House of the Dragon director clears up *that* conversation at the end of episode 8

Olivia Cooke in House of the Dragon — (Image credit: HBO)

Warning: House of the Dragon episode 8 spoilers ahead. Turn back now if you haven't seen the episode!

House of the Dragon episode 8 took a tragic turn. The episode's final scenes saw a bedbound King Viserys (Paddy Considine) finally succumb to his illness and die, but not before he whispered some final words to his wife, Alicent (Olivia Cooke). Slurring his words a little, due to being dosed up on Westerosi opiate milk of the poppy, Viserys tells her about the prophecy known as the 'Song of Ice and Fire'. Although it's unclear exactly what mental state he's in, he seems pretty delirious and it's likely that he thinks he's talking to his daughter Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy).

This prophecy was first mentioned in episode 1, after Viserys named Rhaenyra as his heir. It refers to Aegon the Conqueror foreseeing "the end of the world of men", caused by a long winter from the North, which could only be defeated if a Targaryen sat on the Iron Throne.

This prophecy is also mentioned in Game of Thrones, when the red priestess Melisandre foretells the Prince Who Was Promised, AKA Azor Ahai. The long winter refers to the battle between the people of Westeros and the White Walkers of the North, which we see in Game of Thrones season 8. Jon Snow, who leads the charge, is the Prince Who Was Promised – it's revealed that he is actually half Targaryen and half Stark.

Of course, with the king at death's door, everyone's mind is on who will replace him as ruler. However, although Viserys was referring to Rhaenyra and her bloodline as the ones to fulfil the prophecy, Alicent thought he was talking about their son Aegon. But was this a deliberate act of misunderstanding on her part? Or did she really think Viserys had changed his mind about who was to succeed him on the Iron Throne?

"The intention was that she genuinely thought he was telling her that her son was going to be the heir," Geeta Patel, who directed episode 8, told The Hollywood Reporter. "The only way to get even close to achieving that was to feel the vulnerability and innocence in Alicent. We had to feel less of the conniving and more of the girl that we grew up with in episode one. The fact that you were even confused makes me feel good because I felt like that was such a high bar for us coming out of Miguel [Sapochnik, co-showrunner]’s [episode seven] when she was hanging out with Larys in the last scene. The joke is, I called Miguel and I was like, 'Can you please like do something at the end of your episode to help me a little bit with Alicent?' Nope, you’re on your own!"