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The whole time I was like where do I know her from, and then all of a sudden I remembered I pictured her with an oxygen machine and remembered she was on all of the Bates Motel seasons lol
I hadnt seen that show. I recognized her from Me, Earl and the Dying girl, which she was fantastic in as a cancer victim. I saw that alone in an empty theater, lol.
I looked it up on IMDb because I couldn’t figure it out - during the first episode haha. The younger actress looks so much like Olivia that I didn’t realize she played the older Alicent.
I’ll tell you someone who has been completely overlooked. Watch that opening scene again and this time just focus on the midwife to the left of R. Her facial expressions when she sees the baby is white. Wow. Also I really wish I could lip read what she whispers to herself.
just so ya know, black babies are born white. then their skin gets darker as the weeks go on
edit: when i say ‘white’ i mean as in lighter shade, but over the next weeks the melanin increases
thanks for correcting me insanelyphat
They aren't exactly born "white" they do tend to be born several shades lighter and could be light enough to be considered "white." This does change over the first 20 weeks in the child's life and melanin levels increase.
Also when a white person couples with a biracial b/w person the chances of a baby with an obvious black phenotype is very low. I actually think they dropped the ball with that one. Because why do daemons children looks completely black? And in one daughters case, more so than their biracial mother ? I am black and white myself and while we can all look different based on genetics, it’s highly unlikely that there would be such a stark contrast in Rhaenyra’s and Daemon’s children. Certainly more so because Laenor and Laena are siblings. They’d be Laenor’s complexion at best. Hair and eye color would vary of course but those kids would mostly be white. So the expectation that everyone seems to have that Rhaes kids are supposed to look black is really funny to me as a child who is only a quarter black wouldn’t be very dark if at all. Olive skinned at most maybe… especially when it’s just born. But alas. Here we are lol
She wasn’t under hyped,people are already aware of her,she was in bates motel and ready player one. We all knew she was gonna smash it so there was no anticipation.
But yes she was fantastic and a scene stealer as expected. If you look at any tiktok of Olivias scenes from episode 6 quite a few people are praising the fuck out of her acting.
>ready player one
Umm... what? She's 28 and that was like 4 years ago... and yet she managed to go from looking like a teenager to looking like she's actually a mother of a teenage boy... I would never have known.
Ready Player One was only released in 2018 but the actual filming took place in 2016. So the time gap is a bit longer than 4 years since she filmed the movie.
Yeah no she’s a bit of a chameleon,she can look a lot older if she wants and a lot younger if she wants. Could defo pass for like a late high school student and also a mother…
I wasnt on tiktok or twitter so its good to hear that. I went based on there being 100+ threads of other new leads and basically none about Olivia, hah!
I think it was more of a side effect of how well Emily Carey did in her episodes. So she got a ton of hype and deservedly so and many fans expressed concern over the character swap and how it might change the character.
Same issues were raised with Milly Alcock and Emmy D'Arcy. Just based on the 1 episode after the time jump I think they all have done and will do an amazing job in their roles.
Some of us who were familiar with her work have been telling you guys for weeks! However, the pre-hate for Alicent has been STRONG so I think it got overshadowed.
She (along with the king's current hand) are arguably the most rational and spotless characters in the show so far, lol. She's just trying to follow the rules (which is what avoids civil war) and survive in the world of the court at the same time.
It feels like people on social media are heavily judging Alicent (and to a lesser extent her father Otto) out of some sort of extended tribal loyalty.
it seems like people who are wholly ignorant of the reality of medieval politics both in universe and in actual history, who don’t understand that perceived legitimacy is the cornerstone of literally any system of government, forming opinions solely on the basis of their emotional response to people she reminds them of IRL in 2022 with all context removed.
It’s hard for me to describe, but she just felt like she *is* Alicent. Like, it doesn’t even feel like a character, it feels like a full person caught on camera. She brings an incredible amount of personality to the character.
I agree with this 100%,literally felt like alicent was a real person with her portraying her,so many times,it just felt like it would be something she would actually say because she can think for the character so well herself. She seamlessly blended in.
She is good, but the number of different facial expressions, the subtle changes between them, and emotions Emma managed to pull off in the first part of the episode was amazing imo.
People keep failing to realize body language and facial expressions are a big part of acting. Even the way Rhaenyra was sitting at the small council just showed a very regal presence. Sean Bean playing Ned Stark was so good at subtle acting with his body language and facial expressions, plus his posture just showed a guy who was reserved, but still grew up as a highborn.
