‘House Of The Dragon’: Women Will Face Dangers Other Than Explicit Sexual Violence In ‘Game Of Thrones’ Prequel Series

While “Game of Thrones” had plenty of consensual sex scenes over the eight-season run, there were many times that the mature fantasy show from HBO arguably would go a little too far in its depiction of sexual violence that saw many female characters raped, beaten, and even in a few cases, killed. Scenes like these are obviously triggering to some that have and haven’t experienced sexual violence themselves in real life. Those scenes had been rationalized to echo the very brutal experience women went through in the medieval era of Europe. Actresses had been able to turn down sex/nudity in later seasons, but the new prequel series looks to scale back that element and might not be relying on rape as a plot device.

“House of The Dragon” co-showrunner/director Miguel Sapochnik tells The Hollywood Reporter that the new tale will “pull back” on the amount of sex on the show and the sexual violence, but women on the show will still have other types of dangers in Westeros. Sapochnik cites childbirth for example as another danger for women in the show and they hope not to glorify it moving forward.

READ MORE: ‘House Of The Dragon’ Will Feature Multiple ‘Crown’-Like Time Jumps In Its First Season

“In medieval times, giving birth was violence,” Sapochnik says. “It’s as dangerous as it gets. You have a 50/50 chance of making it. We have a number of births in the show and basically decided to give them different themes and explore them from different perspectives the same way I did for a bunch of battles on ‘Thrones.’”

Sapochnik adds that the new series “pulls back” on the amount of sex in the series while adding glimpses of how sex is a nonchalant aspect of Targaryen life, as the prequel focuses on multiple generations of the royal family including same-sex relationships. The second part highlights the more beloved aspect of the show by most fans, sex positivity, and characters enjoying their sexual encounters.

However, violence against women is still going to be part of the show, Sapochnik explained, “carefully, thoughtfully and [we] don’t shy away from it. If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect. You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.”

The cast consists of Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen, Olivia Cooke as Alicent Hightower, Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon (The Sea Snake), Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, Rhys Ifans as Otto Hightower (The Hand of the King), Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria, Graham McTavish as Ser Harrold Westerling, David Horovitch as Grand Maester Mellos, Jefferson Hall as Lord Jason Lannister, Ryan Corr as Ser Harwin’ Breakbones’ Strong, Mattew Needham as Larys Strong, Bill Paterson as Lord Lyman Bessbury, Gavin Spokes as Lord Lyonel Strong, Milly Alcock as Young Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, and Emily Carey as Young Alicent Hightower.

“House of The Dragon” will debut on August 21 on HBO Max.