Quite literally, what's the tea?
Amid the literal fire and blood in House of the Dragon season 2 episode 4, some dramatic developments took place a little under the radar – including a few featuring Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke).
While the Dowager Queen has well and truly had enough of her sons, especially King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) in the episode, she's dealing with her own business, as seen when the Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) delivers her tea.
So, quite literally, what's the tea? The Grand Maester delivered Alicent some "moon tea", an abortifacient to prevent any unwanted pregnancies as a result of any sexual encounters she may have had.
In season 2, she and Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel) have struck up a sexual relationship, with Alicent clearly eager to avoid the birth of any bastards amid a civil war.
The Grand Maester delivers the tea discretely, with Alicent keeping up a pretence that it's for someone else, before holding her stomach and drinking it herself.
Later in the episode, she's seen suffering stomach pain, which the Grand Maester warned could be a side effect.
Unhelpfully, Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) decides that's his moment to visit the Dowager Queen, clearly spotting her pain and the empty cup and deducing what's happened. Could he use this information against her?
Viewers might remember that moon tea was also relevant in season 1, when the late King Viserys (Paddy Considine) had some delivered to Rhaenyra (played by Milly Alcock at the time) after an encounter with the very same Criston Cole, proving his status as the biggest sexual menace in Westeros.
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House of the Dragon continues Monday 8th July 2024 on Sky Atlantic and NOW.
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Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
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