i think that what angers me most about alicent's character, is that i can only ever think about what we could've had
i personally read the book before the show came out, so i did have that baseline, but i've also seen more than enough books be turned into adaptations, to know that the likelihood that they stay 100% faithful to the source material is generally fairly low, so i wasn't expecting (nor did i necessarily want) an exact copy and paste of the book
so when the show first came out, and we saw the original changes (alicent being younger, her relationship with otto and rhaenyra), i didn't mind it - i was actually pretty excited about it, because i realized how cool the character arc i thought they would give her would be
i thought we would see her come into her own, that she would know/be told that her life and the lives of her children were at risk, and that she would rise to the occasion
i'm not saying that i expected her to command team green as she does in the book, because with her relationship with otto being what it is in the show, he would not have let her - but that doesn't mean she had to remain powerless and/or without ambitions to call her own
alicent's anger towards rhaenyra stems from jealousy, and then we add the fact that she believed rhaenyra would kill her children the second viserys died, because she would have no choice - i personally think both could've been set-ups for the story arc of her deciding that two could play this game, and most importantly, that her sacrifices would mean something
alicent was sent to viserys for one reason alone, to give him a son that would one day ascend as king - she knows this - so if she'd simply let rhaenyra be crowned, that would've meant letting her sacrifices mean nothing - it would've meant accepting that her life had been ruined for no reason
i personally love morally grey characters, so i don't need one to be the very picture of morality to like them (because in the end they are fake and nobody is actually getting hurt, so who gives af) - so if alicent had gone the route of "i suffered because of the system, while you cheated your way out of it. so i must make my pain mean something", i would've 100% fucked with it
if they'd gone with the route of "alicent is jealous because rhaenyra gets everything while she suffers and gets nothing in return", i would've 100% fucked with it (because fuck you mean i get your dad and you get criston and harwin strong? - then you want the throne too? nah girl) - it's the level of pettiness i personally very much fuck with
if they'd stuck with the "alicent believes the usurpation is the only way she has to save her children" (that sara hess took back with her dinner scene and alicent's toast, and the whole viserys misunderstanding thing), i would've 100% fucked with it
my frustrations stem from the fact that i think they stripped her of all agency and ambition to make her more sympathetic, but we could've had so much more (and i know olivia cooke would've absolutely devoured a more ambition and schem-y alicent, which only adds insult to injury) - and again, i do believe that they still could've kept her sympathetic without erasing any sort of true ambition or agency from her, and without having her become a victim of every single man around her
you do not need to turn a woman into a powerless victim to make her sympathetic (and side note: you do not need a female character to be sympathetic - they can also just exist without you shoving it down our throats that they're just powerless victims - you do not need to show them be used and abused by whichever man is breathing their same air in that moment)
they could've kept the original changes, and let her grow - instead, every time we see her grow even just a little bit, they immediately force her back like 20 steps
we see her in episode 6 of season 1, having seemingly decided that she can use the power she was given - we see her 100% convinced that rhaenyra can not ascend, because it would not be right and because her children would be in danger
then we have episode 7, and this honestly just pisses me off
episode 7 was the PERFECT set-up for a "alicent comes into her own" storyline - we have that moment after she cuts rhaenyra, where you have team black on one side and team green on the other, and alicent is in the middle, alone with her maimed child that nobody but her dared defend because the assailant was one of rhaneyra's children - that moment, and what it could've meant for alicent (aka that unless she stood up and did something, her children would be killed by rhaenyra, and nobody would do anything to help them - and let us also not forget that rhaenyra and daemon got married like a day after this - so if alicent had ever questioned whether rhaenyra would be capable of killing her children, she knows daemon won't hesitate), would've been a perfect (and honestly pretty fucking valid) for her to stand up even more, to truly try and take as much control of the situation as she could
but no, the next episode she says that rhaenyra would make a fine queen (which, when i first watched the episode, i fully thought was just something she said because she felt like she had to) and mean it because "she's tired of fighting"
and in my personal opinion, that scene does not make sense
because until this point, we know that for the past 20 years, alicent has believed that rhaenyra would kill her kids - and now, for seemingly no reason, she just doesn't believe it anymore because she's tired of fighting... ok?
i'm not even going to speak of season 2 alicent - the way she and everyone in the fandom refuses to accept that she fully condemned her sons, knowing damn fucking well that she's the reason why aegon is in that position in the first place (yes, otto told her that rhaenyra would kill them - still, alicent spent 10+ years at the keep alone, and she was the one who planted the seed in aegon's head) - and mind you that, like i said before, i don't think alicent's belief is that crazy, since it is true that no matter what anyone had or hadn't done, rhaenyra's brothers would've been seen as challenges to her claim, so alicent thinking she would've killed them is not out of this world
by condemning her sons to death, alicent is ensuring that her sacrifices mean nothing, and i honestly just can't stand that (especially bc, i'm sorry, i don't mean to be a bitch - but girl you could've thought this sooner - that scene took place a month after viserys died - you just had to come to this realization after god knows just how many people had already died, including rhaenyra's son, your grandson, rhaenys, and aegon had been maimed... great timing)
also side note: i see the discourse of "she realized what her children were" - mind you that aegon was already a rapist when she sent criston to drag his ass back to the keep and force a crown on his head
me personally, i think she left because she realized she had no power anymore - i think she expected to be the exception (after a lifetime of hating rhaenyra for "thinking of herself as the exception"), and when she realized that it wasn't going her way, she dipped (leaving her children behind, mind you)
and this is when the tiktok comments come to mind of "she never even wanted the children" to excuse her leaving them behind - but they're then the same people who justify her aiding in the usurpation because "if she hadn't, rhaenyra would've killed her children" - she either gives a fuck about them or she doesn't - can't have it both ways
also, "a queen counts the cost to her people" - alicent knew damn well a war would start from them taking the throne - if you genuinely believe she thought the peace treaty would work, i'm here to tell you she didn't - she knew damn well neither rhaenyra nor daemon would've gone down without a fight, and still went ahead with the war (because she wanted to take one thing when she felt like rhaenyra had already gotten everything - because she wanted to protect her children - because she killed herself in the name of a system, so she has to uphold it or nothing makes sense and she didn't have to suffer as she did - blabla, whatever the reason may be, and however valid you may think it is)
THIS IS JUST A RANT PEOPLE - NO NEED TO TAKE IT SERIOUSLY OR GET UPSET IF YOU DON'T AGREE