The Green Council” focuses squarely on Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and her father, Ser Otto (Rhys Ifans), in contrast to House of the Dragon, which shows the relationship between Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and her lover Daemon (Matt Smith) in great detail. Alicent believes that her husband, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), left her with the impression that their son should take the throne of Westeros as its rightful heir, according to his last words. 

It is of the utmost importance for Alicent and Otto to locate Aegon at all costs. The Iron Throne must be renamed after King Viserys (Paddy Considine) died, and now the council of the Iron Throne must name a new ruler to take the throne in his place. To search for his grandson, Otto dispatches the identical twins and Kingsguardsmen Ser Erryk (Elliott Tittensor) and Ser Arryk (Luke Tittensor) Cargill to King’s Landing with the orders to find him. 

Having yet to express any interest in becoming the new king, Otto will have to approach Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno), who can give Otto information on where Aegon is. An image of a young blonde child appears briefly to the brothers when they search through a pit at the bottom of Flea Bottom, where children are fighting. They pointed to the boy and said he was one of many like him.

The fact that Aegon has already started a family could create further complications for the Targaryen line of succession. Aegon’s bastard sons, if this is indeed the case, are one of the sons of Aegon. His sister Helaena (Phia Saban) is married to him, and they have three children: Prince Jaehaerys, Princess Jaehaera, and Prince Maelor.

There is a Growing Complexity to the Line of Succession

Undoubtedly, the question of who should be seated on the throne is controversial. Viserys broke from tradition and named a young Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) as his heir as opposed to Daemon in the pilot episode “The Heirs Of The Dragon.”Alicent is under the mistaken impression that her husband wanted Aegon to be the next in line to the throne, even though he has never changed his claim. This isn’t true; Viserys was referring to Aegon the Conqueror and the prophecy of “A Song Of Ice And Fire,” which he has never mentioned to Alicent in the past.

The lineage of Aegon would pass on to his firstborn legitimate son if Aegon were to become King. While using a bastard to challenge a decision is not unheard of in Westeros, Ned Stark (Sean Bean) was seen searching for King Robert Baratheon’s (Mark Addy) bastard son Gendry (Joe Dempsie) in the TV series Game of Thrones. In either case, if the King of the Seven Kingdoms has fathered illegitimate children who wander the streets searching for food, it doesn’t look suitable for House Hightower. 

It was interesting to see when Ser Crison Cole (Fabien Frankel) and Prince Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) searched for Aegon in the episode. Alicent had indeed dispatched them to bring the new King back to the Red Keep, but Aemond did not respect his younger brother, even though Alicent had sent them. It is claimed by Criston that he is the next in line and that he intends to be found by Criston. Can this be the beginning of another wrinkle in the Targaryen family conflict, as Aemond would not be the next in line?

Indiscretions That Aegon has Committed are Known to Alicent

As a result of her son’s misbehavior with women, Alicent has already had to cover up for some of his behavior. As we saw in the show’s last episode, “The Lord of the Tides,” she has to face a maid who Aegon assaulted to pay her back. As a result of giving the maid a potion to terminate the pregnancy, she tells Aegon that “You are not a son of mine.”

There is something heartbreaking about this for Alicent; she cannot comprehend how her son could have turned into someone who embarrasses her in the eyes of others.

As Aegon roamed the streets of King’s Landing and had affairs during that period, he fathered many more children who could also end up causing problems for House Hightower in the future. 

Otto and Alicent may suspect that Aegon’s affairs go beyond the ones in the Red Keep and that he is involved in many other matters. Otto seems to have planned everything; he may have also developed a strategy to squash any rumors about the new King’s infidelity that are circulating.

Seven Faiths

In addition to the possible ethical issues raised by Aegon’s alleged bastard, there is also the issue of religious etiquette to consider. There are specific rules that rule out incest, infidelity, and homosexuality, as well as kinslayers, and members of House Hightower have proudly accepted the Faith of the Seven. The house of Hightower places excellent value on religion, as it was in their city of Oldtown, where the first Sept was formed. The importance of remaining close allies with the leaders of the Faith will be crucial to the survival of the throne since religious extremists have rebelled against the throne before in George R.R. Martin’s books. 

This is crucial because House Hightower bases its claim on the idea that Rhaenyra has an incestuous relationship with her uncle and is unfit to rule due to her incestuous relationship. As well as pointing out Rhaenyra’s sons, Jacaerys (Harry Collett), Lucerys (Elliot Grihault), and Joffrey (John MacMillan), the movie points out that her husband Laenor Velaryon (John MacMillan) had nothing to do with the fathering of those three sons; it was Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr) who did it. Because he is married to his sister, Aegon appears exempt from Faith’s rules. However, he might have to face another sin for the religious extremists to forgive him.