Anyone who felt House of the Dragon Season 3 started on a low note may think episode 7 matched it for shock value.
Viewers were stunned by a moment that seemed to show Aemond Targaryen, played by Ewan Mitchell, in bed with his mother Alicent Hightower, portrayed by Olivia Cooke. The disturbing scene occurs early in the episode as Alicent arrives unexpectedly at Harrenhal, where Aemond has been hiding with Alys Rivers.
The episode later makes clear that the sequence is a hallucination. Aemond is actually with Alys Rivers, played by Gayle Rankin, though the scene strongly suggests his mind is focused on Alicent. Specifically, the hallucination reveals that Aemond has been having a vision of his mother while in bed with Alys, who is attempting to conceive a son with him as part of a plan to build their own Targaryen dynasty.
It is not the first uncomfortable exchange involving the pair this season. When the Game of Thrones prequel returned in June 2026 after a two-year gap, audiences were already disturbed by a scene in which Alicent and Aemond kissed on the lips following a tense discussion in the season premiere.
That earlier moment was unsettling enough on its own. Alicent appeared alarmed, but she did not pull away, instead giving Aemond an uneasy smile once he stepped back. The kiss occurred after Alicent attempted to persuade Aemond to fly to Harrenhal, using flattery that he misinterpreted as romantic interest.
Episode 7 pushed things even further, and Rankin later spoke about what it took to shoot the sequence alongside Mitchell and Cooke.
“It was very intimate and very odd but very professional,” Rankin told Variety.
She explained that the cast tried to keep the atmosphere manageable by joking around between takes, while also stressing that scenes of that nature are difficult to perform.
“They’re complicated and very technical,” she added. “So it was also just like it was another day at the office for being like a very odd, f****d-up scene.”
Online reaction was predictably intense, with many viewers saying the scene crossed a line even in a series already known for incestuous storylines.
“This story already has a lot of incest, why they feel the need to add more is beyond me. I can accept incest shown for political purposes (still disgusting but makes sense) but the amount of extra incest added out of lust is really unnecessary,” one wrote.
“Aemond getting turned on by his mother… I know incest is normal on this show but euuwwww,” said another.
“I get that we’re watching a show where incest is the order of the day but Alicent and Aemond is taking it too damn far,” wrote a third.
Rankin is not the only cast member to discuss filming scenes many would consider awkward. After the season premiere, Mitchell also reflected on the now infamous kiss between Aemond and Alicent.
“Yeah, it’s kind of shocking. But then also, I just recognized a tremendous challenge and an opportunity to show Aemond in a new light,” the actor told PEOPLE.
He also acknowledged how strange the moment is from a viewer’s perspective.
“It’s quite a difficult pill to swallow, isn’t it? Kissing your mom on the lips, especially in that way,” he added.
Mitchell said Aemond’s behavior comes from a deep sense of emotional neglect, arguing that the character never received the love and support he needed from his mother or the rest of his family. The actor noted that Aemond grew up being bullied relentlessly, particularly for being the only child in the family without his own dragon.
Explaining why his character did what he did, or does what he does, Mitchell said his character ‘never felt like he was loved enough by his mom and his family around him,’ adding that ‘it’s what a kid needs to develop a balanced view of themselves’.
For Mitchell, the simplest way to describe the dynamic is:
Rounding up the scene in one phrase, Mitchell called it ‘skewed love’.