Here’s what will happen to Alicent Hightower on ‘House of the Dragon,’ if it follows her fate in the book

In the 2018 book, Alicent survives the war and outlives her former friend, Rhaenyra.

Rhaenyra gets eaten by Aegon’s dragon, Sunfyre, after the Greens retake King’s Landing toward the end of the war. Rhaenyra struggled to keep the smallfolk happy because she raised taxes to afford the conflict.

Three years after Rhaenyra’s death, Alicent is placed under house arrest because she fails to persuade her granddaughter to kill Rhaenyra’s last surviving son.

Alicent remains in a small fortress within the Red Keep in King’s Landing but suffers from mental illness because of her isolation. She eventually dies from what’s called winter fever around the age of 45.

Although Rhaenyra’s forces technically win the Dance of Dragons, as her son sits on the Iron Throne, the book makes it clear that this is not exactly a positive outcome. It’s similar to “Game of Thrones” in the sense that there aren’t any real winners: it’s just about who survives.

Alicent’s death is a lonely one, but at least she isn’t killed in battle, or eaten by a dragon.

The same can’t be said for characters including Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) or Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel).

“House of the Dragon” season two airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and is streaming on Max.