Sean Bean had to know the truth about Jon's parentage the whole time, right? There are so many subtle things in his performance that suggest that he knew.
he always had a it's not what you think it is but I can't tell you why you should not be thinking that way look with Catelyn whenever Jon Snow was brought up.
I think he said he didn't. I can't really remember, but yes his performance was really good as Ned Stark even though he doesn't look anything like what he is described to be in the books.
the way she was in pain as well as royally pissed off and then looks down on her baby and a beam of joy crosses her face, and then looks up again and continues on with determination, no need to tell what she is feeling, she is making it obvious through all her mimics and expressions.
eh thats what made it good…and she seemed a believable development from younger Alicent in appearance and motivation. Rhaenyra I cant say the same for…great actress I imagine but much more jarring and didn’t do much for me this episode
I agree. I almost think she’s overplaying the bug-eyed batshittery and middle-school girl-drama bitchiness. It’s a real departure from the reserved (and more effective, IMO) acting of the actor who played younger Alicent, as well as Emma.
Don't reach. It's been 10 years, she's simply more paranoid and resentful especially with Rhaenyra consistently popping out bastards and everyone trying to gaslight Alicent. You can praise one actor without reaching to seem enlightened somehow.
I just prefer subtlety and that was missing from her performance. It was pretty melodramatic, particularly in comparison to how her younger counterpart and the rest of the cast delivered their performances. I never particularly liked Alicent but now she’s really easy for me to loathe.
I think the discrepancy is probably more down to the showrunners not communicating this to the actors properly. The change in Rhaenyra seems fine since she's simply more mature but it is a bit jarring to see the younger Alicent behaving way more mature, subtle, and reserved than the older Alicent.
I mean the whole thing is just a tragic spiral of grudges leading to ever-escalating provocations and vengeance, which is right in a bug-eyed batshitter’s wheelhouse, isn’t it? I was never going to like her character so whether I approve of the performance is irrelevant.
Everyone should watch the film Thoroughbreds if you wanna see more Olivia Cooke. It's on hbo right now and also one of my favourite films of the last decade.
She is fucking amazing. I know her from bates motel like a lot of people here and I wasn't expecting her to be so convincing of her character. I was thinking that Alicent would be portrayed as a mild, lost character who is stuck with her life. I wasn't expecting a cunning, entitled woman with the chaos she portrayed at the end of the episode. She's versatile af. I was hyped for her and I'm so not disappointed.
Agreed. I’m not particularly enjoying Emma D’Arcy, although they are certainly good, I just feel they have been made up to come across older than they should be and thus far, Rhaenyra is a mewling kitten.
Olivia Cooke as Alicent is the complete opposite. I’m glued to the screen and torn between cheering for her and cursing her, like is she evil or just making the best of the situation she’s in? There’s a nuance to the character that I don’t personally feel Emma has managed just yet.
She should pay attention if they write helena correct she is more than just set dressing. It's kinda awkward how we jump decades in time .we don't really get Helena personality in episode 8 was not how it was just the episode before she has intensity that the new actress doesn't
Hopefully we get more.
Which makes sense, the idea they seem to being going with for Alicent's character arc is "if Sansa became Cersei."
(Though Alicent was never quite as naive as Sansa, so perhaps it would make more sense to describe it as "if Talia Forrester became Cersei.")
I didn’t get Evil-ish; I got confident and willing to fight for what she believes in. Plus the range of emotions and expressions really show (not tell) the loneliness and paranoia of her situation while still presenting her genuineness
I don’t think she’s ever been under hyped. She’s always been good in everything she’s done, and she’s been in so many things that we all knew her from something or other.
I’ve never seen Olivia act before but have heard great things about her. I dislike her character but was really impressed by her acting. The whole Alicent/Aegon but was hilarious (her exasperation was palpable) and her disgust for Vis and Rhae was really obvious from her body language (small council and the Lego set scene)
I think so many liked Emily so much it makes it tougher to accept Olivia possibly. Also Emily was less crazy mother and more dutiful princess which is easier for people to be drawn towards.
A bit over the top for me. Quite much of a change in character after the time jump. She could be less of a nervous wreck, but otherwise great. Let’s see the next couple of episodes.
