Film & TV3 min(s) read
While fans of HBO hit show House of the Dragon are no strangers to on-screen incest, many of them took to social media to express their disgust at what happened in the latest episode, with many of them arguing that the show's producers “took it too far”.
For anyone less well-versed in incest than HOTD fans, it is a fantasy drama in which the two rival heirs to the throne are married to their uncle and sister respectively, and are trying to succeed their father, whose parents were siblings.
There are so many familial flirtations and relationships in the show that by the time we listed them all, the hype around the franchise would be forgotten entirely.
Despite that, viewers were shocked last season when protagonist Daemon Targaryen, played by British heartthrob Matt Smith, had a rather graphic sex dream about his own mother, Alyssa Targaryen, played by Emeline Lambert.
Clearly ignoring the well-reported horrified reaction, the show’s writers have done it again and taken it even further this season.
In episode seven of season three, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) had a dream sequence in which he imagined himself having sex with his own mother, Alicent (Olivia Cooke). He quickly realises he is fantasizing and is actually having sex with another character, Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), and swiftly loses his libido and pushes her off.
However, disturbingly, this was not the first time that Aemond has expressed an inappropriate love for his mom. In the first episode of the latest season, he has a tense private conversation with Alicent.
During the interaction, Aemond misreads her maternal reassurance and affection, leans in, and kisses her on the lips. Alicent is visibly shocked and uncomfortable, making it clear that she does not see the interaction in the same way.
Unsurprisingly, viewers flocked to social media to share their disgust at the inappropriate incest scene.
One X user said: “The writers are steering too far away from the books. Aemond dreaming of having s*x with Alicent was totally unnecessary and disgusting.”
In agreement, another fan wrote: "You think House of the Dragon has pushed the limit of incest it can show on TV and then it just gets worse every episode.”
However, no matter how uncomfortable it is to watch at home, you have to sympathize with the actors who have to make the incestuous scenes come to life.
In a recent interview with Variety, Rankin opened up about how the cast coped. She said: "It was very intimate and very odd but very professional.
"We tried to like make jokes, just to keep it light-hearted because those scenes are not easy and they’re complicated and very technical. So it was also just like it was another day at the office for being like a very odd, f**ked-up scene."
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The Game of Thrones prequel hasn't held back with its X-rated scenes, and they kept the pattern going for the opening episode of season 3.
House of the Dragon's latest season began last night (June 21), and it saw Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) embark on yet another incestuous relationship.
While it shouldn't come as a surprise to those in the Game of Thrones universe, there's no getting past the uncomfortable nature of these explicit scenes.
In this specific episode, Aemond can be seen kissing his mom, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), on the lips.
While the action is enough to send chills down your spine, she can be seen stood stiffly, and while she doesn't push him away, her eyes are open and she looks disturbed.
She then gives him a tense smile, with the mother clearly caught off guard by his actions, though she seems powerless in questioning him or showing disdain.
In the Targaryen family, even before Daenerys was in the picture, it's not only Aemond but his siblings, who seem to keep it in the family.
Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena (Phia Saban), are siblings in the family who are not only married to each other, but they also have kids together.
This doesn't stop there though, as Aemond’s half-sister, Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), is married to her uncle, Daemon (Matt Smith).
The Targaryens are more of a circle than a family tree, with the incest being kept between siblings or cousins.
The family seem to view the idea of incest as acceptable, as long as it's not between a parent and child - at least we've found the line.
Alicent also isn't a blood Targaryen, having married into the family, integrating her kids into their beliefs and customs to fit in.
However, as her son kisses her, it is clear that she doesn't want to be in one of the family's many incestuous relationships.
For those unfamiliar, House of the Dragon is set over a hundred years before the events of Game of Thrones, and it follows a civil war between Rhaenyra’s side of the Targaryen family, and Aemond and Alicent’s side.
The tussle is for the Iron Throne, as Rhaenyra’s side is known as “Team Black” while Aemond and Alicent's side is called “Team Green.”
Aemond is the de facto king, as he is in charge of Team Green, as his brother King Aegon, has run away.
As you can probably tell, Aemond has always been odd and bloodthirsty, though he is a fan-favorite as he makes things happen while onscreen.
Before he kissed his mother, Alicent was trying to convince him to leave King's Landing and fly his dragon to Harrenhal, as she secretly made a deal with Rhaenyra to try to end the war.
In fact, Alicent not only promised to open the gates, but she promised to hand over Aegon for Rhaenyra to kill, in exchange for the lives of herself, her daughter and her grandkids.
But Aegon is missing, and Aemond would never agree to cooperate with the enemy, hence why his mom was trying to butter him up and get him to leave to let Rhaenyra in.
Alicent told Aemond he should have been born first so he could have been king, leading to the kiss, but it isn't clear if this is a romantic gesture.
The character is twisted after all, so it could be a sign of affection or an act to display his power.
House of the Dragon was back for another fiery episode on Sunday, with fans of HBO Max's new favorite family gearing up for what appears to be a very Game of Thrones-esque incestuous relationship.
Fans of the House of the Dragon series should continue reading at their own risk... this piece will contain SPOILERSSo far, viewers of the show have been introduced to the champagne-haired clan of dragonlords - including King Viserys, Queen Aemma, Princess Rhaenyra and series bad boy Prince Daemon.
Those who have been keeping up with this medieval mayhem will remember that episode one consisted of an heir-seeking Viserys, an excitingly-gory jousting tournament, and a botched Caesarean-section which left Queen Aemma and her baby son dead. It showed Viserys revealing the Targaryen prophecy of a "terrible winter" to his only child, Princess Rhaenyra.
The explosive episode ended with Viserys removing his brother, Daemon, from the line of succession after the apparent sex fiend called his dead baby nephew the "Heir for a Day" at a lively brothel party. This left Princess Rhaenyra to be the heir to the Iron Throne.
What followed in episode two was a series of scheming and plotting between members of the Small Council, who were all clambering to find ways to sit on the Iron Throne in efforts even Julius Caesar's back-stabbing conspirators would admire. Because, obviously, any man would suffice in lieu of Princess Rhaenyra.
Members of the Small Council begin pressuring King Viserys to remarry and propagate his royal line, with Lord Corlys Velaryon making the patriarchal move to offer up his 12-year-old daughter, Laena, for marriage to the King. The young child even told her would-be spouse that they wouldn't need to bed until she turned 14 which, considering the time period, was seemingly rather reasonable.
Unbeknownst to the council, however, a crafty Ser Otto Hightower manages to wrangle his way into the Targaryen family through encouraging his daughter, Alicent, to entertain the recently-widowed King Viserys in his bed chambers. Which evidently seems to involve her talking to him while he plays with an impressively large stone replica of his kingdom. Eventually this leads to a marriage proposal from King Viserys to young Alicent, who just happens to be Princess Rhaenyra's BFF. What ensues is a few seconds of awkward eye-contact, before the Princess storms off. Yikes.
Of course, this means Lord Corlys Velaryon's 12-year-old daughter is no longer in King Viserys' peripherals which, understandably, makes the naval commander see red. The second episode concludes with him holding a candlelit nighttime meeting with Prince Daemon, and the two seem to form an alliance. Ah, who doesn't love to see a testosterone-fueled bond formed between two bitter men hellbent on seeking revenge?
It's the type of drama even the Real Housewives of New York would envy - and those women know drama.
However, let us not forget the insane subplot which hints at the series' major new incest storyline. Because, interwoven throughout these two dramatic episodes, is the weird and incredibly creepy chemistry between Princess Rhaenyra and her uncle, Prince Daemon.
It's the 'creepy uncle' stuff of nightmares but, given the flirty vibes between the pair, an uncle-and-niece incest plot doesn't seem completely out of left field - especially for a show written by the same man who created the incestuous twin-on-twin relationship between Cersei and Jaime in Game of Thrones.
In the book, which the show is based on, the doe-eyed teen and the Legolas lookalike (who seems to be one more dramatic revelation away from a full-blown temper tantrum) do end up together romantically. And the actors who depict the uncle and niece hoped to portray this, with Rhaenyra actress, Milly Alcock, telling the New York Post: "It's almost like they're having two conversations in every scene. It's like what they're actually saying, and what they're saying in their body language, and in their eyes and in their tone. It was really fun to play with."
Fans of the ostentatious dragonlords will have to wait until September 4 to see whether incest is on the cards for the rest of the series. So, get ready to place your bets.
Viewers have been left in a fiery mood with one particular House of the Dragon scene, calling it 'horrific' as the first episode in the Game of Thrones spinoff series premiered on Sunday.
(Proceed at your own risk - this piece contains SPOILERS)
The scene in question focused on Queen Aemma (played by (Sian Brooke) and the brutal way her husband, King Viserys I Targaryen (played by Paddy Considine), betrayed her during the birth of their child. In his desperation for a male heir, he orders the baby to be delivered by Caesarean section after it is discovered it will be born breach, without informing his wife.
Despite the Queen pleading with the doctors to not perform the procedure, she is held down and operated on. Sadly, both Queen Aemma and the newborn baby die.
Following the gruesome scene, viewers on social media completely lost it in a mix of emotions ranging from pure fear to intense excitement for what is to come in the series.
One user, who was clearly traumatized from the scene, stated: "The 'birth' scene was easily the most evil and horrific thing I've ever seen. The worst part was that she had no choice. I had to pause and cry #HouseoftheDragon."
Another viewer said they would be having nightmares after watching the scene, writing: "The first episode of House of the Dragons giving me nightmares? Yeah this should be a banger for 4-5 seasons [sic]."
"The less that is said about the horrific birth scene, the better. Nightmare inducing," another Twitter user added.
Another viewer wrote: "Still thinking about the birth scene in House of the Dragon. That’s got to be one of the most horrific things shown on TV."
Many other viewers also believed the episode should have come with a trigger warning.
"House of the Dragon should have come with a trigger warning. I had a c-section ten months ago. I did cry, I am shaking. Too much," one viewer shared.
Another viewer shared: "Seriously @HBO where was the trigger warning for #HouseoftheDragon?!?
"I had a particularly difficult birth with my son which ended in an emergency c-section. I couldn't watch the rest of todays episode, I had to leave the room. Some warning would have been nice."
"First ep of House of the Dragon is predictably but still disappointingly violent. That birth scene should've come with a trigger warning considering the state of 'Murica," added another.
Hardcore fans were quick to note that this type of violence is nothing new for the Game of Thrones universe, given that the HBO heavyweight is notorious for the now-infamous Red Wedding - the bloody massacre which involved the deaths of thousands of people.
The father of Westeros himself, George R. R. Martin, spoke about the controversial birth scene in a recent Vanity Fair interview, stating: "That scene is…you don't want to use the word 'enjoyable' for a scene like that, but it's incredibly powerful [...] It's visceral and it'll rip your heart out and throw it on the floor.
"It has the kind of impact that the Red Wedding had. It's a beautifully done scene of something horrible."
While that scene garnered a range of emotions from viewers, it's safe to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg - more bloodshed is coming.
The creators of House of the Dragon have defended a shocking birth scene that many viewers described as "traumatic" and "horrific".
(Please read ahead at your own risk - SPOILERS INCOMING!)
Speaking to Vanity Fair, A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin and series showrunner Ryan J. Condal discussed the intense response the first episode of the new series triggered, noting the violence was necessary.
House of the Dragon covers events occurring roughly 200 years before those in Game of Thrones, and serves as the multiple Emmy award-winning show's prequel.
The show also boasts an all-star cast - including Milly Alcock, Matt Smith, Emma D'Arcy, Graham McTavish, Rhys Ifans, and Paddy Considine - who played a key role in the premiere's most talked about scene.
The disturbing scene in question involved the shocking death of Queen Aemma, who bled to death after her husband, King Viserys I Targaryen ordered a Caesarean section without her consent. Both Queen Aemma and her baby died following the procedure.
This scene was a dramatic extension of one written into Martin's 2018 Fire & Blood novel, in which the birth was only briefly described. "Queen Aemma was brought to bed in Maegor's Holdfast and died whilst giving birth to the son that Viserys Targaryen had desired for so long," the scene went.
"The boy (named Baelon, after the king's father) survived her only by a day, leaving king and court bereft," Martin's scene concluded.
What began as less than a paragraph evidently transformed into a disturbingly violent scene that included King Viserys granting permission for his wife to undergo a fatal Caesarean section, without first consulting her.
Martin and Condal expanded on this transformation, with Condal telling Vanity Fair: "It's not meant to be gratuitous."
"There's this whole idea in Game of Thrones, or in the Middle Ages, or in historical age like this, that the men marched off to the battlefield and the women's battlefield happened in the child bed," he added.
"That was a very dangerous place to be. All of the complications that people go through in modern birth that are now fixed by science and medicine and surgery were not really possible back then. Any slight complication, anything could lead to very tragic consequences for the child and the mother," Condal added.
At that point the author mastermind behind Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin, chimed in: "That is so powerful [...] The terror on [Queen Aemma and King Viserys' faces], they're both so powerful. Yeah, I think that was certainly the right way to go."
Touching on continuous accusations of the show being gratuitous, Martin says: "I don't think anything is gratuitous. Of course, I've been accused of gratuitous violence and gratuitous sex and occasionally of gratuitous heraldry and gratuitous feast scenes [...] I want to live the book. I want to be there. I want my emotions engaged. Those are the kind of novels I love to read and the kind of things I love to write. That's what affects you emotionally."
Viewers across social media voiced their concerns (and praise) for the bloody scene, with one user tweeting: "Watching that one scene was TRAUMATIZING. Being a woman during a time like that is not for the weak of heart #HouseoftheDragon."
Another viewer, however, wrote words of praise for the hit new series, writing: "I finally finished #HouseoftheDragon and here we go again with me and this universe. This episode brought me back to the feeling I had when I binged all 7 seasons [of Game of Thrones] in the span of 2 weeks to be able to watch Season 8 live when it aired. A great first episode!"
It seems the torturous scene's content paid off, as Deadline reported 10 million viewers tuned in to episode one of the series. Episodes are set to air weekly on Sundays over on HBO Max.
