The Game of Thrones prequel series appears to have gone one step farther than its predecessor in its depiction of violence against women, pushing it even further into the realms of gratuity than ever before. While HOUSE OF THE DRAGON was always going to be a gory affair,
WARNING: This article contains spoilers from House of the Dragon episode 1
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains details about violence against women and maternal mortality
Game of Thrones received a lot of criticism when it first debuted for its depiction of sexual assault on women. Just two instances include Jaime Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) forcing Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) into having sex in a sept by the side of their son’s coffin and the vicious Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon) raping Sansa Stark (played by Sophie Turner) on her wedding night.There was also the violence. Using a crossbow, Joffrey Baratheon (Jack Gleeson) killed Ros (Esmé Bianco) and made two prostitutes physically assault one another.
Some of the most upsetting moments in Game of Thrones occurred during the Red Wedding when a very pregnant Talisa Stark (Oona Chaplin) was savagely stabbed in the stomach. This scene was inserted by the show’s creators, David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, to increase the shock factor.
I had high expectations for the television series House of the Dragon, which was produced with Martin’s assistance by writers Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik. The creative team said they improved on those aspects of the original show’s formula that had underperformed while keeping the components that had made Game of Thrones popular.
Unfortunately, improving Westeros’ attitude on violence against women wasn’t one of them; instead, the premiere episode featured some horrifying moments.
When gruesome slaughter at a tournament was excessively paired with Aemma Arryn’s (Sian Brooke) labor, viewers experienced a horrifying, drawn-out spectacle. But unlike other labor scenes from movies and television, this one was brief.
Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) opted to save the infant over his loving wife, and it played out like an overt torture scenario.
Despite pleading with her husband to postpone the deadly caesarean, Aemma was restrained and forced to have it. The choice was not only made without consent, but there was also no way to get some pain relief. Milk of the poppy, anyone?
It was true that Viserys was in complete need of a male successor to maintain the line of succession and put a stop to the rivalry for the Iron Throne, but it felt utterly unnecessary to express this in such a direct way.
This moment seemed triggering for people who had had difficult pregnancies, miscarriages, and terrible childbirth experiences, like the author.
Some are already defending the show, pointing out that it is set in a brutal medieval society where things like this are to be anticipated, or they are advising people not to watch House of the Dragon. Others may be using the phrase “snowflake,” but this isn’t about being politically correct or woke; rather, it’s about substituting shock value for quality writing.
Even though House of the Dragon isn’t a parable or a modern story, it takes place in a very real world where women are losing their rights to choose their own reproductive health due to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, where black women are four times more likely than white women to die during pregnancy, and where women still feel unheard during childbirth.
Although House of the Dragon is meant to be an escape into fantasy, watching this scene because it serves as a slightly unsettling mirror to our current reality is simply unpleasant.
The Red Wedding, which aired in 2013, was one of the largest and bloodiest surprises ever seen on television, yet it seems like nothing has changed since then. There’s still a tradition of using violence against women as a story and character development device.
Although Aemma’s delivery scenario wasn’t a sexual assault, it was nevertheless a violation, which was as harmful and had a tragic, long-lasting result. This scene would be the perfect opportunity to hate Viserys.
Why was it necessary to watch Aemma’s sacrifice in such detail? It would have been simple for the camera to cut away.
This was a very purposeful artistic decision made by the program’s creators that capitalized on shock value.
The writers’ use of overt violence against a woman to advance the plot in this sequence felt like a lazily contrived attempt at exposition.
Sapochnik’s statement that “the child bed is our war” suggests that there will be plenty more to come.
The Hollywood Reporter continued, “In medieval times, giving birth was bloodshed.
“It’s as risky as they come. There is a 50/50 chance that you will succeed. We basically planned to give the various births in the program distinct themes and examine them from various angles, much like I did for a number of fights on Game of Thrones.
According to this, viewers may be in for more violent behavior toward women, which might be equally distressing. It’s a shame because, besides the sex and violence, some of the show’s best selling features were its political subterfuge, surprise turns, convoluted plot, and fantastic character development.
Producers take note: Game of Thrones, which is perhaps still the most popular television program in the world, has brought viewers to House of the Dragon already, so it doesn’t need to utilize such gimmicks to attract them.