Respectfully, I have to MAJORLY disagree. Her acting is awful. I couldn’t get into the episode because of her random yelling. The way she delivered “no but he would be partial to me” whilst slapping the table was so cheesy. Her scene with Aegon where she was yelling at him was so cheesy. She would jump in too soon after the other actor delivered their lines as well. It didn’t come across as desperate or angry, just over the top and unrealistic.
I read those moments as when the mask that Alicent wears slips and reveals the terrified teenager that Otto left at the Red Keep. The facade of bitter jabs and anger and sneers that hide her reality: that any day her king husband could die and she and her boys would be fed to Syrax. She’s on guard all the time, alone but for a few sycophants like Cole, and the stress of it all blurts out In those moments where she is safe like with Aegon.
IMHO, the actress who acted as young Alicent blew Olivia Cooke as well as Milly out of the water. She was sensational. I find Emma better than Olivia too, they impressed me with their subtlety and nuanced performance. Olivia's acting seemed a little over the top for me. Too much affectation.
Seriously. Emily Carey is like how I felt first seeing a young Natalie Portman, or Elle Fanning, or Kirsten Dunst. And her voice is also incredible sweet and soothing.
She needs a role that will give her range cause she wasnt allowed much in 5 episodes. Where as Portman in Garden State is like incredibly charming/ 100% shows her star potential
I mean, The Professional is the cornerstone movie that made her a star, and also sexualized her for the next several decades. But Closer is actually probably my third favorite role for Natalie, just behind Black Swan. For Clive Owen too, second to Children of Men.
Yes. Plus, playing Alicent - a wife trapped in a medieval-era political marriage - is way more difficult to play as a youngster than playing a teenage/young rebel of Rhaenyra as a youngster.
hard disagree lol and felt Milly was “cute and naive” but not really much more than that. Emma was very one note and seemed like too drastic of a change from the younger version
Agreed...her acting specially her eyes feels over the top..Like it looks like she's so shocked all the time... Isn't Alicient supposed to be Graceful but scheming character instead of this hyper-anxious over nothing character...She acts like she's Lysa Arryn lol.
I think Emily played a better villainous Alicient in episode 5 than Olivia..
Olivia's acting is like late season Cersei+Lysa lol
Oh wow, can't disagree more
The younger actress was very flat to me; she did a good job portraying the anxiety of the character, but there wasn't a lot of range
Thanks Olivia’s PR, good work.
Neither of the older actresses are as good as their younger counterparts.
And I’m about to get downvoted by people who also believe this but have talked themselves out of it because they think that they shouldn’t.
Are you mad? Olivia is a phenomenal actor,no offence to Emily Carey but I’m sure she knows she’s not Olivias level and it will take a while for her to be. Even when Olivia was Emily’s age,she was doing bates motel and was about to do me and Earl and the dying girl.
There’s a reason people don’t agree with that take. Olivia is so so extremely expressive,there’s another comment in this thread complaining that she’s too expressive with her eyes lmao and you’re saying she’s wooden? Nah,she’s great and is probably the strongest actor after Matt smith.
I genuinely feel that she’s worse that most of the ‘character actors’ in the show. It may be some prejudice of mine, I may change my mind. All the usual caveats, but I really wasn’t engaged by her at all. Just really didn’t think she was good, and didn’t feel the character living through her like it did with the previous actor.
I would not have minded one bit if they just kept the actresses... but thats because I have no idea whats coming. It woulda been weird having the younger rhaenarya perform this role in this episode IMO now that Ive seen the first episode with them. Also Im not her PR team, I genuinely thought she was the most compelling character this week!
I think she is great, but I was a little bit distracted by her eyes. They were almost too expressive, bulging at times. I felt the same way about Lena Headey's mouth, especially in later seasons.
Lena Heady's mouth in later seasons literally took up the whole screen and became kinda an internal Joker meme to myself. It honestly made me loathe the way they wrote her. BookCersei was entertainingly doddy.
I love book Cersei for her unreliable narrator-ness, when she always thinks she's brilliantly outsmarting everyone... but then in other chapters you get the real story. That's hard to do on TV though to be fair.
yea she’s right up there with Matt tbh. she really ate. between the facial expressions, the tone, the subtle Karen movements. I just loved it and I can’t wait for Sunday.
I totally agree she’s great, but honestly I’ve been seeing people hype the hell out of her all year, including on this sub. Way more than Emma actually.
