rhaenicent parallels are going absolutely insane this season like they always have. god i love them so much.
from the very beginning we’re shown that alicent is perpetually trapped, while rhaenyra has a false sense of freedom; and that, despite their differing viewpoints on the world, they both suffer due to the patriarchy that oppresses them. the season 1 scene that stuck out to me the most is also the one that i found the most uncomfortable to watch. in 1x04 when it flashes between rhaenyra with daemon in the brothel and alicent getting maritaly r4p3d by viserys, completely blank faced, you see rhaenyra feel empowered, a strength that viserys has been denying her, even, when in reality, she is being groomed by daemon. like alicent, she is also a victim, even if she doesn’t realize it.
and throughout season 2, we see this idea of the patriarchy being enforced on both of them ring true. alicent, despite ruling while viserys was sick, despite quite literally being the most qualified person to rule in the entire small council (especially now that otto is gone), is constantly belittled and ignored. she craves power. she wants her sacrifices to be worth something. rhaenyra, on the other hand - despite being queen by name, despite having an entire army of people fighting for her, does not actually have power, something she is slowly realizing. this is why the whole team black/team green argument is so dumb. team black is not team feminism, because team black is not team rhaenyra.
if the leaks are true (rhaenyra and mysaria kissing?!?!) then rhaesaria can parallel alicole very well. mysaria and criston have sex with rhaenyra and alicent respectively as a way to attain power and potentially appropriate control. alicent uses criston and has sex with him as a form of self punishment. it is quite literally self-harm, something we’ve seen her do several times throughout the show. on the other hand, rhaenyra kisses mysaria to unbound herself, maybe? she has realized that daemon does not have the best interests for her at all... either way, neither of them are getting what they really want: liberation, and each other.