House of the Dragon season 2’s most ‘shocking’ scene yet was completely real

‘It wasn’t a choice we made lightly,’ cast member said

HBO series House of the Dragon’s most shocking scene yet was completely real.

In the latest episode of the Game of Thrones spin-off, which might have just hinted at the off-screen death of a main character, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) is confronted by his brother, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), in a brothel.

Aemond, who is completely naked, stands up, exposing himself for all in the room to see – and while viewers assumed the actor was wearing prosthetics, it has now revealed this is not the case.

Mitchell reflected on his decision to go without prosthetics despite being given the choice to wear as much as he felt comfortable with, and told Vulture the aim was to “shock” viewers.

“Scenes like this start with a conversation about how far you’re prepared to go. It wasn’t a choice we made lightly. But it’s true to Aemond that he shocks the audience. Weakness is not part of Aemond’s vocabulary.”

Mitchell continued: “Aegon catches Aemond in a vulnerable spot. Picking up the script for the first time and seeing those brothel scenes in episodes two and three, I saw a brilliant opportunity to offer a rare glimpse of his vulnerability.

“You only ever see him in his Targaryen blacks, so to see him in that world – not only that but then humiliated by his brother – is quite shocking.”

Greeta Patel, who directed Mitchell in the scene, told Variety: “Ewan was like, ‘I want to be fully nude in that moment. It’s important to me because that’s who my character is. That’s what he would do.’ And that’s what we did.”

‘House of the Dragon’ character Aemond Targaryen (HBO)

She told the outlet: “He understands what he needs to do in order to portray Aemond. When I spoke with him originally about the nudity, I said to him, ‘Let’s just go through the story. If you don’t feel comfortable being nude, then you’re not going to be nude.’ We were both on the same page.

“That shift, from someone who’s vulnerable to literally watching him put on his armour, was what we were going for. It’s one of the few times you see the young child in him and you see the pain in him. Slowly he starts putting on his armour and when he stands up, the fact that he doesn’t care that you see his penis is such a strong visceral shift.”

House of the Dragon continues on HBO in the US on Sundays and on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK on Mondays.