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Warning: Major spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon episode 8! Turn back now if you haven't seen the latest episode yet!
House of the Dragon is building up to an epic Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. But, in episode 8, it seems tensions between the family's factions have cooled, especially when Alicent and Rhaenyra toast each other at a family dinner. One moment at the end of the episode, though, changes everything.
As Alicent puts a dying King Viserys to bed, he starts speaking of the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy, believing Alicent to be Rhaenyra. Alicent thinks he means their son Aegon, when actually Viserys is talking about Aegon the Conqueror, the first Targaryen king. At the end of the conversation, Alicent is under the impression that Viserys wants their son to be crowned the next king rather than Rhaenyra – and fans have a few thoughts on the moment...
"You're telling me we're starting a war because Viserys and his delirious ass mistook Alicent for Rhaenyra in his final moments?" asks one viewer.
"So you mean to tell me that the whole Dance of Dragons happened cause y'all kept naming y'all's kids the exact same shit every generation and Alicent didn't know which Aegon Viserys was rambling about," says another person.
One viewer also can't believe the twist: "So you're telling me this whole WAR happens just cause Viserys thought Alicent was Rhaenyra while he was literally dying?????????"
"So you're telling me we're meant to think Alicent was gonna make peace with Rhaenyra and give her the throne but now we're gonna have a civil war because she misunderstood Viserys' delirious ramblings?? Writers what the actual fuck" asks someone else.
Other fans aren't happy with Alicent: "I was trying to vibe with Alicent this episode but it only took THREE SECONDS of Viserys' old rambling ass hallucinating for her without hesitation or further questions to misinterpret the whole thing and usurp Rhaenyra's throne. Like gtfo"
"Not matter how Alicent interpreted what Viserys said (thinking it was Rhaenyra btw), she's been preparing Aegon to usurp since ep 6 and it's the sole reason why the boy is that fucked up. She just needed an excuse and now she has it," agrees this person.
We won't have long to find out how Alicent reacts to this moment, either. Episode 9 is fast approaching – check out our House of the Dragon release schedule to find out exactly when it drops in your time zone. In the meantime, get up to speed on Westeros' ruling family with our Targaryen family tree, or fill out your watchlist with our picks of the best Netflix shows streaming now.
