Spoiler Alert: This article will discuss the first episode of House of the Dragon.
Trigger warning: This article discusses violence.
Game of Thrones is known for its gratuitous violence so we weren’t surprised when we saw dismembered limbs and other body parts in the first episode of House of the Dragon.
However, there was one scene that pushed many viewers over the edge.
About halfway through the episode, while knights are beating each other to death in a bloody tournament, Queen Aemma Arryn is in labour at the castle.
Things are not going well for our queen as it’s discovered her child is positioned for a breech birth. Her husband King Viserys Targaryen is called back to the keep to be at her side but is told he will have to make an “impossible choice”: they can perform a medieval caesarean saving the baby but costing the queen her life, or they can wait and pray that they both survive.
In a move that probably had many uterus owners screaming at the television, Viserys chooses the caesarean without discussing it with Aemma.
The scene that follows is horrific and heartbreaking. As Aemma begs her husband to stop, Viserys and the queen’s maids pin her down on the bed while the Maester (Westeros’ answers to doctors) slits open her abdomen.
It’s gory, it’s upsetting and quite frankly it doesn’t sound like it was all that fun for the actress involved.
Sian Brooke, who plays Queen Aemma, told Variety what it was like working on the scene.
“It was a bloodbath,” she said.
“Behind that [prosthetic] belly was a whole bag full of blood and fluid. When the incision was made, they would have to time it with pumping this blood out of the belly.”
Gross.
By the end of it, Sian said the blood was “cold and wet, seeping all over”.
On top of that Sian had spent the whole scene screaming, with her real voice. Oftentimes screams are edited in or they use a stand-in to save the actor’s voice. But in Sian’s case they did not.
“I was definitely quite hoarse,” she said (or perhaps croaked).
“For a couple of days after filming, it sounded like I’d been out on a very good night and had a very good time. Sadly that didn’t happen. I was lying on the bed screaming.”
Honestly, props to Sian for doing an amazing job. Next time can we give her a fun role like riding a dragon or swinging a sword?
Want more House of the Dragon content?
SPOILER ALERT: House Of The Dragon episode one recap
“An unbelievable start” Fans react to House of the Dragon
Where to watch House of the Dragon in Australia
House of the Dragon premiered Monday August 22 and is available to stream on BINGE and watch on Foxtel now.
You can catch up on the original Game of Thrones series on BINGE. Stream them now, live and on demand with a 14-day free trial. START FREE TRIAL.
WATCH BELOW: Sydney transformed for the House of the Dragon premiere
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