House Of The Dragon once again stirred controversy, but this time many fans believe the HBO fantasy drama has gone too far.
After drawing backlash earlier in the season over a divisive kissing scene, episode 7 sparked even stronger criticism with a disturbing moment that left viewers shocked and disgusted.
The intimate scene quickly became one of the episode's biggest talking points, with many fans threatening to stop watching the series altogether.
Highlights
- House of the Dragon's latest intimate scene sparks widespread backlash.
- Fans threaten to quit the series over its most controversial storyline yet.
- Actress Gayle Rankin explains how the disturbing sequence was filmed.
“Ok I will never watch HOTD ever again,” one fan said on X.
House Of The Dragon season 3 continues a controversial storyline
Image credits: HBO
House of the Dragon season 3 premiere caused a stir online after featuring one of the franchise's strangest kissing scenes. In the episode, Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) ignores his mother Alicent Hightower's (Olivia Cooke) instructions before kissing her.
Many viewers expressed disgust over the scene despite the Targaryens’ history of familial romance. Some even argued that the moment was unnecessary as it wasn’t present in the source material.
Image credits: HBO
However, the Game of Thrones spin-off appeared to cross a line in episode 7 by furthering the controversial relationship with an intimate scene between the mother and son.
In the episode, Alicent attempts to lure Aemond by exploiting his longing for his mother's affection.
Image credits: HBO
Aemond responds by kissing Alicent and begins making love to his mother before the encounter is revealed to be a hallucination.
In reality, Aemond has been hooking up with Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) while having visions of his mother. Despite the reveal, many viewers took to social media to express their disgust.
Fans threaten boycott after new House of the Dragon intimate scene
Image credits: HBO
While the series is no stranger to intimate scenes, many viewers felt the latest one crossed the line after weeks of discomfort over Alicent and Aemond's storyline.
On X, fans threatened to boycott the series after the scene left them sickened. Others criticized showrunner Ryan Condal, accusing him of pushing his own creative agenda through the controversial storyline.
Image credits: HBO
“I don't want to watch anymore; I don't understand how they could have ruined the series so much,” one person wrote.
A second commented, “Is this Ryan’s fet*sh or something? How many times are these Targaryen men going to have this hallucination?”
“Like I can't do this anymore. It's so disgusting,” a third added.
A few viewers defended the controversial scene, arguing that it was merely a hallucination. However, others countered that while Aemond and Alicent’s intimate encounter wasn’t real, it was still unsettling because of their biological relationship.
House Of The Dragon star breaks down the disturbing Aemond scene
Image credits: HBO
Although the mother-son scene made viewers uncomfortable, actress Gayle Rankin, who plays Aemond’s lover, Alys, said it was filmed in a highly professional manner.
Following the episode's release, Rankin spoke with Variety, where she discussed the raunchy scene, which starts with Cooke’s character and later transitions to her.
“We tried to like make jokes, just to keep it lighthearted because those scenes are not easy and they’re complicated and very technical,” she said.
Rankin described the scene as “very odd” and “fu*ked up” but revealed that the actors treated it like it was just “another day at the office.”
Image credits: HBO
Rankin also said Alys harbors genuine romantic feelings for Aemond. She explained that Aemond is “unabashedly himself,” which attracted Alys to him.
“I think they’re kind of like a dark power couple,” she added.
House of the Dragon is currently streaming on HBO Max.
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