Do Alicent and Aemond Really Hook Up in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3?
‘House of the Dragon‘ has never shied away from uncomfortable family dynamics, but the bond between Alicent Hightower and her son Aemond Targaryen has become one of the show’s most talked about storylines this season. Fans have been reacting with a mix of horror and fascination as the mother and son relationship takes turns that feel ripped straight from Greek tragedy.
The confusion around whether Alicent and Aemond actually get together stems from a series of increasingly strange scenes across Season 3, culminating in a moment during Episode 7 that left viewers stunned. Here is what actually happens, and what it means for these two characters going forward.
The Kiss That Started It All
The unsettling dynamic first ignited in the Season 3 premiere. Alicent returns to the Red Keep after her trip to Dragonstone, where she had struck a deal with Rhaenyra Targaryen to seize King’s Landing, and she persuades Aemond to fly to Harrenhal and take the castle.
She appeals to him through flattery, which he misinterprets as romantic interest, and he ends up kissing her. This was the first time Aemond had truly acted on an underlying complex that the show had only hinted at before.
Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond, spoke about the moment afterward. He explained that Aemond was trying to read between the lines to see if there was an ulterior motive behind his mother’s words, and admitted the scene felt out there when he first read the script, though he said he kind of saw it coming given everything he had explored about Aemond’s relationship with Alicent. Mitchell also suggested Aemond was assuming control of the family in that moment.
Alicent Hightower Faces an Impossible Situation
By the time the story reaches Harrenhal later in the season, Alicent finds herself walking a dangerous line. She has effectively agreed to kill her own son Aemond for Rhaenyra, a plan that would shock anyone paying attention to just how far the war has pushed these characters.
Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent, has spoken about how precarious this puts her character. According to Cooke, any perceived rejection from Alicent could get her killed, which means she can no longer condemn her son’s actions without fearing for her own life. As the season progresses, Alicent has to protect herself, Helaena, and Jaehaera from Aemond just as much as from the forces of Team Black.
That kind of tightrope walking adds a disturbing layer to every subsequent scene between mother and son. It reframes Alicent’s warmth toward Aemond less as affection and more as survival instinct.
The Episode 7 Scene That Broke the Internet
Things escalate dramatically in Episode 7, when Alicent finally arrives at Harrenhal. Alicent had been sent there by Rhaenyra in an unexpected plan to get her to kill Aemond, though viewers do not see her journey unfold until this episode.
Aemond is training in his room when Alicent enters, calling him her best son and thanking him for his decision to stay at Harrenhal, before telling him that Aegon is dead and Helaena has been taken hostage. While she blames herself for not being a good enough mother, Aemond steps in to comfort her, and the emotional moment turns physical as the two kiss and then begin having sex.
This time it is Alicent who reciprocates the kiss, and the scene proceeds into a full sexual encounter between the two. Naturally, this sent fans into a frenzy across social media, with many questioning how the show could possibly go there with two characters who share a parent and child bond.
So, Do Alicent and Aemond Actually Get Together?
Here is the twist that calmed a lot of nerves online. The scene turns out to be a hallucination, and it is actually Alys Rivers who is really the one intimate with Aemond, not Alicent at all. This fake out does not make the storyline any less uncomfortable to watch, but it does mean Alicent herself never actually sleeps with her son.
Gayle Rankin, who plays Alys Rivers, addressed the moment directly. She discussed filming the provocative sequence and made clear she believes Alys genuinely has real feelings for Aemond despite how unusual their dynamic is, describing the relationship as not uncomplicated for anyone involved.
Multiple outlets have confirmed that Aemond and Alicent never sleep together and never share a romantic relationship in either the show or the source material, and the speculation about intimacy only took off after this specific Episode 7 sequence aired. Ewan Mitchell himself has referred to the dynamic as an Oedipus complex, and even within the show, other characters struggle to understand it, with one simply describing it as a complicated, multifaceted set of circumstances.
With the Season 3 finale approaching, the fallout from this storyline is far from finished. What did you make of that Harrenhal fake out, and do you think Alicent and Aemond’s relationship can survive what’s coming next in the Dance of the Dragons?
