let the darkness set us free

"so to find herself so far from alicents kindness and affirmation is really stark."

so of course rhaenyra tries to explain that it doesn't please her to keep her prisoner, she wants alicent to understand that she does still care for her. no wonder she's so awkward when telling her that daeron is being sent to the wall, it pains her to know alicent won't like it. she lets alicent see him to give her one more tender moment with her boy to make her happy. "do you wish me to thank you?" yes! she does want you to thank her, she craves your approval!! no wonder she's on cloud fucking nine when alicent apologises to her and she learns alicent might not be as mad at her as the thought. she acknowledges how well alicent ruled because no one else has.

The early episodes make it clear she has no intention of putting Aegon on the throne. "Rhaenyra would make a fine Queen. Would you have me raise a man to steal his own sister's birthright?" When Otto gets removed from the council, she says to him "If you had not been so relentless in advancing Aegon as heir." She doesn't see it as the right thing to do hence she sees it as one of the reasons he got removed.

It has also been made clear that Otto coerced and forced her into putting Aegon on the throne. "Our hearts were never one." "I have been a piece that you moved about the board. I wanted whatever you impressed upon me to want." She adopts the ideology that Aegon is 'meant' to be King because its what she has been impressed upon to do, she doesn't agree with it but it's exhausting to constantly fight against that.

She did not want to drag Aegon from the streets but it was going to happen regardless because Otto had already sent Erryk and Arryk to find him. There was no use in Alicent trying to stop Aegons ascension so she stepped in herself for the sake of ensuring Otto wouldn't advise Aegon to have Rhaenyra killed.

She forces herself to believe Viserys' dying wish for the sake of giving her life a purpose, making her sacrifices amount to something and most importantly, it is her duty to do as the King wants. "You toil still in service to men." is a pattern in her arc. Duty is above all for Alicent. Why do you think she falters so easily when Rhaenyra tells her the truth of the prophecy? She learns it wasn't what he wanted, she knows it's not right to justify her actions on a lie and her heart was never really in it in the first place.

alicent has put her seven pointed star necklace back on as if to remind herself of the conduct she should carry herself with after having shouted at her queen. she enters and apologises and though may say the words of an apology nothing else about her says 'i'm sorry'. she's smiling. she doesn't bow. she's standing over rhaenyra instead of sitting, rhaenyra is having to look up at her.

she's trying to make it seem like she is below rhaenyra when she isn't. she makes herself look humble and repentant and immediately uses the chance to get something she wants and even then, she diminishes the ask as "a small request only", as if a prisoner who just shouted and questioned the queen has a right to a request at all.

what's even better is that it works and rhaenyra can't even look away from her, proving who has the more power.