It’s a family affair.
[Warning: Spoilers ahead for episode 4 of “House of the Dragon.”]
On Sunday night’s fourth episode of “Game of Thrones” spin-off “House of the Dragon,” teenage princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) and her uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) have an incestuous steamy make-out amid a busy brothel.
While the scene will no doubt raise eyebrows among viewers, Australian actress Alcock, 22, told The Post that it wasn’t awkward to film.
“No, strangely enough. [Matt Smith and I] were just kind of buddies. So it was pretty comfortable,” Alcock said of filming the scene with Smith, 39. “We had an intimacy coordinator and we worked with her through the rehearsal process and blocked it months before.”
Set about 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon follows Daenerys Targaryen’s ancestors as they make plans about who will succeed the current king (Paddy Considine) to the throne.
King Viserys named his daughter, Rhaenyra, as his heir, ignoring his dastardly younger brother, Daemon. But her position is uncertain, as Viserys recently had a son, who many people believe should be the rightful heir instead.
Daemon used to be friends with his niece, but now it’s a relationship that’s kinda at close to. In this episode, Rhaenyra and Daemon see each other for the first time in years (since Daemon previously angered the king and was exiled).
When Daemon returns to King’s Landing, he and Rhaenyra disguise themselves and go on a night out on the town. This culminates in Daemon taking Rhaenyra to a brothel, where they walk through rooms full of other busy people, while Rhaenyra takes it all in, wide-eyed.
“Clare Kilner, our director, made sure we didn’t see any of the brothel footage until we were filming,” Alcock said. “So that was our first time walking through the brothel, and he’s leading her around the room with all those other bodies. So that was quite shocking. You say, ‘This is a bit weird and stupid.’”
“There were extras we had just met who were 69 for 12 hours,” she added. “It’s pretty tough. We felt quite overdressed because everyone was naked.”
Then Daemon makes his move on his niece. Within the world of the show, incest is not uncommon for the Targaryen family. But it’s outrageous that Rhaenyra is dating anyone before she’s married off to someone her father approves of – let alone her uncle who has a bad reputation.
“I think it’s complicated, I think Daemon is good for her … but whether he’s the right choice for her, time will tell,” said Alcock, who previously told The Post that she and Smith have a mutual understanding that the relationship was “charged, but beneath the surface.”
“Rhaenyra is at an age where she can’t tell the difference between platonic love, romantic love and lust because she hasn’t lived long enough and lived through those experiences,” Alcock added. “I think she understands that there is a feeling here [with Daemon]but she doesn’t know exactly where it lands and how to behave and navigate with it.
After their hot and heavy moment, Daemon dumps her. Rhaenyra returns home and eventually loses her virginity to Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), her sworn protector who stands guard on her doorstep at night. After reports of their illicit encounter reach the king, a hungover Daemon is banished a second time.
“I struggled with” [her feelings for Criston] all the time, on the show,” Alcock said. “I think she wants to be seen, and in the end Daemon and Cristan Cole are the only two people who actually see her. Both see her for different reasons. Daemon kind of has the upper hand , and Rhaenyra has the upper hand with Cole, which excites her a little.’
“I think she really likes him. But I don’t think she’d end up choosing him over Daemon.”
“House of the Dragon” currently airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO.