Olivia Cooke Commands the ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3 Press Circuit With a Look That Matches Alicent’s Ferocity

With ‘House of the Dragon’ season three just around the corner, Olivia Cooke made her presence felt well before the cameras rolled, turning the London press circuit for the HBO fantasy drama into its own runway moment.

The actress, who plays Queen Alicent Hightower in the Targaryen civil war saga, was photographed arriving at the season three after-party in a striking blue textured halter-neck dress paired with black sunglasses and heeled pumps.

The occasion was the ‘House of the Dragon’ series three world premiere, held at the Odeon West End in London on June 8. The celebratory evening marked the return of the massively successful HBO fantasy drama, with fans eagerly waiting to see how the next chapter of the brutal Targaryen civil war unfolds.

The new season premieres on June 21 at 9 pm ET on HBO and streams simultaneously on Max, with eight episodes rolling out on Sundays through August 9. The story continues to draw from George R.R. Martin’s ‘Fire and Blood’ and is set roughly 200 years before the events of ‘Game of Thrones’.

Speaking to CBR ahead of the premiere, Cooke revealed that Alicent’s mindset at the start of the season is far removed from the political ambition that defined her earlier years, with survival now her sole focus. “I don’t know if Alicent’s cognizant of where she stands with Rhaenyra. I don’t think that’s her priority,” Cooke told the outlet, adding that her character is consumed with preparing the Red Keep for a safe transition of power and getting herself and her daughter Helaena out of harm’s way.

The shift reflects a deeper emotional trajectory that has been building since the show began. Alicent was thrust into adulthood as a political pawn when she was forced into marriage with King Viserys by her father Otto Hightower, and her rigid loyalty to tradition and moral order became the armor she wore in place of genuine freedom. At CCXP Mexico, Cooke put it plainly, saying that in season three it is “Alicent having understood the game and not wanting to be a part of the game anymore.”

The ensemble around Cooke is stacked as ever, with Emma D’Arcy back as Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith returning as Daemon Targaryen, and new additions including James Norton as Ormund Hightower, Tommy Flanagan as Ser Roderick Dustin, and Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly.

With the Dance of the Dragons now in full swing and Alicent seemingly done fighting for causes that no longer feel like her own, the coming weeks on HBO look set to be some of the most compelling the show has ever delivered.

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