Following the controversial final season of Game of Thrones, generation of fans were brought back to Westeros thanks to HBO’s prequel series House of the Dragon, which is also available with a Max subscription. The show puts the ill-fated Targaryen family front and center, including their penchant for incest. HOTD’s Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy recently explained why it was important to bring the “ick factor” to their characters’ relationship. Spoiler alert: they succeeded throughout Season 1.
Westeros is a brutal place, and its morals are often foreign to audiences watching from the real world. Marriage is an important political tool, one that is used in Season 1 when Rhaenyra weds and has children with her uncle Daemon Targaryen. The actors behind this relationship spoke to Deadline about their process, and D’Arcy got real about how they played up the “ick” feeling related to the incest storyline. In their words:
