A major House of the Dragon star has slammed the Game of Thrones fandom over the interpretations of their character. Oliies. And she confirmed in a recent interview that the debut of the third season this summer was a major reason behind her decision to stay offline for a while. She returned to Instagram in October after being absent from the platform since April
Why Oli
In a new interview with GQ, Cooke made it clear that her views on Alicent and her storyline don’t align with those of a large portion of the fanbase. The series drew criticism due to controversial narrative developments involving Alicent in Season 3. This includes a shocking, reluctant kiss between Alicent and her son, Aemond, and Aemond’s intimate dream about his mother.
“I think some of those interpretations just catch fire, and they become something that bears no resemblance to what was shown on the screen at the time,” Cooke told the outlet. “There’s a lot of ugliness to that fandom as well. It’s steeped in misogyny. There’s a lot of racism. I try to let it take up minimal mental real estate,” she added.
There has also been criticism of the directors for the perception that Cooke had been an unwilling victim of their whims. The Ready Player One actress clarified that this isn’t the case. Cooke noted that she shares a good relationship with director Clare Kilner. Cooke explained Kilner demonstrated that “you don’t have to stomp around the set and exert testosterone. You can just handle each department with kindness and care.”
Notably, by the end of Season 3, Alicent is still alive, so it’s safe to assume Cooke will return in the fourth and final chapter of the show. Given the release pattern of the previous seasons, House of the Dragon Season 4 will likely come out sometime in mid-2028.
