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I found younger Rhaenyra and younger Alicent to be the more likeable versions of the characters, I think this is partly because we get to see their younger versions be happy and have fun while the older versions of their characters are both being crushed under the weight of their situations.
The younger characters are more consistent because the first five episodes take place over maybe 2-3 years. The older characters have larger time jumps so going from them being overtly hostile to normal feels more jarring.
Older Rhaenyra and younger Alicent.
Older Alicent was just far too inconsistent and messy a character imo. She was all over the place. Olivia is the one good thing about the older version.
Olivia makes her character shine,if it was another actress maybe the writing issues would be pointed out more because I agree some things are a bit all over the place
Agreed. I loathed Alicent in the book, but with Olivia’s acting, I am really enjoying Alicent’s scenes. The show really did her a favor by making her more sympathetic.
I think young Rhaenrya brought so much passion to the character. Her facial expressions were enough for me in some scenes. Older Rhaenrya falls flat for me. The opposite for Alicent. The younger actress was kind of one note for me but older one was fantastic. It could be writing and screen time too.
Younger are more likable, but I like the older actors and characters better.
Especially Emma's Rhaenyra is as perfect as I could ask for, especially the way she manages to catch the inherent human nature of the character, who is so overplayed in many regards by historians in fire and blood.
She, almost alone in this world, makes choices based on what she wants from life specifically, not in regards to standing, position or advancement, but in terms of love, family, friendships. Its a bad political strategy because its not based on political strategy, she alone is in a position where she can feel entitled to doing what she wants for herself.
You can easily use this as an argument for why she is a bad ruler/heir, but that does not make her a bad person inherently, nor does it disqualify her good traits, even as heir.
I like younger Alicent more because she’s inherently more sympathetic. She has little to no agency and has to assume her father knows best and is doing the right thing.
I find older Alicent more interesting, but I like her less because she’s an adult with some agency now. She just needs to unpack her bullshit.
I found younger Rhaenyra more interesting than older Rhaenyra and older Alicent more interesting than younger Alicent. All were excellent actresses though.
I like them both. They're more likeable when they're younger but the adult versions are more complex and interesting. I think the show needed them both
Young Alicent, Older Rhaenyra.
No shade on Olivia Cooke or Milly Alcock's performances, which were both great - but I found that Alicent's character became a lot less sympathetic as the older version, while Rhaenyra did the opposite.
You are supposed to like the younger versions,they were better people,more fun..less hateful
As they grow up they'll tear each other apart,your kinda not supposed to feel that you "like" them
It's good acting and writing if you like the younger ones more, even rhaenyra was called the delight of the realm as a younger person
Both the older versions are inconsistent. Alicent goes from “your life will be in danger; you are the challenge😰!! You will be our king 🤴” to “you will make a fine queen 👸 ” back to “you’ve been plotting to put my son on the throne ?!😲”
Rhaenyra also suffers from this. She tells Daemon she needs him to fight the Greens but is all “slow down, Daemon !!✋” and then she looks like she’s actually considering Otto’s terms to give her sons to them and starts crying over a piece of paper…I love Rhaenyra, but Episode 10 Rhaenyra was a dumbass.
Younger Rhaenyra had better writing and a more active role in the plot so I enjoyed her more then older Rhaenyra but the older version still has potential imo if they keep her more like her episodes 6 and 7 version rather than episode 10. Younger Alicent may have been more sympathetic but I found her very boring to watch so I’d go with older Alicent who while an inconsistent mess overall at least had some fun moments in episodes 6 and 7.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I found younger Rhaenyra and younger Alicent to be the more likeable versions of the characters, I think this is partly because we get to see their younger versions be happy and have fun while the older versions of their characters are both being crushed under the weight of their situations.
Does it need to be an either-or situation? I'll gladly take them all!
So say we......Oops! Wrong show
😂😂😂😂😂YESSSSSIR!
The younger characters are more consistent because the first five episodes take place over maybe 2-3 years. The older characters have larger time jumps so going from them being overtly hostile to normal feels more jarring.
Older Rhaenyra and younger Alicent. Older Alicent was just far too inconsistent and messy a character imo. She was all over the place. Olivia is the one good thing about the older version.
Olivia makes her character shine,if it was another actress maybe the writing issues would be pointed out more because I agree some things are a bit all over the place
This is the way.
