WARNING: THE STORY AHEAD IS DARK AND FULL OF SPOILERS.
House of the Dragon fans around the world were reminded this week that Westeros is home to some pretty messed up stuff.
Including incest... which, to be fair, was pretty heavily forewarned with frequent references during the Game of Thrones to the Targaryen family and their penchant for interbreeding.
We are, of course, referring to the incest storyline in the latest episode of House of the Dragon between Daemon (Matt Smith) and his teenage niece Princess Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) that saw many label it a 'disgusting' step too far.
The uncle-niece thing sent fans into overdrive, with several commenting on social media that they made the grievous error of watching the episode with their parents.
Yikes.
But, despite audiences reporting incredibly awkward moments watching the latest episode, actor Milly Alcock has revealed shooting the scene wasn't uncomfortable at all.
“[Smith and I] were just kind of mates. So, it was quite comfortable,” Alcock told the New York Post.
In case you missed it and are - for some reason - still reading this, she's referring to the kiss between Rhaenyra and Daemon share a kiss in the midst of a brothel after venturing out into the city in disguises.
So we can see how it might seem a tad awkward to film.
However, the 22-year-old Australian actress revealed she and Smith worked with an intimacy coordinator to get the scene just right.
"We had an intimacy coordinator, and we worked with her through the rehearsal process and blocked it out months before," she added, as per the New York Post.
And although they had choreographed the kissing scene well ahead of time, Alcock said they had not practised with the brothel around them.
In fact, they hadn’t even laid eyes on the whole shebang before filming.
“Clare Kilner, our director, made sure that we hadn’t seen any of the brothel stuff until we were shooting,” Alcock told the New York Post.
“So, that was our first time walking through the brothel, and he’s guiding her through the room with all of these other bodies. So, that was quite shocking. You’re like, ‘This is kind of weird and silly.’”
Yikes.
So it could have been very, very awkward.
Regardless, it sounds like Alcock had the perfect scene partner for what could have been a nightmarish experience.
All that's left to do now is to spare a thought for the poor souls that watched the incest scene with the parentals.
Featured Image Credit: Stephen Chung / EMPICS / Alamy Live News. HBO
Topics: House of the Dragon, Game of Thrones, TV and Film, News, Australia
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