Across the web, it seems fans are praising the show on all fronts. They love the script, the costuming, the reference to Daenerys Targaryen, and the overall feel of the show – which is reminiscent of the early seasons they loved so much.
However, some did find one scene particularly shocking, as the producers proved they wouldn’t be shying away from gore in Westeros’ latest iteration. And if you haven’t watched the episode yet, here’s your spoiler warning! Feel free to check back in once you’ve seen the scene – you can’t miss it. Trust us.
Halfway through the episode, the audience watched as Queen Aemma Arryn went into a difficult labour, with King Viserys ultimately being made to choose whether to let things progress naturally, or have the baby cut from her stomach.
His desire for a male heir wins out overall, and we watch Aemma scream in terror and confusion as her baby is cut out from her.
While the visual is pretty on-brand for the early Game of Thrones seasons, a few fans on Twitter were upset by the scene.
“This show is on another level of graphic scenes,” one fan warned on Twitter, while another advised pregnant fans out there to maybe skip the episode if they didn’t think they could handle it.
“There’s been so much death in this series but this scene of her giving birth with a no anesthetic c section?? Might be the most gruesome scene I’ve watched,” another wrote.
“Watching Queen Aemma die during childbirth -after the deliberate choice to value her life less than her unborn child & sacrifice her life for birth - when #RoeVsWade is overturned & womens lives are treated the same as this fictional queen’s life had me sobbing,” wrote another perturbed viewer.
But even with the horror of Aemma’s brutal death, it seems most fans are just excited to have the world they love so much unfolding before them once more.
One fan captured it perfectly: “And House of the Dragon is already disturbing as fuck, insane violence, weird sex, crazy ass dialogue, and a screaming lady giving birth who will most likely die, yup GoT is back lol”.
We absolutely cannot wait for more House of the Dragon!
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