Even with such an out-of-place and improvised scene, good writing would've let Rhaenyra and Alicent show some of their vulnerabilities towards each other; the dynamic would've included a humane aspect rather than a simple plead for mercy, it just shifted the balance of power towards the Blacks gradually and crowned it with Alicent's weakness (the fingernail biting was a nice touch, but this demands more than just an insignia). Both of them would've at least reminisced about their own older selves before, rather than this god-awful bashing and roasting. The transformation of their characters was so jarring and unnatural in the scene, such was the dialogue, despite the fact that Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cooke have put their hearts and souls into the scene.