Sky’s House Of The Dragon: how Alicent Hightower’s anxious skin picking became the relatable scene for women everywhere

House Of The Dragon

Credit: HBO

Under Her Eye


Sky’s House Of The Dragon: how Alicent Hightower’s anxious skin picking became the relatable scene for women everywhere

By Morgan Cormack

3 years ago

2 min read

House Of The Dragon is finally here and as well as the usual blood and gore, one unlikely character trait has stuck out for a lot of women. 

Warning: this article contains spoilers for House Of The Dragon episode one and two.

Sex, blood, violence, gore – Game Of Thrones fans know what to expect from the fantasy series franchise by now. And to be honest, House Of The Dragon has lived up to expectations.

As well as beheadings, one hell of a brutal childbirth scene and, of course, sex in pleasure houses, House Of The Dragon’s first episodes have also provided us with an unexpected nugget that has quickly become the talk of the series so far. 

We know, we know. Your mind has likely turned to Queen Aemma’s horrific caesarean section scene or the awkward King Viserys and Laena Velaryon walking ‘date’ scene. But, perhaps in a bid to try and erase those moments from our minds, we found ourselves honing in on Alicent Hightower (Emily Carey) throughout episode one and two. 

For now, we know her to be the well-meaning daughter of Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans), the Hand of the King. She reads history books to Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and they share moments of teenage female friendship that many of us can relate to. While we won’t say much about how her character progresses in the series, in the first two episodes, she continued to do something that has resonated with a lot of women: nervously picking at her cuticles and nails. 

Milly Alcock portrays young Rhaenyra Targaryen & Emily Carey portrays young Alicent Hightower

Credit: Sky/HBO

We see it first when the heir’s jousting tournament is underway and, being a young witness to heads being bludgeoned by axes and brutal beatings going on below the royal stand, Alicent watches on with furrowed brow. But it’s only when the camera pans down to her lap that we see her furiously picking at the skin around her nails, causing them to bleed. 

It’s a brief moment in among a montage of more bloody and brutal scenes, but even when I watched the first episode in a room full of people, it was this small segment that caused many to wince the most. Perhaps it’s the idea of self-inflicted pain that proves slightly more painful to watch, but it’s also a common disorder that many people live with and can relate to.

Dermatillomania is a skin-picking disorder where you cannot stop picking at your skin. According to the NHS, a person who has dermatillomania can’t stop and will cause cuts, bleeding or bruising to their skin; however, they often don’t realise they’re doing it. Most commonly, the disorder manifests itself during times of stress or anxiety and the skin picking is usually done with fingers, fingernails, teeth or other tools such as scissors and tweezers. 

House Of The Dragon

Credit: HBO

It’s not something I ever thought would be included in House Of The Dragon, but it’s something I’ve done since I was young and in primary school. Whenever stressed or anxious, it’s almost guaranteed that the sides of my fingers and cuticles will be the target of mindless picking. I’m not always wholly aware I’m doing it until a glance down at my hands reveals skin that is red, raw and often bleeding. 

Like Alicent, it’s almost like you’re in a trance when the picking takes place and, indeed, later on in the first episode, her father has to tell her to “stop that”. It’s an exact scene that has played out in my own childhood but, of course, in this context, it is after Alicent has been urged to “comfort” the King. So, the stress is indeed warranted. Once her father tells her to visit the King, she immediately puts her thumb in her mouth and bites down so audibly that he has to command her to stop.

Likewise, in the second episode when Alicent is helping her father get ready to leave, he looks down at her hands and remarks: “You’re the most comely girl at court. Why do you destroy yourself?” She looks resigned but no sooner has Otto asked, he then enquires if Alicent is seeing the King that night, further proving that it’s these kinds of conversations that are the cause of her stress.

House Of The Dragon

Credit: HBO

Even when she goes to the King’s chambers in the first episode, Alicent may be holding a book to read to the King, but her fingers work quickly and subtly, continuing to pick at her nails. The same goes for the final scene in episode two when the King announces that he is to marry Alicent. She can barely look at Rhaenyra as the news is announced, instead turning her face downwards and continuing to pick at her nails.

And it’s part of Alicent’s character trait that many female viewers have picked up on. 

Although we have conflicted feelings about Alicent right now, we do feel for her.

Her skin picking is a relatable sense of self-control for many.

Did we think we’d relate to scenes like these in House Of The Dragon so much? Definitely not.

This small character detail really is a “blink and you may miss it” moment.

But it still made many viewers have a visceral reaction.

Episodes of House Of The Dragon will be released weekly every Monday at 2am and 9pm on Sky Atlantic, and they will also be available to stream on Now with an entertainment membership. 

Images: HBO/Sky

Join us for a weekly deepdive into House Of The Dragon, the highly-anticipated prequel to Game Of Thrones, by Stylist's digital editor-at-large, Kayleigh Dray

By signing up you agree to occasionally receive offers and promotions from Stylist. Newsletters may contain online ads and content funded by carefully selected partners. Don’t worry, we’ll never share or sell your data. You can opt-out at any time. For more information read Stylist’s Privacy Policy

Thank you!

You’re now subscribed to all our newsletters. You can manage your subscriptions at any time from an email or from a MyStylist account.