Alicent shows her feet to Larys in House of the Dragon, because she knows that in doing this, he will give her the information that she wants.
House of the Dragon has many of the same aspects that fans loved about Game of Thrones, as well as its own unique intrigue.
One of the more complex scenes in the first season follows Alicent as she shows Larys her bare feet in order to get the information from him that she is looking for, which changes the viewers’ understanding of their relationship and makes Alicent visibly uncomfortable.
Is House of the Dragon as good as Game of Thrones?
Many fans were sceptical of whether House of the Dragon would be able to live up to the grandiose bar that the original Game of Thrones series set.
As can be expected, House of the Dragon has been receiving polarising reviews since it first appeared, but for the most part, the costumes, sets, special effects, and the levels of drama are exactly what fans wanted from the prequel in order for it to stand up to the original series.
The show also has its fair share of violence, scheming, and manipulation.
House of the Dragon: Why does Alicent show her feet?
Since HBO shows do not need to subscribe to the regular rules of decorum that television shows need to abide by, there have been many scenes in the first season of House of the Dragon that have made viewers turn away from their streaming devices uncomfortably.
One of the best examples of this is the scene in the ninth episode of season one where Alicent removes her stocking and shows Larys her feet as a sort of transaction.
By doing this, she receives information about a network of spies, which Larys informs her that her father also knew about, and he gets to satisfy his foot fetish.
While it is obvious that Alicent shows him her feet in order to get the information that she wants from Larys, the obvious uncomfortable feelings that the oddly intimate scene brings about are exacerbated by the fact that Alicent is quite clearly revolted by what she is doing.
Though Larys, who has already been established as an underhanded and conniving character, seems to revel in the power that he holds over her with this information.
This is why even with the history between the two characters, namely, that Larys has been established as Queen Alicent’s ‘master of whisperers’ in various instances throughout the first season, this scene still manages to make Larys look even crueller and more underhanded than usual.
Even though he has managed to gain a dangerous amount of power by committing acts on her behalf.
The history between Alicent and Larys
Although it is known that Larys has served Queen Alicent for 16 years, at the beginning of the first season of House of the Dragon, their on-screen relationship only really developed from the fifth episode onwards.
In this episode, Larys found Alicent outside on the castle grounds to inform her that Rhaenyra had taken Moon Tea.
Later on, in the first season, Alicent meets Larys for dinner, which reinforces the idea that he holds some power over her and since she also removes her shoes before she sits down at the table.
This indicates that she has been playing into his foot fetish to get what she wants for longer than just in the ninth episode.
Why does Larys hold so much power over Alicent?
The scene where Alicent shows Larys her feet was strange for many reasons. One of the main reasons is because Alicent is so clearly uncomfortable with what she is doing.
However, this is true for a lot of the relationship between Alicent and Larys, as she gives him a lot of power and lets him get away with more than she would other characters, even though he is known to be underhanded and cunning.
The fact that Alicent allows Larys to get away with so much and why he manages to manipulate her, is because of all the cruel acts that he has committed on her behalf and the fact that he has convinced her that she is to blame for the murders of Lyonel and Harwin Strong.
What happens after Alicent has shown her feet to Larys?
Later on, in the episode, it is clear that a servant has been hanged and this indicates that Larys followed through on his promise to execute her servant who acted as a spy for Mysaria in the Red Keep.
This signifies that Larys and Alicent still have the same understanding and that their relationship is likely to continue for a while.