For better or worse, Game of Thrones quickly made waves with its graphic sexual content and nudity. Throughout its eight-season run, the HBO series came under fire for its sexual violence toward women. When House of the Dragon was announced, it was thought that the prequel series might tone down the sex, but it would seem that’s not the case.
While speaking with Rolling Stone, House of the Dragon star Matt Smith implied that there’s plenty of sex to be had in the series, perhaps even too much.
You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.
When asked if his character, Prince Daemon Targaryen, had his share of sex scenes in House of the Dragon, Matt Smith responded with a laugh, “Yeah — slightly too much, if you ask me.” As for his character, Smith described Daemon as “Sort of an outsider. He’s not black and white, there are shades of grey with him, which is what interested me about him. And his relationship with his brother is really interesting. It was a joy working with Paddy Considine, who I’ve admired for so long, and Rhys Ifans.” While House of the Dragon may feature “slightly too much” sex, writer and executive producer Sarah Hess told Vanity Fair that sexual violence won’t be a part of it. “I’d like to clarify that we do not depict sexual violence in the show,” Hess said. “We handle one instance off-screen, and instead show the aftermath and impact on the victim and the mother of the perpetrator.“
House of the Dragon is set hundreds of years before the original series and is based upon George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, a Targaryen history book which chronicles the history of House Targaryen, starting off with “Aegon the Conqueror, creator of the Iron Throne, and [going on] to recount the generations of Targaryens who fought to hold the throne, all the way up to the civil war, known as the Dance of the Dragons, that nearly tore their dynasty apart.” House of the Dragon will debut on HBO on August 21st.