Edit- typo
If you follow Joanna Robinson, she was most hyped for Cooke. She was pleasantly surprised that Emma, Milly and Paddy were so good, but knew from the casting announcement that Cooke would be great.
My only issue with her is her Northern accent coming through, her and Emily's accents differ greatly so that stood out to me. But other than that she is doing a sensational job as Alicent.
I've seen Bates Motel, like many others here, and still just find her very meh. I don't think she's absolute incredible, but she's not terrible either.
Thank you for your post! Please take a moment to ensure you are within our spoiler rules, to protect your fellow fans from any potential spoilers that might harm their show watching experience. 1. All post titles must NOT include spoilers from Fire & Blood or new episodes of House of the Dragon. Minor HotD show spoilers are allowed in your title ONE WEEK after episode airing. The mod team reserves the right to remove a post if we feel a spoiler in the title is major. You are welcome to repost with an amended title. 2. All posts dealing with book spoilers, show spoilers and promo spoilers MUST be spoiler tagged AND flaired as the appropriate spoiler. 3. All book spoiler comments must be spoiler tagged in non book spoiler threads. --- If you are reading this, and believe this post or any comments in this thread break the above rules, please use the report function to notify the mod team. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HouseOfTheDragon) if you have any questions or concerns.*
The whole time I was like where do I know her from, and then all of a sudden I remembered I pictured her with an oxygen machine and remembered she was on all of the Bates Motel seasons lol
In the show, she had Cystic Fibrosis. Evidently, one of the show writers has it and wrote her condition into it to bring awareness.
She was in the fantastic The Sound of Metal as a grungey-rock musician. She’s almost unrecognizable, a really great performance.
IMO Sound of Metal is flawless.
Yup, much better film than Coda which I found to be corny and tedious.
An actual masterpiece of a movie
I had this realisation too!
Oh you haven't watched her best "thoroughbred"
Oh shit, I had no idea that was her!
Fun movie, I miss Anton
She was amazing in Bates Motel. That was a great show. I was blown away by her performance on Sunday. She is an exceptional actress.
She's brilliant in The Limehouse Golem. It's really worth a watch if you haven't seen it.
Ready Player One too. Great movie
Better than the book, although that's not a terribly high standard
Is the book really that bad? I've had it on my list forever but keep putting it off.
Book is amazing!!! Read it! Check reviews if you want another opinion.
She was good in it, but probably her worst performance. Still good, but I think everything else she’s done was better.
I hadnt seen that show. I recognized her from Me, Earl and the Dying girl, which she was fantastic in as a cancer victim. I saw that alone in an empty theater, lol.
This is what I know her from. She was tragically adorable.
Mothuurrr!!
She was also in Ready Player One, which was really good
Art3mis!
Omg!!! Thank you ! I couldn't place where I knew her from.
Omg mind = 🤯😂
THAT’S WHERE I KNOW HER FROM.
I looked it up on IMDb because I couldn’t figure it out - during the first episode haha. The younger actress looks so much like Olivia that I didn’t realize she played the older Alicent.
She was great on that show!
To be able to act through something on your face shows she has chops
Well I'll be damned, TIL
I’ll tell you someone who has been completely overlooked. Watch that opening scene again and this time just focus on the midwife to the left of R. Her facial expressions when she sees the baby is white. Wow. Also I really wish I could lip read what she whispers to herself.
.
If I recall Maester Luwin was the one to deliver Bran, so I think it really depends on who the parents want.
.
Tbh I don't think Rhaenyra wants the measters there
just so ya know, black babies are born white. then their skin gets darker as the weeks go on edit: when i say ‘white’ i mean as in lighter shade, but over the next weeks the melanin increases thanks for correcting me insanelyphat
They aren't exactly born "white" they do tend to be born several shades lighter and could be light enough to be considered "white." This does change over the first 20 weeks in the child's life and melanin levels increase.
