ALICENT’S SIN: Alicent hysterically cries out as her father numbly watches his daughter’s outburst. Alicent then says “the gods punish us, they punish me!” and Otto replies, “for what sin?” I believe alicent’s sin is not only her new relations with Cole but her wavering love for the enemy (rhaenyra). Rhaenyra and Alicent still pity and mirror each other in some way and that haunts them both, especially Alicent. I love that Alicent’s faith is what keeps her grounded yet this queer coded relationship with her childhood best friend can wound her deeply—in her eyes and maybe Otto’s as well, it’s grotesque. Their scenes in the septa are always some of the most emotionally charged moments in the series, it’s also made me realize the amount of affection Alicent gives to the characters that surround her. Alicent has always and has only been mostly intimate with Rhaenyra compared to all of the other characters in the series. While Aegon is still suffering from his son’s death, Alicent can’t bring herself to comfort him due to the generational trauma, yet in the septa in season one Alicent doesn’t hesitate to comfort Rhaenyra. Yes, that’s before she had children but a moment like that comes again during the Targaryen-Hightower dinner scene when alicent asks Rhaenyra to stay before returning to dragon stone. Alicent almost despises herself for holding the enemy softer than she’s ever held her own children. Now she sees what’s become of her and everyone and everything else around her. She carries a tremendous amount of guilt for something that started due to her father’s greed for power when she was just a teenage girl. #alicenthightower #alicenthightoweredit #aegontargaryen #rhaenyratargaryen #hotd #fypage - @rhaelone