Shows like House of the Dragon and its parent fantasy series, Game of Thrones, have garnered a reputation for not shying away from the fact that, between warring for the Throne and building their dynasties, these characters definitely shag.
House of the Dragon episode 4 was especially liberal with the on-screen sex, with Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) popping over to the local brothel for some uncle-niece bonding before the former then proceeded lose her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). Recalling the brothel scene, Alcock told the NY Post, “There were extras who we had just met who were like, 69-ing for 12 hours. It’s pretty gnarly. We felt pretty overdressed, because everyone else was nude.”
She continued, “Clare Kilner, our director, made sure that we hadn’t seen any of the brothel stuff until we were shooting. 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.'”
Opening up about her character’s complex relationship with Daemon Targaryen, Alcock added, “I think it’s complicated, I think Daemon is good for her … but whether or not he’s the right thing for her, time will tell.”
“Rhaenyra is at an age where she can’t tell the difference between platonic love, romantic love and lust, because she hasn’t lived long enough and gone through those experiences,” she said. “I think that she understands that there’s a feeling here [with Daemon], but she’s not quite sure where it lands, and how to behave with it and navigate it.”
If you want to learn more about this completely normal pairing, here’s Rhaenyra and Daemon’s relationship explained. In the meantime, you can catch up on the TV series on HBO Max in the US and NOW TV/Sky Atlantic in the UK.