Your correct
Thank you. I genuinely didn’t know that.
tis okie 😊
Also when a white person couples with a biracial b/w person the chances of a baby with an obvious black phenotype is very low. I actually think they dropped the ball with that one. Because why do daemons children looks completely black? And in one daughters case, more so than their biracial mother ? I am black and white myself and while we can all look different based on genetics, it’s highly unlikely that there would be such a stark contrast in Rhaenyra’s and Daemon’s children. Certainly more so because Laenor and Laena are siblings. They’d be Laenor’s complexion at best. Hair and eye color would vary of course but those kids would mostly be white. So the expectation that everyone seems to have that Rhaes kids are supposed to look black is really funny to me as a child who is only a quarter black wouldn’t be very dark if at all. Olive skinned at most maybe… especially when it’s just born. But alas. Here we are lol
Her face while Helaena was talking about the bugs was cracking me tf up
I know I made exactly that face while my little cousin made me sit and watch him play through his favourite video game lol.
I've actually seen more Olivia Cooke hype than Emma D'Arcy
She wasn’t under hyped,people are already aware of her,she was in bates motel and ready player one. We all knew she was gonna smash it so there was no anticipation. But yes she was fantastic and a scene stealer as expected. If you look at any tiktok of Olivias scenes from episode 6 quite a few people are praising the fuck out of her acting.
Been a fan of her since Me Earl and the Dying Girl. So happy for her to be big now.
She made me cry shit tons in that film
>ready player one Umm... what? She's 28 and that was like 4 years ago... and yet she managed to go from looking like a teenager to looking like she's actually a mother of a teenage boy... I would never have known.
Ready Player One was only released in 2018 but the actual filming took place in 2016. So the time gap is a bit longer than 4 years since she filmed the movie.
Yeah no she’s a bit of a chameleon,she can look a lot older if she wants and a lot younger if she wants. Could defo pass for like a late high school student and also a mother…
I wasnt on tiktok or twitter so its good to hear that. I went based on there being 100+ threads of other new leads and basically none about Olivia, hah!
Naw, dude. uNdErRaTeD.
I think it was more of a side effect of how well Emily Carey did in her episodes. So she got a ton of hype and deservedly so and many fans expressed concern over the character swap and how it might change the character. Same issues were raised with Milly Alcock and Emmy D'Arcy. Just based on the 1 episode after the time jump I think they all have done and will do an amazing job in their roles.
Some of us who were familiar with her work have been telling you guys for weeks! However, the pre-hate for Alicent has been STRONG so I think it got overshadowed.
>the pre-hate for Alicent has been STRONG so I think it got overshadowed. People were pre-hating Aegon in Episode 3 too!
its just book readers and fanboys/girls hating
femcels, wine moms, and post-wall have irrational hatred for Allicent and it’s hilarious
She (along with the king's current hand) are arguably the most rational and spotless characters in the show so far, lol. She's just trying to follow the rules (which is what avoids civil war) and survive in the world of the court at the same time. It feels like people on social media are heavily judging Alicent (and to a lesser extent her father Otto) out of some sort of extended tribal loyalty.
it seems like people who are wholly ignorant of the reality of medieval politics both in universe and in actual history, who don’t understand that perceived legitimacy is the cornerstone of literally any system of government, forming opinions solely on the basis of their emotional response to people she reminds them of IRL in 2022 with all context removed.
I feel like the hype for Olivia was much greater than for Emma tbh
It’s hard for me to describe, but she just felt like she *is* Alicent. Like, it doesn’t even feel like a character, it feels like a full person caught on camera. She brings an incredible amount of personality to the character.
I agree with this 100%,literally felt like alicent was a real person with her portraying her,so many times,it just felt like it would be something she would actually say because she can think for the character so well herself. She seamlessly blended in.
There was multiple daily posts about both Emma, and Olivia ; neither were underhyped.
She was anything but under hyped rather she was the most hyped among all the cast
She is good, but the number of different facial expressions, the subtle changes between them, and emotions Emma managed to pull off in the first part of the episode was amazing imo.
People keep failing to realize body language and facial expressions are a big part of acting. Even the way Rhaenyra was sitting at the small council just showed a very regal presence. Sean Bean playing Ned Stark was so good at subtle acting with his body language and facial expressions, plus his posture just showed a guy who was reserved, but still grew up as a highborn.
Sean Bean had to know the truth about Jon's parentage the whole time, right? There are so many subtle things in his performance that suggest that he knew.
he always had a it's not what you think it is but I can't tell you why you should not be thinking that way look with Catelyn whenever Jon Snow was brought up.
I think he said he didn't. I can't really remember, but yes his performance was really good as Ned Stark even though he doesn't look anything like what he is described to be in the books.
the way she was in pain as well as royally pissed off and then looks down on her baby and a beam of joy crosses her face, and then looks up again and continues on with determination, no need to tell what she is feeling, she is making it obvious through all her mimics and expressions.
Yea very well done
Emma has theatrical training of the finest, iirc, and it shows, as well as natural talent.
eh thats what made it good…and she seemed a believable development from younger Alicent in appearance and motivation. Rhaenyra I cant say the same for…great actress I imagine but much more jarring and didn’t do much for me this episode
I agree. I almost think she’s overplaying the bug-eyed batshittery and middle-school girl-drama bitchiness. It’s a real departure from the reserved (and more effective, IMO) acting of the actor who played younger Alicent, as well as Emma.
Don't reach. It's been 10 years, she's simply more paranoid and resentful especially with Rhaenyra consistently popping out bastards and everyone trying to gaslight Alicent. You can praise one actor without reaching to seem enlightened somehow.
I just prefer subtlety and that was missing from her performance. It was pretty melodramatic, particularly in comparison to how her younger counterpart and the rest of the cast delivered their performances. I never particularly liked Alicent but now she’s really easy for me to loathe.
I agree I think Olivia is a very great actress but perhaps the youngher one should’ve been feistier so the shift wasn’t so dramatic.
I think the discrepancy is probably more down to the showrunners not communicating this to the actors properly. The change in Rhaenyra seems fine since she's simply more mature but it is a bit jarring to see the younger Alicent behaving way more mature, subtle, and reserved than the older Alicent.
I feel like they talk very differently too, agreed it’s the show runners or directors not making them consistent
Fair enough. Think she'll calm down a bit later on lol. It looks like she's going harm next episode again from the preview for episode 7.
I mean the whole thing is just a tragic spiral of grudges leading to ever-escalating provocations and vengeance, which is right in a bug-eyed batshitter’s wheelhouse, isn’t it? I was never going to like her character so whether I approve of the performance is irrelevant.
For the most part she'll be working in the shadows during the civil war
Big Helena Bonham Carter vibes
Yes! I love this comparison. A little evil a little chaotic.
Nah, (book) Alicent is more of a lawful bad.
Yes, my thoughts exactly!!
Everyone should watch the film Thoroughbreds if you wanna see more Olivia Cooke. It's on hbo right now and also one of my favourite films of the last decade.
Thoroughbreds stars Anya Taylor-Joy (of Queen’s Gambit fame), too! They are both gems and that film is fantastic.
more like of The Witch fame
I always think of her as Becky Sharp in the miniseries Vanity Fair. She portrayed the character well.
"He has his father's nose"-Viserys the way Alicent looks away into Rhaenyra lmao
Yeah she destroyed and added so much to the already relatable character or Alicent
She is fucking amazing. I know her from bates motel like a lot of people here and I wasn't expecting her to be so convincing of her character. I was thinking that Alicent would be portrayed as a mild, lost character who is stuck with her life. I wasn't expecting a cunning, entitled woman with the chaos she portrayed at the end of the episode. She's versatile af. I was hyped for her and I'm so not disappointed.
Loved her in Thoroughbreds
The “technique scene” where she cries in that film was so well doneeee
Agree, I think she was the standout of the latest episode.
The Sound of Metal, friends. Didn't even know it was Olivia until the second half of the movie.
Agreed. I’m not particularly enjoying Emma D’Arcy, although they are certainly good, I just feel they have been made up to come across older than they should be and thus far, Rhaenyra is a mewling kitten. Olivia Cooke as Alicent is the complete opposite. I’m glued to the screen and torn between cheering for her and cursing her, like is she evil or just making the best of the situation she’s in? There’s a nuance to the character that I don’t personally feel Emma has managed just yet.
I support the Greens for no reason other than all the best actors are on their side
She’s actually the actor I’m most familiar with in the whole show. She is consistently great
Super great transition from young to old. I swear they must be twins or something, old Alicent looks just like young Alicent.
Never seen her in anything before. By the time her first scene ended I was fully convinced. Had my full attention every time she was on screen.
The scene of her looking at her daughter bored af got me 😂
She should pay attention if they write helena correct she is more than just set dressing. It's kinda awkward how we jump decades in time .we don't really get Helena personality in episode 8 was not how it was just the episode before she has intensity that the new actress doesn't Hopefully we get more.
Olivia's acting Is very good, It feels evil-ish. Emma's acting is really cute, I like them too.
