#i can imagine rhaenyra being bitter about 'being lied to' regarding aegon's fate

[greenqueenhightower]

Alicent goes to Rhaenyra to avoid shedding any blood, and the Rhaenyra she knew, the one she saw in the sept in 2x03 would have acceded to that. This new Rhaenyra, having amassed great power and now relishing in her newfound strength, does not cower at the thought of spilling Aegon's blood. It is Rhaenyra who believes she can have "all she wants" now that she imagines herself indestructible. Having lost all faith in the green cause, the Seven, and her expectations as Queen, Alicent becomes disillusioned with Rhaenyra herself. Rhaenyra can no longer talk of peace. Alicent's quest to find it as she preserves her and her children's lives fails. She's once again left alone to tread this difficult path of reconciling her duty to herself, her family, and the realm.

"A true Queen counts the cost to her people."

Alicent still is that true Queen, The Queen Who Ever Was, and she offers Rhaenyra the only way out, with the least possible casualties. But even in service to herself and her freedom, Alicent again shows altruism and is called to pay the highest price possible. She's destined to never be completely free and at peace, her inner torment always eating her soul as she drifts further away from the unattainable dream.