Warning: The following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon.
House of the Dragon showrunners Ryan J. Condal and George R.R. Martin believe that the most heartbreaking scene in the first episode was anything but gratuitous.
Per Vanity Fair, Condal acknowledged that many viewers took issue with the contentious scene in which King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) is compromised by his duty to the patriarchal system and compelled to betray his beloved queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke).
Warning: Spoilers to follow.
When the doctor tells Viserys that their unborn son is in the breech position and may die, Viserys subjects Aemma to a dangerous caesarian section against her will. The frightened queen is restrained during the high-risk procedure while her husband ignores her resistance. As Aemma pleads for her life, Viserys ignores her terrified cries for help and chooses to sacrifice her so that their son may live and satisfy their culture’s demand for the king to produce a male heir.
Condal explained why he felt it was important to expand the scene and explore the grim subject of maternal mortality that was only vaguely referenced in the Fire and Blood novel:
“There’s this whole idea in Game of Thrones, or in the Middle Ages […] that the men marched off to the battlefield and the women’s battlefield happened in the child bed. That was a very dangerous place to be. All of the complications that people go through in modern birth that are now fixed by science and medicine and surgery were not really possible back then. Any slight complication, anything could lead to very tragic consequences for the child and the mother […] There is a particular violence to childbirth, even childbirth that goes well in the end. We wanted to dramatize that. We also wanted, on a dramatic level, to have Viserys have to make a choice. It was really important to make him an active participant in what happened to Aemma and to Baelon.”
Additionally, Martin expressed that he was very impressed by the expansion of the scene.
“That scene is […] incredibly powerful. It’s visceral and it’ll rip your heart out and throw it on the floor. It has the kind of impact that the Red Wedding had. It’s a beautifully done scene of something horrible.”
In its first episode, House of the Dragon successfully highlights a serious issue that is still a fact of life for mothers who do not have access to adequate healthcare today. According to UNICEF, approximately 295,000 women lose their lives from complications due to childbirth every year. The poignant scene shows the importance of consent and safety in women’s healthcare for families and society as a whole.
House of the Dragon is streaming now on HBO Max.