The way that discussions about Olivia Cooke have changed in the weeks leading up to the third season of House of the Dragon is unsettling. With great anticipation, the show itself—HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel—returned on June 22nd, promising a full-scale conflict, greater emotional stakes, and the kind of dragon-fueled spectacle that the previous season had allegedly restrained. Nevertheless, something more repulsive has been coexisting with the excitement.
For Season 3, Cooke, who portrays Queen Alicent Hightower, hasn’t put on much weight. It’s important to make that clear because fan commentary that wasn’t really about her performance in the first place has led searches for her name this season in that direction. It seems that criticism of Alicent as a character, a contentious and morally complex figure in the Dance of the Dragons, has turned into personal attacks on the actress’s appearance. This is what Cooke herself has addressed. It is worthwhile to investigate the confusion between these two concepts because they are not interchangeable.
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The scope of it was listed in a Reddit thread that was making the rounds in the fandom. Almost wearily, one user noted that it had taken less than three minutes to compile hateful posts directed at Cooke and other cast members. Alicent’s political decisions and her tense relationships with her kids were not the subject of the remarks. They had to do with bodies. In particular, Cooke’s, along with co-stars Tom Glynn-Carney and Ewan Mitchell. The thread retaliated, arguing—reasonably—that actors who are compensated for a role are not unintentionally agreeing to absorb the self-consciousness of strangers.
Viewers who actually find it difficult to distinguish a performer from the role they play may be partly to blame for this. It’s difficult to support Alicent.
She has allowed cruelty, made concessions, and is at the epicenter of a civil war that she helped start. That is excellent television. However, focusing anger on the woman portraying her, particularly on her body or face, is an odd and illuminating move.
Cooke’s decision to deactivate her Instagram account so soon after the release of the Season 3 trailer seemed to say something without actually saying anything. She had previously discussed the stress of dealing with harsh internet criticism. The account’s silence seemed like a logical reaction from someone who had just had enough.
This is especially odd because Cooke looked exactly like someone who had been working hard and bearing the burden of a demanding production when she arrived at Season 3. She appeared calm and professional during the press appearances in New York. It was warmly covered. However, some online communities had already reached a decision.
This is part of a larger pattern that existed before House of the Dragon. In ways that their male counterparts seldom encounter to the same degree, female actors in particular have long discovered that the more prominent their role, the more their appearance becomes public property. Even in a quiet way, Cooke’s criticism serves as a reminder that the scrutiny doesn’t go away as the work gets better. It tends to grow, if anything.
It looks like Cooke’s third season will be his most challenging to date. More dramatic material is available to Alicent than in any previous chapter as she navigates the consequences of Otto Hightower’s execution and the escalating violence of the Targaryen civil war. It seems like a good time to concentrate on that.
