One of the big reasons Game of Thrones catapulted to the top of everybody’s must-watch list in the 2010s was its steadfast refusal to pull punches. The show depicted its world and its characters in harsh, brutal fashion — the blend of rawness with political intrigue made Westeros instantly one of the most interesting and unpredictable places to visit every week.
Indeed, Game of Thrones became one of TV’s most successful shows ever on the backs of sex, violence, backstabbing, and dragons. While the last couple of seasons of the show have been widely panned, Game of Thrones ‘s foundation was solid enough that HBO is resurrecting Westeros for a prequel series, House of the Dragon , which apparently promises much more of the same.
Westeros wouldn’t be Westeros without some bedroom shenanigans, but for some, the new series might go a bit too far.
Matt Smith, the former Doctor Who star now headlining House of the Dragon as Prince Daemon Targaryen, thinks fans might want more dragonfire and less steam.
In an interview with British Rolling Stone , Smith questioned the sheer number of sex scenes featured in the series, and especially those involving his character.
According to Smith, Prince Daemon gets a lot of action in the series, not all of it with axes and swords.
“Slightly too much, if you ask me,” he said. “You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?'”
“And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’”
Smith also questioned whether the amount of sex in the show compared well to the source material.
“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]?’” Smith said. “And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”
House of the Dragon is based on parts of George R. R. Martin’s 2018 book Fire & Blood .
‘Game of Thrones’ came under considerable criticism for its use of sex and nudity during its run.
Gemma Whelan, who played Yara Greyjoy in Game of Thrones , referred to the show’s sex scenes as a “frenzied mess” in an interview with The Guardian .
“There was a scene in a brothel with a woman and she was so exposed that we talked together about where the camera would be and what she was happy with,” she said. “A director might say, ‘Bit of boob biting, then slap her bum and go!’, but I’d always talk it through with the other actor.”
However, despite the number of sex scenes, fans can at least expect them to be reigned in somewhat.
As Insider reported , House of the Dragon might still have plenty of sex, it won’t be mixing that with violence. Where Game of Thrones courted controversy with several scenes of sexual violence, House of the Dragon ‘s showrunners say they’ve steered clear of it altogether.
“I mean, look, we’re very aware of the time that we live in. We’re very aware of how different the world is now versus 10 years ago when the original show premiered. I also think this is a much different story,” co-showrunner Ryan Condal said.
And the story simply won’t support the same kind of controversial scenes that ‘Game of Thrones’ did.
Taking place hundreds of years before the events of Game of Thrones , the Westeros of House of the Dragon is a different place, Condal explained — not necessarily kinder, but certainly different.
“We’re not in war time yet, there isn’t that kind of sexual violence that follows war,” Condal said. “That world hasn’t really entered the story just yet.”
Nevertheless, the showrunners did defend the use of sex in the show.
“Look, it is Game of Thrones . There is sex and violence as part of the story,” Condal said. “But the particular way we’ve approached it this time is making sure that whenever you’re going to have any subject matter like sex or violence on screen, there’s a compelling story reason. It’s a story that needs to be told, and it’s not being done gratuitously or to titillate or anything like that.”
And they also defended how it all went down behind-the-scenes as well, so there wouldn’t be more frenzied messes.
Condal said that the actors worked with an intimacy coordinator and choreographed and rehearsed everything “well in advance.”
“They consented to everything that they ended up doing on camera and I think they felt good about it because they knew as actors that they were performing a story and not doing sex for sex’s sake.”
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h/t: Insider , Rolling Stone
