When it comes to Westeros, no taboo is that surprising at this point in the House of the Dragon. Saying that, fans were still taken aback by the reveals of episode 9 in the fantasy series – which, if you haven’t seen it yet, disclosed Ser Larys Strong’s (Matthew Needham) particular fondness for feet.
Warning minor spoilers ahead. In episode 9 of the TV series, viewers learned that Ser Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) had a pretty unique relationship with his queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). Basically, in return for secrets and conducting covert missions, he gets to look at…um, well, look at her toes and such – can’t really phrase that in a non-creepy way, I’m afraid.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Clare Kilner, who directed episode 9, addressed the foot moment on the West of Westeros podcast. The filmmaker confirmed that the foot fetish is real as Larys was “looking at her feet and then having a wank, basically,” she said.
Kilner also revealed that the mind responsible for the Larys kink development was Sara Hess, an executive producer on the series and writer on episode 9.
The director also revealed that filming the foot scene required intimacy coordinators and how it, in some aspects, felt more intrusive than the typical nudity and sex scenes we see typical Game of Thrones characters engage in.
“Her mind is incredible. I mean, she really wrote us a wonderful episode, I have to say,” Kilner explained. “But, yeah, that was an interesting scene, actually… Funnily enough, you get the intimacy coordinators [for] all the nudity, but they don’t think about it for this. It’s so intrusive and invasive. It’s a really dirty scene.”
You can watch House of the Dragon every Sunday on HBO or Sky Atlantic or catch up via streaming services like NOW TV in the UK and HBO Max in the US. If you’re enjoying the Game of Thrones prequel series, check out our guide to the House of the Dragon cast.