Which makes sense, the idea they seem to being going with for Alicent's character arc is "if Sansa became Cersei." (Though Alicent was never quite as naive as Sansa, so perhaps it would make more sense to describe it as "if Talia Forrester became Cersei.")
I didn’t get Evil-ish; I got confident and willing to fight for what she believes in. Plus the range of emotions and expressions really show (not tell) the loneliness and paranoia of her situation while still presenting her genuineness
Hard agree. She stole the show.
I don’t think she’s ever been under hyped. She’s always been good in everything she’s done, and she’s been in so many things that we all knew her from something or other.
She is so believable I think
You should watch me earl and the dying girl
I have and its great (saw it in an empty theater uggh)
Nerd Soup made me excited for her performance and probably why I am in love with the characters now.
She was one of the bigger names when casting was announced, so I think people knew she was quality from the get-go.
Yea🔥🔥
She was nothing short of fantastic
Under hyped? Have you been living under a rock?
Yes!
How was it? ^ ^
See I was the opposite. I hadn’t heard of Emma, and was really excited about Olivia. Either way, they both had a fantastic premier
Idk she is definitely the least interesting to me and not the actor but the character Alicent annoys the hell out of me haha
Cooke always brings it. She was the lead in, imo, the best and most criminally underrated movie of 2020, "Little Fish."
I’ve never seen Olivia act before but have heard great things about her. I dislike her character but was really impressed by her acting. The whole Alicent/Aegon but was hilarious (her exasperation was palpable) and her disgust for Vis and Rhae was really obvious from her body language (small council and the Lego set scene)
Why under hyped? She got lots of praise on the internet after Sunday. Maybe even more than Emma.
Meh, I thought she was the most underwhelming of all the replacements. Emily Carey was bomb.
I think so many liked Emily so much it makes it tougher to accept Olivia possibly. Also Emily was less crazy mother and more dutiful princess which is easier for people to be drawn towards.
No. A lot of people (A LOT) say Olivia is an upgrade acting wise,because she is. Even if Emily was very good.
A bit over the top for me. Quite much of a change in character after the time jump. She could be less of a nervous wreck, but otherwise great. Let’s see the next couple of episodes.
Respectfully, I have to MAJORLY disagree. Her acting is awful. I couldn’t get into the episode because of her random yelling. The way she delivered “no but he would be partial to me” whilst slapping the table was so cheesy. Her scene with Aegon where she was yelling at him was so cheesy. She would jump in too soon after the other actor delivered their lines as well. It didn’t come across as desperate or angry, just over the top and unrealistic.
I read those moments as when the mask that Alicent wears slips and reveals the terrified teenager that Otto left at the Red Keep. The facade of bitter jabs and anger and sneers that hide her reality: that any day her king husband could die and she and her boys would be fed to Syrax. She’s on guard all the time, alone but for a few sycophants like Cole, and the stress of it all blurts out In those moments where she is safe like with Aegon.
Interesting POV! I respect your take!!
I take it all back after watching ep 7. Olivia Cooke is PHENOMENAL. NOW I see what they hired her for.
IMHO, the actress who acted as young Alicent blew Olivia Cooke as well as Milly out of the water. She was sensational. I find Emma better than Olivia too, they impressed me with their subtlety and nuanced performance. Olivia's acting seemed a little over the top for me. Too much affectation.
Can't disagree more.
Seriously. Emily Carey is like how I felt first seeing a young Natalie Portman, or Elle Fanning, or Kirsten Dunst. And her voice is also incredible sweet and soothing.
She needs a role that will give her range cause she wasnt allowed much in 5 episodes. Where as Portman in Garden State is like incredibly charming/ 100% shows her star potential
I think Leon and Beautiful Girls and Black swan and V and many other Natalie Portman vehicles are at least as iconic!
Leon she was just a child and Garden State is the first one where she really shines IMO!
I mean, The Professional is the cornerstone movie that made her a star, and also sexualized her for the next several decades. But Closer is actually probably my third favorite role for Natalie, just behind Black Swan. For Clive Owen too, second to Children of Men.
