ENTERTAINMENT'House of the Dragon' Episode Leaves Alicent Stunned After Brutal Execution in the Throne Room
Rhaenyra Targaryen executes Otto Hightower as Alicent watches in horror during a shocking throne room scene.
June 30 2026, Updated 12:23 p.m. ET
The latest episode of House of the Dragon delivered a major shock as Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy) executed Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), leaving Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) stunned.
Cooke told People, “There’s a lot that Alicent doesn’t understand. She doesn’t know what’s happened.”
Cooke explained that Alicent believed she had struck a bargain with Rhaenyra and was focused on escaping King's Landing with her daughter, Helaena, before everything fell apart.
"I think she's just like, Okay, I've made this bargain with Rhaenyra. I need to enact that, grab Helaena and get the f--- out of there before it all goes to s---," she said.
Otto's public execution shattered any remaining trust between the former friends, setting the stage for another major turning point in their relationship.
Rhaenyra’s Victory Turns Deadly After Shocking Return to King’s Landing
Rhaenyra Targaryen returns to King's Landing and reclaims the Iron Throne.
Episode 2 of House of the Dragon Season 3 came on Sunday, June 28, which saw Rhaenyra finally reclaim the Iron Throne. This happened after Alicent secretly helped arrange Aemond's departure, leaving the seat unguarded.
Her victory was short-lived when Otto unexpectedly returned to the Red Keep. At Daemon's urging, Rhaenyra made the painful decision to execute Otto, her late father King Viserys' longtime advisor and someone she had known since childhood.
Despite her emotional struggle and crying, Rhaenyra carried out the execution herself, beheading Otto before the gathered court.
The moment became even more heartbreaking when Alicent entered the throne room with her daughter, Helaena, hoping to escape the city, only to come face-to-face with her father's severed head.
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According to Cooke, Alicent viewed the execution as a public show of power.
She said, "She just beheaded my dad. In front of everyone. She doesn't know where Otto has been, so for all she knows, he's been held prisoner by [Rhaenyra]. This feels like a very public display of this assertion of power. I think Alicent is just like, Okay, well, f--- you."
Emma D’Arcy Explains How the Execution Changes Rhaenyra Forever
Olivia Cooke explained why Alicent viewed the execution as a public display of power.
While the execution left viewers in shock, D'Arcy, who also participated in the interview, feels it signified a huge shift for Rhaenyra as a leader.
"I think there's an important point that the show makes about rulers of any kind being insulated from their acts of violence," D'Arcy said.
She further added, "And in this moment, Rhaenyra's not insulated. In fact, she's subject to the kind of viscerality and horror of violence."
D'Arcy explained the scene represents a line that cannot be uncrossed. "I think there's a threshold that gets crossed in that moment, for better or for worse," she said.
Emma D'Arcy said the final act marks a turning point for Rhaenyra.
D’Arcy described Otto’s death as more than an execution, calling it “a piece of political theater.”
She emphasized Otto’s emotional significance in Rhaenyra’s upbringing, noting that his presence forces her to confront her past as she takes power.
She said, "This is a man who is your father's best friend, and so, in a way, can you be anything but a child in his gaze? I don't think so."
As per D'Arcy, that emotional conflict was central to the performance.
Showing that Rhaenyra's rise to power came with a painful personal cost, she revealed that their end-goal was "to sort of strip her of her childhood, by the time she takes the throne."
