‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2 finale: Why Alicent’s blue dress is so important

For Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), green is out and blue is in.

House of the Dragon‘s dowager queen made green her signature color all the way back in Season 1, a reference to the green fire House Hightower lights in Oldtown when it calls its banners to war. Since then, the color green became synonymous not just with Alicent, but with her son Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his supporters.

However, Alicent switches things up in the last two episodes of Season 2. On her episode 7 camping trip to the Kingswood, she wears a dark blue-green cloak over a lighter blue dress. The subtle color change from her usual wardrobe is just one hint at her shifting allegiance to Team Green, but the episode takes it even further. When Alicent sheds her outer layers before swimming in a lake in a simple white dress, the meaning is clear. Powerless, undermined, and unable to stop the folly of war, Alicent is giving up the duty she’s spent her whole life upholding.

She tells her old friend and royal adversary Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) as much in the Season 2 finale, when she travels to Dragonstone to propose a bold new plan to end the war. As soon as her son, Prince Regent Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), flies off to the Riverlands, Alicent says, she will surrender King’s Landing to Rhaenyra, the named heir to the Iron Throne. In return, she asks that she be allowed to go free with her daughter, Queen Helaena (Phia Saban), so the two can live the kind of unburdened lives they never had the freedom to choose.

Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke in “House of the Dragon.”
Credit: Liam Daniel/HBO

The whole scene is a House of the Dragon highlight, down to the tearful moment when Alicent agrees to give up Aegon’s life in exchange for Rhaenyra’s victory. But the scene also continues Alicent’s telling fashion journey from what we saw in episode 7. Here, Alicent’s whole outfit is a light blue — no traces of green here! Also missing are any symbols linking back to the Faith of the Seven, another key element of Alicent’s queenly persona. These visual choices from costume designer Jany Temimes help underscore the change Alicent has undergone over the season: she’s officially ready to relinquish her power and status.

But why light blue, specifically? Couldn’t House of the Dragon have picked any color to show Alicent’s shift away from her old ways? In theory, yes. However, light blue actually holds a specific meaning for Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship in House of the Dragon, making it the perfect choice for Alicent’s final transformation.

Light blue actually holds a specific meaning for Alicent and Rhaenyra’s relationship in ‘House of the Dragon.’

In the very first episode of House of the Dragon, when young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Alicent (Emily Carey) are at their closest, Alicent wears a light blue dress. Later, as things begin to deteriorate between the two, we see Alicent in a darker blue dress, then in Targaryen red and gold. Throughout all these changes, that first light blue dress remains the costume most closely associated with the love Rhaenyra and Alicent have for one another.

Emily Carey and Mily Alcock in “House of the Dragon.”
Credit: Ollie Upton/HBO

Notably, it’s also the dress she’s wearing when Rhaenyra tears a page out of a history book during one of their earliest conversations — the same page Alicent sends Rhaenyra in the Season 1 finale in an attempt to remind her of their old friendship and sue for peace. That move feels like the precursor to Alicent’s actions in the Season 2 finale, where she once again relies on her connection to Rhaenyra to stop further bloodshed. Only this time, Alicent is trying to work with Rhaenyra, instead of against her.

Alicent’s light blue dress and cloak in the House of the Dragon Season 2 finale call back to that Season 1 dress, and all the feelings that come with it. But they also point to Alicent’s state of mind moving forward. If she truly wants to live as herself, without the trappings of duty that were thrust upon her as a child, doesn’t a return to her youthful, pre-queen state seem like the best place to start? (We also see this when Alicent bites her nails at a pivotal point during her talk with Rhaenyra, a devastating callback to young Alicent worrying at her nails as well.)

But Alicent doesn’t just want to free herself. She also wants to free Rhaenyra, begging her to “come with me” in what has to be one the most (doomed) romantic moments of the season. Rhaenyra, for her part, is unable to go, trapped as she is under the weight of war and Targaryen history. However, Alicent’s runaway proposal doesn’t seem as unappealing to her as Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) back in Season 1. Maybe Rhaenyra does want to go back to those early days where she and Alicent sat together under the Red Keep weirwood tree, talking about history and cake without any fear of war, or marrying your best friend’s dad. If Rhaenyra ever trades her black clothing for her Season 1 gold to match Alicent’s new light blue style, then we’ll know for sure.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max.