House Of The Dragon Stars Address Filming ‘Shocking’ Incestuous Kiss

This article contains spoilers for the latest episode of House Of The Dragon.

The world of Westeros has never shied away from uncomfortable moments between family members – and House Of The Dragon is no different.

In the season three premiere of the Game Of Thrones prequel, Aemond sought unorthodox comfort from his mother, Alicent, while grappling with the disappearance of his brother. Aegon.

During their heart-to-heart, he kissed his mother on the lips – and it was not exactly a very platonic-looking peck either.

Fans watching along on social media were quick to share their discomfort and disgust at the scene, which cast member Ewan Mitchell, who plays Aemond Targaryen, could clearly relate to.

Speaking to People magazine, he admitted that the moment “kind of makes you want to throw up in your mouth a little bit”.

“It’s kind of shocking,” Ewan explained in an interview published after the series debuted Sunday night in America. “But then also, I just recognised a tremendous challenge and an opportunity to show Aemond in a new light.”

“It’s quite a difficult pill to swallow, isn’t it? Kissing your mum on the lips, especially in that way,” he continued. “I mean, Aemond, growing up, he never felt like he was loved enough by his mum and his family around him, and a kid needs that unconditional love to develop a balanced view of themselves.

“And Aemond, because he never had that, he’s got a very skewed perception and a very strange way of showing love.”

Ewan explained that he believes Alicet and her second son have a “skewed love”.
Meanwhile, Olivia Cooke, who plays Alicent, bluntly told the US outlet that she thinks her on-screen son is “fucked”.

“There has [always] been this Oedipal undercurrent – unbeknownst to Alicent. And I think it’s shocking,” she added.

She added that the kiss between her character and her son was “really dangerous”, simply because her character’s son is a “very dangerous person”.

″[Alicent] knows that one wrong facial expression, one perceived rejection, will cost her her life,” Olivia noted. “So she’s trying to tread very, very carefully. But I do think she’s sort of stupefied in that moment.”

Olivia then confessed that filming the incestuous scene with Ewan was “odd for both of us”.

However, despite this, Ewan made it clear that he loved working with his co-star on the scene, insisting it was “a masterclass working with Liv Cooke in any scene”.

“Yeah she’s a real one,” he enthused.

Showrunner Ryan Condal also shared his take on the jaw-dropping moment with Entertainment Weekly.

“He’s somebody that was traumatised at an early age by his brother by taking him to a brothel long before his brain could probably process what was happening,” Ryan said.

“As these things do, that trauma then manifests a certain way in his behaviour as an adult.

“While I don’t think that Aemond is necessarily in love with his mother, I don’t think he’s able to separate the feelings that he has for her from these other male feelings that he experiences,” he added.

Incest has already been a recurring theme on House Of The Dragon, as Aegon is married to his sister Helaena, while Rhaenyra is also wed to her uncle Daemon.

Game Of Thrones was no stranger to incestuous relationships, either, most notably the long-term affair between twin siblings Cersei and Jaime Lannister.

House Of The Dragon continues on Mondays on Sky, Now and HBO Max in the UK.