I feel like my first time watching the show I was a Rhaenicent truther, but the more I read more on them, I started to realize Alicent deserves better 😭
I think this is primary the reason people ship Rhaenicent. They like the idea of them, the aesthetic, and chemistry rather than what was actually presented.
I see a lot of Rhaenicent fans minimize Rhaenyra’s agency by assuming if Daemon weren’t in the picture, Rhaenyra would not press her claim as Viserys’ heir and thus she and Alicent could be together with Aegon on the throne..
I'm a Rhaenicent shipper, who even wrote fanfiction AUs about it. Any romantic potential died in Episode 7 when Rhaenyra defended her son maiming Alicent's son.
I'm team Black, but I also love Rhaenicent. But Rhaenicent couldn't be. Alicent has too much internalized homophobia coming from a religious family and is subservient to her father.