• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
House of the Dragon viewers speechless after brutal and harrowing first episode

Home> Entertainment

Published 20:30 22 Aug 2022 GMT+1

House of the Dragon viewers speechless after brutal and harrowing first episode

Episode one of House of the Dragon did not ease us in gently, with harrowing death and barbaric jousting all part of the fun

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

WARNING: CONTAINS HOUSE OF THE DRAGON EPISODE ONE SPOILERS AND TRIGGERING CONTENT ABOUT CHILDBIRTH

House of the Dragon clearly isn’t easing us in gently, having kicked off its maiden season with a brutal first episode full of death, sex and, um, graphic castration. Sounds like we all need a stiff drink, eh?  

Yep, many viewers admitted they were in tears after tuning in to watch the first instalment this evening, which took us on a real journey – evidently hell-bent the much-loved energy of Game of Thrones, the beloved HBO series from whence it spun. 

First, we had Prince Daemon (Matt Smith) and his men running around chopping people’s penises off – during which time the camera refused to turn away, leaving us to gawp in shock at a bloody member on a slab. 

Advert

Matt Smith as Prince Daemon.
HBO/Sky

Then there was the barbaric jousting tournament that further cemented Daemon as a nasty piece of work, at one point using his lance to trip up his opponent’s horse, sending the beast and its rider crashing to the floor. 

But the stadium within which the tournament was held also foreshadowed more bloodshed to come – and much more harrowing bloodshed at that – with many of us wincing as it dawned on us that Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) was not going to make it through even the first episode. 

Sian Brooke as Queen Aemma.
HBO/Sky

Indeed, after Aemma battled her way through the bloody labour for some time, the slightly shell-shocked doctor shuffled over to King Viserys (Paddy Considine) and solemnly told him that wife and baby would not make it through the ordeal together. 

Advert

Knowing Aemma would not survive, he gave the nod for the infant to be cut from her womb while she was still alive, holding his dying wife’s hand as she writhed in pain.

HBO/Sky

But the joy of finally fathering a boy was also short-lived, as a cut to a double funeral revealed his baby had also died in childbirth. 

Brutal. 

HBO/Sky

Advert

Reacting to the first episode online, many viewers admitted they were left speechless, with one tweeting: "Holy f**king s**t house of the dragon oh my f**k i am speechless."

Someone else said: "House of the dragon first ep made me f**kin speechless. Drama at its best."

Another wrote: "That birth scene in house of the dragon was more traumatic to me than the entire game of thrones."

Advert

One other viewer added: "First ep of house of the dragon and I already feel traumatized."

Based on George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, the new 10-part series is set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones and charts the bloodiest civil war in the history of the Seven Kingdoms. 

Along with Considine’s King Viserys, the fifth king of the Targaryen dynasty to rule the Seven Kingdoms, and Smith’s Prince Daemon, the cast also includes the likes of Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and Olivia Cooke as her best friend Alicent Hightower. 

Advert

The show also features the likes of Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Sonoya Mizuno, Fabien Frankel, Rhys Ifans, Milly Alcock, Bethany Antonia, Phoebe Campbell, Emily Carey, Harry Collett, Ryan Corr, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jefferson Hall, David Horovitch, Wil Johnson, John Macmillan, Graham McTavish, Ewan Mitchell, Theo Nate, Matthew Needham, Bill Paterson, Phia Saban, Gavin Spokes, and Savannah Steyn.  

UK viewers can catch House of the Dragon on Sky Atlantic and NOW from 22 August, while the show will be available in the US on HBO and HBO Max. 

Featured Image Credit: HBO/Sky

Topics: TV and Film, Game of Thrones

Jess Hardiman
Jess Hardiman

Jess is Entertainment Desk Lead at LADbible Group. She graduated from Manchester University with a degree in Film Studies, English Language and Linguistics. You can contact Jess at [email protected].

X

@Jess_Hardiman

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

13 hours ago
14 hours ago
17 hours ago
18 hours ago
  • 13 hours ago

    Charlize Theron explains why she won't name 'scumbag' director who allegedly sexually harassed her

    Charlize Theron bravely opened up about the harassment in 2019 but says she won't name and shame

    Entertainment
  • 14 hours ago

    Netflix subscribers highlight key issue that makes streamer's latest shows 'pointless'

    Netflix subscribers have highlighted the major issue on social media

    Entertainment
  • 17 hours ago

    Little known Netflix hack shows you exactly how good every show is

    The little known Netflix hack is a game-changer

    Entertainment
  • 18 hours ago

    Jeremy Clarkson leaves brutal comment as Kaleb Cooper posts rare video of lookalike brother

    Clarkson left a brutal comment on the video

    Entertainment
  • Netflix viewers praise ‘disturbing’ one-shot episode of Monsters and call it ‘the best acting performance ever’
  • Horrified BBC viewers ask if there was 'any need' for gruesome horse scene in first episode of new drama
  • Viewers slam Netflix for making key mistake in first episode of new Menendez brothers series
  • Viewers left in shock at virgin’s comment to ‘sex therapist’ in first episode of new Channel 4 show