Alicent and Criston’s Relationship in House of the Dragon Explained

House of the Dragon season 2 made a big return with plenty of new developments for existing characters. Here’s everything you need to know about the new, surprising relationship between Alicent Hightower and Criston Cole in House of the Dragon.

When Did Alicent and Criston Get Together in House of the Dragon?

When we see Alicent again for the first time in House of the Dragon season 2, it’s in a scene where she and Criston Cole are being intimate with each other. There’s a gap here, as we’d only seen them establish a professional relationship in season 1, with the shared goal of taking down Rhaenyra.

Towards the end of the scene, Alicent tells Criston that this can never happen again, implying that this secret relationship has been going on for quite some time, and that it was established offscreen. This also means that the relationship must have began sometime after Viserys’ death and Rhaenyra leaving King’s Landing.

Why Did Alicent and Criston Start a Relationship?

Criston is the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard, which means that he works in very close proximity with Alicent. Combine that with their shared hatred of Rhaenyra, and it’s no surprise that the two eventually decided to get intimate with each other.

For Alicent, it’s important to note that this is probably the first time in her life that she’s been sexually autonomous. After being forced into a marriage with Viserys, she never got to experience sex on her own terms. With her late husband out of the picture, though, it’s likely that she found herself tempted by Criston’s presence, and them working together eventually led to their relationship starting.

And for Criston, there’s a little bit more to unpack here. His own relationship with Rhaenyra ended rather badly in House of the Dragon. He feels contempt for her, and sleeping with Alicent — who used to be her best friend — could be seen as a petty form of revenge against Rhaenyra.

Not only that, it’s also important to note that both Alicent and Criston are very self-righteous characters. They likely bonded over their desire to beat Rhaenyra, believing that their actions are just and correct. These shared beliefs combined with them working together means that it’s not completely out of the realm of possibility that they would eventually start sleeping together.

What are the Consequences of the Relationship?

Of course, this is a pretty problematic relationship on a couple of fronts in House of the Dragon. For starters, it’s pretty much a huge scandal for anyone to have intimate relations with the King’s mother. In addition to that, it’s also possible that Criston may have been understaffing in order to keep his men from finding out about his relationship with Alicent, which would certainly explain why no one was guarding Aegon’s children at night.

Not only that, but Helaena has also walked in on them on the night of the Blood and Cheese murder. While it’s unlikely that Helaena will expose them, the fact that their relationship has been uncovered by a third party could spell a lot of trouble for them.

And that’s everything you need to know about Alicent and Criston’s relationship in House of the Dragon. Be sure to search up The Escapist for more news and information on the show, including who Alyrie Florent is.