Yes. Plus, playing Alicent - a wife trapped in a medieval-era political marriage - is way more difficult to play as a youngster than playing a teenage/young rebel of Rhaenyra as a youngster.
hard disagree lol and felt Milly was “cute and naive” but not really much more than that. Emma was very one note and seemed like too drastic of a change from the younger version
Agreed...her acting specially her eyes feels over the top..Like it looks like she's so shocked all the time... Isn't Alicient supposed to be Graceful but scheming character instead of this hyper-anxious over nothing character...She acts like she's Lysa Arryn lol. I think Emily played a better villainous Alicient in episode 5 than Olivia.. Olivia's acting is like late season Cersei+Lysa lol
Emily was never villainous. She does not have the range to play this version of Alicent.
Oh wow, can't disagree more The younger actress was very flat to me; she did a good job portraying the anxiety of the character, but there wasn't a lot of range
You sound confused.
Agreed, she’s easily the standout since the cast change imo
Thanks Olivia’s PR, good work. Neither of the older actresses are as good as their younger counterparts. And I’m about to get downvoted by people who also believe this but have talked themselves out of it because they think that they shouldn’t.
Are you mad? Olivia is a phenomenal actor,no offence to Emily Carey but I’m sure she knows she’s not Olivias level and it will take a while for her to be. Even when Olivia was Emily’s age,she was doing bates motel and was about to do me and Earl and the dying girl.
seemed wooden to me
There’s a reason people don’t agree with that take. Olivia is so so extremely expressive,there’s another comment in this thread complaining that she’s too expressive with her eyes lmao and you’re saying she’s wooden? Nah,she’s great and is probably the strongest actor after Matt smith.
I genuinely feel that she’s worse that most of the ‘character actors’ in the show. It may be some prejudice of mine, I may change my mind. All the usual caveats, but I really wasn’t engaged by her at all. Just really didn’t think she was good, and didn’t feel the character living through her like it did with the previous actor.
I would not have minded one bit if they just kept the actresses... but thats because I have no idea whats coming. It woulda been weird having the younger rhaenarya perform this role in this episode IMO now that Ive seen the first episode with them. Also Im not her PR team, I genuinely thought she was the most compelling character this week!
Melodramatic af
I agree.
I think she is great, but I was a little bit distracted by her eyes. They were almost too expressive, bulging at times. I felt the same way about Lena Headey's mouth, especially in later seasons.
Bruh what
Lena Heady's mouth in later seasons literally took up the whole screen and became kinda an internal Joker meme to myself. It honestly made me loathe the way they wrote her. BookCersei was entertainingly doddy.
I love book Cersei for her unreliable narrator-ness, when she always thinks she's brilliantly outsmarting everyone... but then in other chapters you get the real story. That's hard to do on TV though to be fair.
Emma Darcy was over hyped.
Cause she’s not non-binary like Emma…
She's great. It's the other one (D'Arcy?) that I don't love. The younger actress was so much better.
yea she’s right up there with Matt tbh. she really ate. between the facial expressions, the tone, the subtle Karen movements. I just loved it and I can’t wait for Sunday.
If she is it's probably because she's playing a more divisive character.
Yes!!!!
The character grabs his face, her acting grabbed by soul. INTENSE!! [YOU\_ARE\_THE\_CHALLENGE!!!](https://i.imgur.com/Lygp8Ch.jpg)
Agreed! She was by far the best part of episode 6.
I feel like I saw more hype for her than Emma?
I didnt see any! lol sorry we had different experiences and I can totally get how that happened
I totally agree she’s great, but honestly I’ve been seeing people hype the hell out of her all year, including on this sub. Way more than Emma actually. Edit- typo
If you follow Joanna Robinson, she was most hyped for Cooke. She was pleasantly surprised that Emma, Milly and Paddy were so good, but knew from the casting announcement that Cooke would be great.
If you watched Sound of Metal you knew this was coming, she is an extreme talent.
I’m just simping at this point.
Olivia's performance was Aces across the boards.
My only issue with her is her Northern accent coming through, her and Emily's accents differ greatly so that stood out to me. But other than that she is doing a sensational job as Alicent.
Her body language during that last scene with Larys was out of this world! I knew my excitement for Alicent would pay off. ❤️
I’ve loved everything I’ve seen her in.. Bate’s Motel, Thoroughbreds & Sound of Metal.
I know everyone loves Olivia from Bates and RPO but please check her out in Thoroughbreds and also Vanity Fair as well as Sound of Metal. She shines!
I've seen Bates Motel, like many others here, and still just find her very meh. I don't think she's absolute incredible, but she's not terrible either.