Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon
House of the Dragon viewers were 'pleasantly surprised' this week to see one of the best sex scenes of the franchise - though a lot less surprised when they discovered that it had been directed by a woman.
The creators of House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones have never held back on their audience when it comes to explicit sex scenes, though they usually give off a rather aggressive, unsettling, and bleak tone.
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But when the fourth episode of the new GOT prequel aired tonight, fans couldn't help but notice something had shifted, and this was all thanks to director Clare Kilner.
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Clare, who has previously directed films like The Wedding Date (2004) and How To Deal (2003), was brought onto the fantasy series for its fourth episode, bringing a much-needed female perspective to the series.
In episode four of House of the Dragon, Rhaenyra Targaryen, played by Milly Alcock, is taken on a tour around Downtown King’s Landing by a mysterious, cloaked figure, who just so happens to be her uncle Daemon, played by Matt Smith.
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Concluding their night of adventure, free from 'the burdens of [their] inheritance', the pair find their way to a pleasure house and start getting down and dirty.
After the two spend some time kissing and stripping each other off, Daemon seems to have a change of heart, and flees the scene.
Obviously, an intimate scene between uncle and niece is never going to be an easy watch, but as far as Game Of Thrones and House of the Dragon goes, fans were thoroughly impressed just to see Rhaenyra actually enjoying herself.
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Across both George R.R Martin shows, the mistreatment of women has been heavily covered but, because there's such little female representation in the storytelling process, some scenes can often come across as surface-level and, at times, a little gross.
That's why viewers were thrilled to see a woman enjoying a sexual encounter - no matter how incestuous and wrong it might have been.
"No wonder episode four was so [fire]", tweeted one fan. "It was directed by a female director so we're watching through the female gaze."
"I could tell that this episode of House of the Dragon was directed by a woman cause [the] sex scenes were actually good", added a second.
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"Leave it to WOMEN to direct erotic sex scenes properly in House of the Dragon lol", tweeted a third.
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A fourth impressed viewer penned: "I was impressed and pleasantly surprised by how they showed the nude and sex scenes on this episode of #HOTD. Then I found out that a woman directed this episode, and it all made sense. We need more women directing shows like HOTD."
And a fifth added: "Appreciate that Clare Kilner directed the Daemon/Rhaenyra scene in the way she did. Felt not as gross."
You can watch House of the Dragon on Sky and NOW on Sundays in the US and Mondays in the UK.
Featured Image Credit: HBOTopics: HBO, TV And Film, Game Of Thrones
