For its first few seasons, Game of Thrones was a phenomenon. It genuinely felt like everyone you knew was watching the fantasy series, and it’s all anyone could talk about. Then we got seasons seven and eight, and the (dragon) scales fell from our eyes.
In the course of what felt like a few weeks, Game of Thrones had gone from the most popular TV series in the world to one of the most reviled. Still, you can’t keep a good franchise down, and House of the Dragon has (so far) made up for its predecessor’s shortcomings, and we can still fondly look back on those early seasons when Thrones was at its best.
Or at least some of us can, because it turns out that at least one member of the House of the Dragon cast never got around to watching the original show. Olivia Cooke, who you may know from the Steven Spielberg movie Ready Player One, admitted in a Guardian interview she didn’t watch Game of Thrones when it was first on.
“I resist things that are popular,” Cooke explained, “but to my own detriment because it’s really fucking good.” During the same interview, she also admitted to being hesitant to take the part of Alicent.
“When I was auditioning, I was definitely like: ‘I don’t know if this is what I want for my life,'” she explained. “But then I got to see the first two scripts, and it was good.” Cooke sees Allicent as someone who’s indoctrinated into a patriarchal system which she sees no escape from.
That said, Alicent is still the Queen and has some degree of autonomy, and it was this dichotomy that Cooke found so “interesting” about the character.
If you love the land of Westeros, check out our list of the best Game of Thrones characters, or if you need a break from dragons, we have a list of the best sci-fi series.