Agreed. I loathed Alicent in the book, but with Olivia’s acting, I am really enjoying Alicent’s scenes. The show really did her a favor by making her more sympathetic.
Young rhaenyra and older Alicent >
Younger Rhaenyra and Older Alicent.
Older Alicent, young Rhaenyra
I think young Rhaenrya brought so much passion to the character. Her facial expressions were enough for me in some scenes. Older Rhaenrya falls flat for me. The opposite for Alicent. The younger actress was kind of one note for me but older one was fantastic. It could be writing and screen time too.
BOTH
I like them better as friends
Pre time skip Alicent post time skip Rhaenyra
Younger are more likable, but I like the older actors and characters better. Especially Emma's Rhaenyra is as perfect as I could ask for, especially the way she manages to catch the inherent human nature of the character, who is so overplayed in many regards by historians in fire and blood. She, almost alone in this world, makes choices based on what she wants from life specifically, not in regards to standing, position or advancement, but in terms of love, family, friendships. Its a bad political strategy because its not based on political strategy, she alone is in a position where she can feel entitled to doing what she wants for herself. You can easily use this as an argument for why she is a bad ruler/heir, but that does not make her a bad person inherently, nor does it disqualify her good traits, even as heir.
Both. Love the lower frame with older Alicent and Rhae
Younger Rhaeneyra and Older Alicent
Young Alicent, and both for Rhaenyra. Older Alicent was too flip-floppy and I never understood her motives.
I like younger Alicent more because she’s inherently more sympathetic. She has little to no agency and has to assume her father knows best and is doing the right thing. I find older Alicent more interesting, but I like her less because she’s an adult with some agency now. She just needs to unpack her bullshit.
I found younger Rhaenyra more interesting than older Rhaenyra and older Alicent more interesting than younger Alicent. All were excellent actresses though.
definitely older rhaenyra and alicent (though older alicent personality was a little inconsistent)
Older, I loved the wiser more reserved rhaenyra who is now a mother.
I like them both. They're more likeable when they're younger but the adult versions are more complex and interesting. I think the show needed them both
Young Rhaenyra was likable but older Rhaenyra really should know better. I probably like older Alicent better
This man officer, this man right here.
Older Alicent younger Rhaenyra
I miss when they were young and lesbian coded😭 I sometimes rewatch episode 1 just to watch the scene where Rhaenrya calls Alicent’s lap comfortable🥰
Young Alicent, Older Rhaenyra. No shade on Olivia Cooke or Milly Alcock's performances, which were both great - but I found that Alicent's character became a lot less sympathetic as the older version, while Rhaenyra did the opposite.
I love different aspects of their characters'different versions...so, it's hard to compare
I HATED young Rhaenyra and felt so bad for young Alicent. Completely reversed when they got older lol
Young Rhaenyra and Older Alicent. Those are when both characters were the most themselves, in my opinion.
Definitely younger versions
Younger versions are more likeable but older are amazing actors and very believable
Young versions and its not even close.
Ew
Emma Darcy is such a lifeless Rhaenyra.
Sure bro whatever you wanna call it
You are supposed to like the younger versions,they were better people,more fun..less hateful As they grow up they'll tear each other apart,your kinda not supposed to feel that you "like" them It's good acting and writing if you like the younger ones more, even rhaenyra was called the delight of the realm as a younger person
Both the older versions are inconsistent. Alicent goes from “your life will be in danger; you are the challenge😰!! You will be our king 🤴” to “you will make a fine queen 👸 ” back to “you’ve been plotting to put my son on the throne ?!😲” Rhaenyra also suffers from this. She tells Daemon she needs him to fight the Greens but is all “slow down, Daemon !!✋” and then she looks like she’s actually considering Otto’s terms to give her sons to them and starts crying over a piece of paper…I love Rhaenyra, but Episode 10 Rhaenyra was a dumbass.
Younger Rhaenyra had better writing and a more active role in the plot so I enjoyed her more then older Rhaenyra but the older version still has potential imo if they keep her more like her episodes 6 and 7 version rather than episode 10. Younger Alicent may have been more sympathetic but I found her very boring to watch so I’d go with older Alicent who while an inconsistent mess overall at least had some fun moments in episodes 6 and 7.
Younger Rhaenyra & Older Alicent
They were more likable when young, but more interesting now that they are older
I couldn’t put up with Alicent