#alicent analysis

[mejcinta]

IMPORTANT WATCH:The Confusing Case of Alicent Hightower - A Character Analysis.

Character assassination so bad, that even Team Black and Daemon stans see through the obvious bullshit the writers are putting Alicent through.

[scratchtovoid]

If Rhaenyra begins season 2 in a position of great weakness following the death of her son and the loss of her throne, Alicent begins in a position of great power. She's the mother of the current king and, more importantly, has his ear. And yet, Hess notes, "The story of this season is that they change places."

Still unpacking all the new interviews from yesterday but here is another quote that stood out to me! The idea that as the season progresses Alicent loses control and Rhaenyra gains it. For me this is so important to the power structures they want in place. Alicent can pretend that the men around her - the men she herself put into power - will listen to her or honor her position. But the very structures that make Aegon king are the ones that make Alicent now irrelevant.

I think Alicent’s journey this season is finding out the power she’s wielded behind the scenes for years could coexist with her sons rise to power but it can’t. I actually think we might get even deeper with this dynamic when Aemond takes control.

[lilia-calderus-pet-goat]

By the way, since Lilia experiences the entire timeline at the same time and not linearly, she's known her coven for her whole entire life, all 450 years of it—even if she doesn't realise it until the end.

They've always been there, because the flow of time is an illusion. They've always been with her. And as she reads her tarot spread, she realises it.

They're her family.

They always have been.

The gaps finally filled it.

She didn't die in a fake reality to save a group she'd known for 24 hours.

She died to save a group whose presence she's felt in her heart for hundreds of years.

Whose presence she lacked, like a memory she couldn't grasp. Nostalgia she couldn't quite place anywhere. Nostalgia for something you've never even had.

Because she had them.

In the future—she always had them.

And she was always going to protect them.

And even in death—

She's still with them.

Still fighting to protect them.

[abessive-art]

*Archives your Magnus*

[cirrus-grey]

I know I haven't mentioned it in a while but I'm still red-stringing about the symbolism of tea vs coffee btw. Alice found a tape recorder and now Sam’s bringing her tea. She's been introduced to the Archives' universe. She's upset and goes to make herself coffee instead. She refuses to be drawn in and finds refuge in the comforting and familiar instead.

[shutupineedtothink]

Obsessed with the idea that The Road is making these women deal with their trauma, and somehow that trauma is both individual AND intergenerational within each of them because they've lived for so long through so many different time periods where (witchy) women were persecuted in different ways physically, socially, etc. Then you have Alice, who actually has generational family trauma to deal with around her mother and whatever curse may or may not be passed down to her. (Side note: that makes her like a normal age, right?) Lilia also seemed to deal with some kind of ancestral trauma in her ep. 3 vision, maybe? And then there's the whole maiden mother crone thing, where Agatha literally seems to be carrying these three generations of women around her neck, which is a symbol of protection but also a burden, as it's a locket that (probably) carries the hair of her (not?) dead child, which is her biggest trauma - and a symbol that for her, the line ends here, there will be no future generations to carry on. Idk I'm rambling but it's fascinating yall. Can't wait to see what kinda shit Rio has to deal with.

[wwwhateveryouwant]

i think the main reason people didnt like the brothel scene with aemond was because they could no longer precieve him as a dominant man. i think that people truly are not watching because they enjoy the characters and the plotlines. they’re watching cause they’re attracted to characters, so they’re molding them to what they like personally. aemond was depicted as a child who was bullied and abused (s wordly and emotionally). the writing for his character is probably one of the most realistic in the show. he grew up being denied the things he wanted and forced into things he didnt want. its all hes ever known. of course when hes hurting hes not gonna go give somebody fucking backshots hes gonna crawl back to someone who already knows him. this is really a useless rant but i just think it’s interesting how people perceive people they’re attracted to. completely changing his character to fit the narrative of some 50 shades of gray shit when truly hes a teenage boy who’s incredibly traumatized.

[tessarionbestgirl]

Alicent & her kids.

Exactly, everything she despite about herself she sees on Aegon and Aemond. Aegon her softness and emotional side that she sees as weakness. Aemond is her vengefulness and rage that she find ugly. She loves and despite them both for it.

Helaena is the innocence she lost. She tries to protect and feel guilty of her lost. Daeron is her spelling image that she can't even look at.

[murderandcoffee]

wait wait wait we've seen this before. we've seen someone ignore the fears so hard that she survived a ritual. sure, alice is flippant like tim, but the way she just ignores and compartmentalizes the horrible things she's forced to witness is so much like basira.

[fictonrantsworld]

Bro my queen helaena has no respect for viserys legit look at these cut scenes from bts of hotd ep 8 of viserys coming in to the dining room...😭

My girl has no respect for her neglectful father like..🤣😂😅 she immediately sat after one sec.

