The latest episode of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon shocked fans with the inclusion of a highly explicit scene. Photo / HBO
The latest episode of Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon shocked fans with the inclusion of a highly explicit scene. Photo / HBO
Game of Thrones fans tuning into the latest episode of the cult show’s prequel, House of the Dragon, were left shocked by a highly explicit scene that even devoted fans weren’t expecting.
In Westeros, the fictional world where Game of Thrones and House of the Dragonis set, it is not unusual to see characters getting nude, whether it be during a trip to the brothel or in the confines of the Red Keep in King’s Landing.
However, the prequel has largely steered clear from the full-frontal nudity that arose almost episodically in Game of Thrones.
Currently screening on Neon in New Zealand, the episode follows the lead character King Aegon II Targaryen (played by Tom Glynn-Carney) as he takes his soldiers to a brothel after a big night of drinking.
Aegon brings a new squire with him and makes plans for him to lose his virginity.
As they meander through the brothel, the King pulls back curtains to reveal numerous different sex acts being performed. The cameras then stop and point towards a woman performing oral sex on a man.
King Aegon II Targaryen is seen entering the brothel with a group of his soldiers in the latest episode of House of the Dragon. Photo / HBO
Despite overly graphic tropes being all too familiar to Game of Thrones fans, the explicit sex scene still caught many viewers by surprise, with fans on X expressing shock that “they were able to let that on air”.
“There was absolutely zero reason for #HouseOfTheDragon to include an explicit act of fellatio. Like, at all,” wrote one baffled viewer.
“Yes we know it’s a brothel. Sex can and should be an important part of storytelling; this was just stupid.”
Another fan wrote: “Wow that was very in your face. I was expecting to see sex but didn’t count on that. The show never ceases to amaze me”.
“That scene, in the brothel, I was a little taken by surprise. NGL shooketh if you will. Is this HBO or SkinaMax? Was that a prosthetic or real deal?” posted a third person.
It was even more uncomfortable for fans watching the episode with family members.
“Imagine watching the latest episode of House of the Dragon with your parents, and THAT brothel scene comes out of nowhere lol,” wrote one person on X.
“My mother walked into the room, now she thinks I’m a pervert,” another fan shared.
It wasn’t the only moment viewers were taken aback by the latest House of the Dragon episode. Soon after the graphic scene played, Prince Aemond Targaryen (played by Ewan Mitchell) stood up naked in the brothel after Aegon made jokes about him, surprising fans once more, reported Metro.
“I sure did not expect that Aemond brothel scene,” said one person on X.
The director of the episode, Geeta Vasant Patel, spoke to Variety earlier about why they portrayed Aegon as naked for this scene and acknowledged that it felt like the right move for Mitchell’s character.
“What we came to is that Aemond was hurt. He was bullied when he was little.
“Since he was hurt, he had created this persona that was the exact opposite of how he was feeling. He created the persona of someone who is callous and has no regard for what others think of him,” Patel told Variety.
“That shift, from someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour, was what we were going for in that scene. It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him.
“Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift. And so, of course, Ewan was like; ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do’. And that’s what we did.”
