House of the Dragon is back, and so are our weekly HotD mailbags. Today, we’re offering spoiler-free answers to your questions about Alicent and Criston’s surprising sex, Helaena’s prophecies, and more. To appear in future editions, message me @zachkram on Twitter/X or at zach.

kram@theringer.com each week after new episodes air. Vickers asks, “How long do you think Alicent and Criston Cole have been doing it and do you think that was the cause for the complete lack of security in the Royal Quarters?” I knew after watching “A Son for a Son” that much of the reaction to the Blood and Cheese incident would focus on the adaptation’s changes to Helaena’s role, as Dragon removes the Sophie’s Choice element present in Fire & Blood .

But I didn’t expect so much chatter about how the show altered Alicent’s part: In the book, Alicent is bound and gagged so that she witnesses the murder of her grandson, while in the show, she’s busy coupling with Criston Cole. A number of viral responses have criticized this change, but I don’t see it as the sort of unnecessary, nudity-laden sex scene addition for which Game of Thrones became known early in its HBO run. Instead, I think it could add a new layer to Alicent’s character.

As actor Olivia Cooke told Variety , “It adds a level of shame and guilt that is different to anything that Alicent has ever experienced before, by being indisposed with the head of the Kingsguard who should have been on duty to make sure th.