After 10 increasingly dramatic episodes, House of the Dragon‘s debut season has come to a close with an especially brutal finale.
Throughout its run, the series hasn’t shied away from violence and brutality and this was evident once again in the closing instalment – with one scene in particular proving controversial among viewers.
The moment in question was yet another traumatic birth scene – bringing the show full circle from its debut episode when Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) died in childbirth after being forced to undergo a C-section.
This time around it was Rhaenyra who suffered a distressing birth, going into labour prematurely before delivering a stillborn baby.
In between these two aforementioned instances, there have also been a couple of other difficult births on the show – and some viewers have taken to social media to criticise the recurring trope.
“One thing this show will always do is show you an unnecessarily graphic birth scene,” one Twitter user wrote, with another adding that they were “verrrry much over all these traumatic birth scenes”.
Meanwhile, a third fan wrote: “My only complaint – and it’s not even a complaint, just a personal ick – is that I never need to see another birth scene on TV ever again. I’m 10000% done seeing people give birth, thanks very much.”
My only complaint – and it’s not even a complaint, just a personal ick – is that I never need to see another birth scene on TV ever again. I’m 10000% done seeing people give birth, thanks very much.#HotD#HouseOfTheDragon
— Black Abby Blackwood – ????HotD Spoilers???? (@QueenSansasFury) October 24, 2022
Several Twitter users also called for a trigger warning, with one writing: “That birth scene should NOT have been so graphic. It was unnecessary. There should’ve been a specific trigger warning.”
The episode did begin with an advisory warning stating: “The following programme contains strong language and scenes which some viewers may find distressing,” but did not go into specifics on the nature of the distressing scenes.
House of the Dragon airs on Sky Atlantic and is available on NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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