Film & TV3 min(s) read
Published 13:47 04 Aug 2026 GMT
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."
