House of the Dragon Star Reveals How THAT Romance Began

House of the Dragon Season 2 has premiered, and of course, it wouldn’t be a piece of Game of Thrones content without some kind of bad romance. Ever since the premiere episode of GoT, romances have ranged from salacious to full-on “ick”; the romance we found out about in House of the Dragon Season 2’s premiere probably falls somewhere in the middle. 

(SPOILERS) The House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere, “A Son for a Son” showed us how situations and relationships have evolved after the death of Prince Lucerys Velaryon and his dragon, Arrax. As war looms over Westeros, Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke) finds comfort in the arms of her childhood crush-turned-loyal-servant, Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Throughout the premiere, Alicent and Criston struggle with keeping their smoldering affair secret from the rest of the Red Keep and royal family – especially Alicent’s unhinged sons (and Criston’s commanders) Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell). By the end of the episode, their passion already comes at great cost: Criston and Alicent are caught unaware (and entangled) when two assassins (sent by Daemon Targaryen) infiltrate the Red Keep and murder Alicent’s young grandson Jaehaerys. 

During the assassination, Jaehaerys’ mother Princess Helaena (Phia Saban) rushed into her mother Alicent’s chambers as Alicent and Criston were making love – so the secret of the affair is no longer so secret. 

In the most recent episode of the official Game of Thrones podcast, Olivia Cooke gave some background as to how Alicent and Criston got together. 

When it comes to how Alicent and Criston entered a romantic phase of their relationship, Cooke admits that there were “Many, many, a theory, many, many, discussions.” 

She goes on to reveal that House of the Dragon Season 1 actually had a whole deleted scene storyline about the embers of a romance being stoked between Criston and Alicent: “There were bits and bobs; like there were longing looks in the later half of last season that were sort of cut out and different asides to each other. And I think young Alicent sort of professes her instant attraction to Criston Cole with the ‘God he’s Dornish!’ you know? [Laughter] He’s gorgeous!… He’s Dor-geous!” 

Of course, the young Alicent who was fawning over Ser Cristion in House of the Dragon Episode 1 is a far cry from the Queen-Mother who finally starts bedding him, years later, while both serving as his ruler, and being somewhat powerless against the whims of her son, the King. 

The Scandalous Way Alicent & Criston Became Lovers Explained

“I think that sort of flame for him has sort of lived very quietly in Alicent this whole time,” Cooke continued. “And I think they became closer as he became her personal knight and her sworn protector. Strange things happen in grief and in death, and sex is sort of this, like, the antithesis of death, really. And I think she sort of – even though she’s grieving the loss of her husband – She sort of feels liberated from being this caretaker.” 

While that emotional blueprint for building a passionate affair seems reasonable, the timing of it sounds pretty cringe: 

“I mean this was our sort of headcanon stuff, it’s not written, but we sort of thought it happened maybe, like, literally days after the death of Viserys,” Cooke said. And they… became closer in Alicent’s grief. And I think it’s teenage: It’s really teenage for Alicent. She’s never been to have a relationship that’s born out of passion… She’s born all these children when she was just a child… It is just a bit like she’s lived for other people and she’s lived by the rules, so… that this is just a little thing that she’s taking for herself within her grief… And she can’t even have that… It is rough: I don’t think Alicent smiles this season.” 

House of the Dragon is airing on HBO and streaming on Max.