It would seem that the shock scene of childbirth – which is controversial – was “much more brutal” on the set than it may have appeared in “House of The Dragon”… We tell you.
Warning, spoilers. The following article reveals key plot elements from the first episode of “House of the Dragon.”
Arguably, there have been some memorable death scenes in Game of Thrones and many of them have been brutal and visceral: it seems House of the Dragon will be no exception.
The prequel has indeed hit hard since its first episode with the famous – and controversial – childbirth scene which has not ceased to be talked about since its broadcast.
As a reminder, in the episode, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) orders that a caesarean be performed on his wife, Queen Aemma Aryn (Sian Brooke) without her consent and while she is conscious: the operation is a failure.
HBO
The scene does indeed end with the Queen dying, her bed soaked in blood that the audience saw spurting from her abdomen. The baby, named Baelon by Viserys (after the king’s own father), is born only to die a few hours later.
Paddy Considine, however, reveals that the scene was even more heartbreaking than what we saw on screen.
HBO
As Wiki of Thrones reports, the actor opened up to Insider on the subject during a roundtable interview with the outlet alongside Popsugar and Metacritic: “Those were tough days of filming. It was hard to shoot. Everything is imaginary but it was hard. It was very moving.”
In fact, it was much more brutal and much more moving than what it gives in the episode. And I wasn’t sure when I first saw it.
He continued: “Maybe it was too much because Viserys is completely devastated and maybe it was too much to show at first. I think they cut it really really well.”
Paddy Considine went on to praise his co-star Sian Brooke, who even during her short stint as Queen Aemma Arryn has already left a profound impact on the show.
“We went there and there are a lot of tears. But kudos to Sian because she endured the physicality at all. It was very physical work on his part. The scene hovers over the show for a long, long time.”
HBO
A LACK OF WARNING
Described by fans as the most difficult sequence to watch in this pilot – and in all of Game of Thrones for some – the sequence shocked fans who expressed themselves on social networks.
House of the Dragon on OCS: this violent death shocked the spectators
And critics followed, especially for including that fatal scene without any prior warning.
While director Miguel Sapochnik told the press that he consulted many women before deciding to include the footage, some charities argued that a warning statement should have been added before the film began. ‘episode.
As the Deadline report, Jen Coates, director of bereavement charity Sands, told the BBC about the importance for series such as House of the Dragon to make people aware, upstream, of what will be shown. “I think it’s quite traumatic for anyone actually“, she said.
“With 13 babies dying every day in the UK, the situation is also directly impacting a huge community of people. This way, people can be better equipped with this information and make an informed decision to watch or skip particular scenes or episodes.”
The first episode of House of the Dragon, to be found on OCS, will be followed by 9 other chapters thus composing its first season.
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