Say whatever about aegon and helaenas relationship but, girl fr prioritized examining and toying with aegons insect gift that he got for her, than her dying father, like girlie...

Bro even aegon stood for a while like...

Aegons look of anger at his father, when he said he loves them all, and helaenas look at viseryss face like...oh yeah...I'm supposed to feel bad for your lost eye but when aemond looses an eye it's nothing huh.

[greenqueenhightower]

Alicent's Domestic Performance in 2x06:

After being dismissed from the small council, Alicent heeds Aemond's advice to occupy herself with "domestic pursuits." She spends time doing her hair and changing her coiffure, she's sat hours upon hours next to Aegon as the use of the blanket denotes, and she takes Helaena along to light candles for their "lost souls" in the sept.

More importantly, she has time to ruminate about motherhood and question her effectiveness and ability to become a good mother. Hasn't she proved her worth by performing her domestic duties to her husband and family all these years? Can she never seek escape from them? Has the pursuit of her own ambitions been the root cause of all her troubles and the pain inflicted on her family?

Once again she finds herself trapped in pursuing power and performing household duties. Having to tend to Aegon who becomes the embodiment of the consequences of her actions and the manifestation of her guilty conscience for daring to desire beyond domesticity, Alicent oscillates between devotion and despair. As she clutches her seven-pointed star, it becomes evident that Alicent is losing faith in herself and her abilities as a mother and ruler.

Outside the King's chambers, Alicent is framed against the two pillars of her faith and worldview: her duty to her family and children and her craving for freedom and control. She cannot reconcile the two. As she readies herself to put on a display of domesticity, the pillars close in on her, and so her atonement for any deviant behavior and ambitiously driven transgression begins.

[mejcinta]

Helaena and Alicent's hand clasping mannerisms might look similar, but a closer look reveals how different the two women are. Helaena is a lot more anxious and guarded (by how she pinches and rubs her skin) than Alicent, who exhibits more ease and confidence with her looser hand clasping.

[rootspiral]

Agatha All Along deep dive: episode 4 part 2

(Wandavision entries: [1][2][3])

(AAA entries: ep1 [1][2][3][4] ep2 [1][2][3][4] ep3 [1][2][3] ep4 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][+1] ep5 [1][2][3][4][5] ep6 [1][2][3] ep7 [1][2][3][4][5][6] ep8 [1][2][3][4][5][6][7])

THE LITTLE FLOWER POPPIN. THE M'LADY

seems like agatha is having An Emotion

but look! look! rio is once again being super special extra on purpose!! because if she just strolled in agatha would be overwhelmed and run away again. so what does rio do??? she corners her with a grand zombie entrance!!! the more over the top she acts, the more agatha is in her element and comfortable interacting. and in this case, angry is a better start than sad. all part of rio's Brilliant 66-Steps-Plan To Win Her Wife Back™ (or was it 666?)

her face omg

oooh are you mad??? are you big mad at little ol' me???????

agatha is like nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope

imagine being aubrey plaza and being born so effortlessly cool. she's cool even when she's awkward dear lord

jen and alice: kinda stunned by both her hotness and her weirdness

lilia: VADE RETRO SATAN (lilia's spider senses are already tingling)

will I ever be over the fact that Death is just one particularly powerful green witch?? that she's a gentle if odd girl who grows plants and flowers and mushrooms and is called the River of Life??? that she is the embodiment of life in all her forms? that decay and regrowth are all part of the same natural cycle? that the hardest and most inexplicable thing a living being can go through is also the most reassuringly organic and normal???

have I already said "i love you patti lupone" today?

we're off to see the wizarrrrd. her cute peter pan outfit!

what do we think, billy? does she want to talk about it, or does she have the emotional maturity of a baby ostrich?

same girls, same

whoa there ladies, calm down. I'm already taken

lilia is also having an Emotion. it must be pretty weird to realize that your mortal foe is this hot

alice going NOPE when she sees her mom's house. the leaves are red alice, honey. it's your turn.

(does the back of rio's jacket look like a ribcage?)

it's going to be fine baby. your friends are all here. you can do this. deep breaths.

fire moon! fire moon! fire moon! oh this is my favorite trial

*grabs the mike* WOULD

from right to left: would, would, would, would, would, oh hi joe

rio: BITCH I AM?!?!?!?!?!?!? (everyone say thank you costume department)

the Road isn't subtle, BILLY.

sure, there wasn't enough sexual tension already, let's add side boobs, shall we? and rio being like hey agatha, hey agatha, hey. guess what. I'm here again agatha. you're not gonna get rid of me this time agatha.

I keep thinking that every reflection agatha comes across is a "te veo". and even when rio isn't there she is watching from mirrors and from puddles.

