The new HBO series’ first episode aired Monday (22 August) featuring a bloody jousting scene and a birth scene that left viewers reeling.
Speaking at a roundtable attended by Insider and other news outlets, showrunner Miguel Sapochnik said his team asked “as many women as possible” if the birthing scene was too violent.
House of the Dragon showed from the off that it would not shy away from gratuitous violence, just like its predecessor, Game of Thrones.
In the episode, Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) is preparing to give birth to a son, when she faces complications.