House of the Dragonstar Matt Smith recently suggested one thing that the HBO hit series could do with much less of as it enters its 2nd season.
Set several hundred years beforeGame of Thrones,House of the Dragonhas its fair share of unique takes on George R. R. Martin’s popular series of novels. The series, one of HBO’s most popular, includes dramatic action, well-wrought storytelling, and enough sex and violence to audiences eagerly tuning in for each new installment of season 1 in 2022. Smith, who playsthe devilish Daemon Targaryen, brother to the king and love interest of the show’s main protagonist Rhaenyra, has been praised for his performance as the sometimes ruthless but always charismatic anti-hero.
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Smith recently commented in aRolling Stoneinterview that he’d like to see a little less of the sex that has made bothGame of ThronesandHouse of the Dragonone of the racier franchises found on HBO. “You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene? And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do,'” Smith said. “I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written.”
TheGame of ThronesandHouse of the Dragonnovels are notorious for their explicit content, including troubling scenes of rape and incest. Perhaps they are responsible for the lengthier and more intense sex scenes inHouse of the Dragon, where Smith’s character Daemon is usually in the middle. These include some uncomfortable scenes with his teenage niece Rhaenyra in a brothel and no less uncomfortable scenes when the two finally consummate their marriage later in season 1.
Smith joins another actor who recently called for less sex in a popular series.Youstar Penn Badgleyspoke of dialing back the sex in the 4th season of his Netflix seriesYouout of respect for his real-life wife and a sense that the show didn’t need quite as many explicit scenes to drive along a show centered on stalking and murder.
Given the amount of suggestive material in theHouse of the Dragonbooks, it remains to be seen whether HBO will take Smith’s suggestion to heart, given that the franchise has built a reputation for having some of the most explicit and problematic representations of eroticism running today.Game of Thronesstar Emilia Clarke, whose sex scenes in season 1 include a graphic rape scene of her teenage character, has previously spoken of her discomfort with the amount of nudity she endured throughout the show. While producers went into the premierepromising less gratuitous sex inHouse of the Dragonthan its predecessor, explicit scenes were still threaded throughout.
House of the Dragonseason 1 is available on HBO Max.
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