House of the Dragon star teases her brutal journey in Season 2

Ahead of the premiere of House of the Dragon Season 2, lead actress Olivia Cooke spoke candidly about the intense emotional journey her character will go on.

House of the Dragon Season 2 will center around the Targaryen civil war between Alicent Hightower and Rhaenyra Targaryen, who were first played by Emily Carey and Milly Alcock before Cooke and Emma D’Arcy took over the roles at the end of Season 1.

Because she was only in the role for a short time, Cooke has described not feeling like she could fully express Alicent’s emotions, but recently confirmed Season 2 will showcase more of Alicent’s intense emotional journey.

“Last season, Emma and I were only in four episodes each,” Cooke told the LA Times. “So we’d walk in and be full of beans when everyone else was at death’s door. Then I think we both really felt the enormity of the schedule. And it’s so emotional. Both of us are just either sobbing or screaming all the time. I don’t know if I smile in Season 2.”

The actress continued, “In this season, she’s so adrift. She’s losing her power. With Rhaenyra and Alicent, it’s like a butterfly effect, so as Rhaenyra is gaining power, the hourglass is turned over and the power is waning from Alicent, and her influence is waning as well. There’s an imaginary rope between [the two characters] that carries them throughout seasons.”

Cooke added that she was grateful to be able to show more of Alicent’s “many subterranean levels of repression and anger and despair and passion” in Season 2.

Alicent’s role in House of the Dragon Season 1 was a lot more subdued as both Carey and Cooke had to play more of a wifely and motherly role versus a queen consort at war.

It was only towards the very end of the story that viewers got to see Alicent take more agency over her and her family’s life, regardless of how ugly things turned out because of her individual decisions.

As the Hightowers and Targaryen prepare to engage with one of the bloodiest wars in the Seven Kingdoms‘ history, the violence and death will surely weigh heavily on Alicent’s emotions, but at least Cooke was up for acting challenge.

House of the Dragon Season 2 premiere on June 16. For more, check out our House of the Dragon Season 2 review and Season 2’s full release schedule. You can also find out what’s going on with A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and if House of the Dragon is based on a book or not.