey’s character failed to disclose the fact that she had been secretly meeting with the king for months with the motivation to become Viserys’ next wife. Now, not only will Rhaenyra’s best friend now be her stepmother, but she’ll also be producing heirs that could undermine her title as Princess of Dragonstone.
Alicent marrying King Viserys in House of the Dragon season 1 also sets up House Hightower, particularly Otto, to have even closer proximity to the Iron Throne. Should Alicent give King Viserys a son, the Hand of the King is apt to conspire to place him on the throne over Rhaenyra on the day that King Viserys dies. If this happens, Rhaenyra will be more apt to side with her uncle Daemon and Corlys Velaryon, both of whom were spurned by King Viserys in their attempts to establish powerful connections to the throne. Alicent becoming queen doesn’t simply cause worry about the line of succession in House of the Dragon season 1, but it makes it more personal for Rhaenyra Targaryen.
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