As House of the Dragon Season 3 goes through production, one of its stars has slammed the fans of the show because of the negative reactions to the characters and their storylines. Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent Hightower in the Game of Thrones spin-off prequel, is thankful for the good interactions, but she also says some fans have been “f-ing horrible.” Cooke took a break from shooting Season 3 and sat down to talk with The Hollywood Reporter. The upcoming season of HBO’s fantasy show is about to enter its meticulous post-production process, and there’s still no release date. The Bates Motel actor did not share details about Season 3 and just said, “They’re off shooting a battle at the moment.” Cooke, 31, used the opportunity to address some of the horrible encounters she has had with fans, saying, “They’ll take a picture, and then they’ll be like: ‘We hate your character!’ Sometimes people do say that with a lot of malice.” Viewers’ reactions to House of the Dragon have been mixed, regardless of the strong following the show had during the release of its first two seasons. Cooke continues to explain the toxic behavior she’s seen within fandom circles:
“Some of the fans have been f-ing horrible to our cast. It makes me really angry that we’re then supposed to just bow down and [pay] obeisance to these people that only want to say the most debased, hate-filled things. But thankfully, we’ve all experienced it in our own way, and we’ve got each other, which doesn’t make it right.
“I think [it’s the] huge emotions. There’s also been really wonderful interactions, and I’m so glad that Emma gets as much love as they do as well, because they’re f-ing fantastic and such a beautiful, wonderful human as well… Matt’s not a stranger to the fury of fandom so he takes it on the chin. He holds himself in a really lovely way where he doesn’t let it stick to him.”

‘House of the Dragon’ Season 3: Alicent Hightower’s Fate Takes a Wild Twist

HBO

At the end of Season 2, Alicent Hightower faced a jarring dilemma. But she seemed sure of what she was doing when she arrived at Dragonstone to negotiate with Rhaenyra and avoid a ruthless conflict. Rhaenyra says she will only do “a son for a son,” and Alicent accepts. She will let Rhaenyra land on King’s Landing and claim the throne if Alicent can escape with her closest ones. In theory, this doesn’t include Aegon as he is the son she is giving away. Season 2 of House of the Dragon saw Alicent get further entangled in the political web started by her father, and continued by her erratic children. She’s powerless, but her last move proves that she can still be dangerous. Season 3 will probably see her character face a more divided fandom than before. Cooke talks about the character and the mixed reactions by fans:
“I do feel protective of Alicent. I have to be empathetic, and I feel f-ing sorry for her. I feel she’s grown up into this patriarchal system, and she’s been brainwashed by her father to honor this lineage.
“[Alicent has] really stirred up a lot of feelings. It’s odd to be on the receiving end of that as someone who has only ever tried to convey her with as much complexity as possible.”

House of the Dragon

Release Date

August 21, 2022

Network

HBO

Directors

Clare Kilner, Geeta Patel

Writers

Gabe Fonseca

Fabien Frankel

Ser Criston Cole