OH MY GAWD AGATHA how can you expect me to cope when you look around to make sure nobody is watching and then you lean in so so so sclose and then you say no with such a deep soulful voice and so much intimacy and such quiet anger and not one lil hint of clownery. I AM ABOUT TO GO FERAL

agatha around rio is like, mind screaming in anguish and body screaming in horny. lethal combination

lilia who's been trying and failing for centuries and centuries to come to terms with the violence human beings inflict on whoever is different

if there is one thing a broadway pro is trained to do is making people cry while wearing increasingly stupid wigs

JEN SEEING MASKS BECAUSE SHE DOESN'T KNOW WHO HIDES BEHIND THE MONSTER THAT BOUND HER

fletwood mac?!?!!?!?!?!?!? in this economy?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? I cannot handle much more of this, my emotions are raw and fragile and tender as it is already!!!!!!!!

oh, alice.

well this episode is making me feel like agatha: sad and horny. weird vibe but okay.

go to episode 4 part 3

[lilia-calderus-pet-goat]

Something of note about Lilia's tarot spread is that—it's hers. The cards she pulls aren't precisely who the characters are to themselves, but who they are and what they represent to Lilia. As her coven, in her life.

Like, I don't really know my tarot that well—I'm just pulling themes from within the episode and my general understanding.

But when she was reading for Billy, he was fittingly represented by the Magician. But for Lilia, he was the “windfall.” He was the tower, reversed. Miraculous transformation. Because she, having put the sigil on him, saved him from the destruction and lead to his miraculous transformation. And to her, he was the windfall, because without him, she wouldn't be here, with her coven. She wouldn't have found herself.

Alice's is very straight forward—“full of fire, fights bravely.” It's how Lilia saw her, what Lilia had once again predicted for her. 'Wound suffered, lessons learned.' Specifically, Lilia wasn't able to warn Alice, but she learned her lesson. So, this time, she makes sure to warn Agatha. “When she calls you a coward, hit the deck.”

And why does she warn Agatha? Agatha represents her 'obstacles,' after all. Maybe so—Lilia's literal obstacle at this stage ends up being the Salem Seven, who merely want Agatha. Yet she chooses to stay behind to save a woman who probably wouldn't do the same for her. And the reason is—for her, Agatha is the Three of Swords. She looks at her and sees Heartbreak, (Rio) Sorrow, (Evanora) Grief (Nicholas). And Lilia is willing to forgive her—to sacrifice herself for her—even if the universe itself doesn't think she deserves it. This is different from how Agatha views herself, or even how Billy views her, since he initially pulls out the Chariot. One might say it's a random choice, but the Chariot is described as representing “determination, success, and control.” It's about overcoming challenges and gaining victory through maintaining control of your surroundings—which, I argue, embodies Agatha pretty well. So The Three of Swords is who Agatha is to Lilia. She doesn't hate her, or see her as a force to be reckoned with. She pities her. After all, the Queen of Cups is defined by her empathy.

Then, of course, Jen. Jen is Lilia's path ahead. Not only because she has a brilliant future of her own ahead of her in the mcu, now with her powers unbound. Because Lilia senses all the trapped light and bound power that Jen carries—“The High Priestess: Immense spiritual power, unable or unwilling to use it--” but also because Jen, the survivor, is the one who will carry on Lilia's memory. All those centuries, Lilia had been alone—there was no 'path ahead.' Everything was a jumbled mess, her “path” was non-linear and twisty. And Jen, after centuries of solitude, was her light in the dark, guiding her through the dark tunnels, as her mind wandered through her timeline searching for answers. Jen was the only person in centuries who bothered to see her as something more, to acknowledge her strength, and to help her fill in the gaps as best as she could. And so Lilia sees so much hope in Jennifer—who won't stop becoming better and better. Because for Jen, the Queen of Cups is her path behind. Wound suffered, lessons learned. “I couldn't save Lilia, I didn't even try to save Alice, I'll be damned if I let you two idiots die.”

Finally, Death, Rio. Well—it's obvious. In tarot, death isn't literal. It's mist often symbolic. Transformation, end of a cycle, new beginnings. Which is why we never see Lilia's corpse, and we never see Rio collect her. Because unlike Alice, Lilia went into the afterlife willingly. And for her, it was a beautiful release. After years of running out of time—she got to start anew—knowing that this time, she managed to save her coven. (I'd also like to think that the reason we don't see Rio collect Sharon is because it was a peaceful death—joining Mr. Davis instead of suffering further. Whereas Alice finally had something to live for, but I digress. I've already made my posts about Alice.)

I think that this is all relatively obvious—but I genuinely can't stop thinking about Lilia and her dynamics with the rest of the coven.

[thetrashiestbaby]

“I like to think we would find each other in any universe”

[fadingstudentbananacookie]

Aegon II Targaryen & Maegor Targaryen - Parallels

House of the Dragon, Fire & Blood / George R.R. Martin, HotDS1Script provided by @darksvster