Two Queens on ‘House of the Dragon’ Would Rather Co-Rule Westeros

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( a long talk [House of the Dragon’s Two Queens Would Rather Co-Rule Westeros]( Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke relive Rhaenyra and Alicent’s season-one arc. Photo: HBO “It’s like, ‘Choose your favorite war criminal’ — as I’ve seen from a tweet.” Olivia Cooke is talking about the civil war brewing between her [House of the Dragon]( queen dowager, Alicent Hightower, and the newly crowned Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Emma D’Arcy. The [Game of Thrones]( spinoff [concluded its first season Sunday]( with the murder of Rhaenyra’s son Lucerys at the hands of Alicent’s son Aemond; Westerosi lore tells us [the Dance of Dragons this incites]( will be a war “unlike any other ever fought in the long history of the Seven Kingdoms.” “The whole point of the story is people have been forced to pick sides and that’s why a civil war happens,” Cooke continues. “We are imploring the audience not to do that, and to really empathize with every character and see inside their inner workings.” [Read More]( Devour pop culture with us. [Subscribe now](for unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • Below Deck Mediterranean: [Rocking the Boat]( • 90 Day: The Single Life: [The Kids Know What’s Up]( • The Patient: [Broken Vessels]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [The Patient’s Linda Emond on Coming to Terms With Mothering a Killer “There’s a certain martyrdom for what she went through. That’s how she made sense of it: She saved her son and stood by him.”]( By Ben Rosenstock [Colleen Hoover, Belle of BookTok, Is Keeping Printers in Business Selling a record-breaking 800,000 copies of her new book in 24 hours.]( By Zoe Guy [Colleen Hoover Picks Her Riskiest, Buzziest, and Most Romantic Novels The reigning queen of the best-seller list reflects on which of her books warrants a sequel — and which one could use a rewrite.]( By Carly Lane [Relentless Angst and Uniformly Excellent Sex How Colleen Hoover became the undisputed queen of BookTok.]( By Kayleigh Donaldson [The Crude, ‘Completely Nuts’ Charm of Conker’s Bad Fur Day Comedian and writer Steven Castillo dives deep on his love for the 2001 Nintendo 64 game.]( [Ariel Elias, Beer-Can-Throw Survivor, Makes Her Late-Night Debut Take note, comedians: If you want to perform on Kimmel, all you have to do is ask him.]( By Hershal Pandya [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 24-Across, Nine Letters: Like Doug at the end of The Hangover. Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Photos by Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images, Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images and Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images A Taylor Swift album is not just a collection of new music — it’s an exploration of a theme. For the last eight years, each of her releases has embodied a single idea. Reputation marked a turn to the dark side, Lover was a return to the light, and her pair of albums Folklore and Evermore painted acoustic, fictional landscapes. Each one propels fans to find covert lyrical connections to Swift’s personal life and Easter eggs to past compositions. [The latest episode of Switched on Pop]( tackles the newest addition to Swift’s discography, Midnights. [Read more from Vulture]( A Saturday newsletter from the people who make New York Magazine. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=vulture-daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved