House of the Dragon stars speak out on filming 'odd' incestuous scene in season 3 premiere

Spoiler warning: this article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon season three

The third season of House of the Dragon premiered last week (21 June) on HBO, and it hasn't taken long for fans to share their thoughts on some of the more 'shocking' scenes.

In the first episode, we see characters Aemond, played by Ewan Mitchell, and his own mother, Alicent, played by Olivia Cooke, kiss each other on the lips following brother Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) shock disappearance.

In a recent interview with PEOPLE, Mitchell revealed that the incestuous scene 'kind of makes you want to throw up in your mouth a little bit'.

(HBO)

"Yeah, it's kind of shocking," the 29-year-old Wuthering Heights actor said. "But then also, I just recognised a tremendous challenge and an opportunity to show Aemond in a new light."

Mitchell continued: "It's quite a difficult pill to swallow, isn't it? Kissing your mum on the lips, especially in that way.

"I mean, Aemond, growing up, he never felt like he was loved enough by his mum and his family around him, and a kid needs that unconditional love to develop a balanced view of themselves.

"And Aemond, because he never had that, he's got a very skewed perception and a very strange way of showing love."

"I think what you see in that scene in episode one is that skewed love," he added.

Detailing what filming that particular scene was like with his co-star Cooke, 32, Mitchell gushed: "Working with Liv Cooke in that scene is just — it's a masterclass working with Liv Cooke in any scene, yeah, she's a real one."

Acknowledging her onscreen son is 'f*cked up', Cooke told the outlet: "I think it was quite odd for both of us."

Olivia Cooke acknowledged the seriously 'odd' scene (HBO)

"There has been this Oedipal undercurrent — unbeknownst to Alicent. And I think it's shocking," she carried on, adding that the kiss is also 'really dangerous, because he's a very dangerous person'.

"She knows that one wrong facial expression, one perceived rejection, will cost her her life. So she's trying to tread very, very carefully," the Slow Horses star added.

"But I do think she's sort of stupefied in that moment."

House of the Dragon showrunner Ryan Condal previously explained to Entertainment Weekly why he included the shocking incestuous scene.

"He's somebody that was traumatised at an early age by his brother by taking him to a brothel long before his brain could probably process what was happening," he said, speaking of Aemond.

"As these things do, that trauma then manifests a certain way in his behaviour as an adult.

"While I don't think that Aemond is necessarily in love with his mother, I don't think he's able to separate the feelings that he has for her from these other male feelings that he experiences."

Tyla has reached out to HBO for comment.