The Director of "House of the Dragon" Defining That Terrifying Birth Scene

© Ollie Upton/HBO‘House of the Dragon’ Director Explains That Horrifying Premiere Birth Scene

The Game of Thrones prequel's Sunday night launch featured a fairly distressing scene that House of the Dragon viewers was forced to watch.

With a kid on the way, Gemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) would have given her husband, King Viserys Targaryen (P**** Considine), the Iron Throne's much-needed heir.

Due to complications during the birth, Viserys had to decide whether to perform a mediaeval caesarean, which was almost guaranteed to be fatal, or to save Gemma or his kid. The monarch decides to kill his loving wife in order to try to save the child (who is fully conscious and terrified). After then, the youngster still passes away.

In a recent cover article on the making of, director Miguel Sapochnik specifically referenced this scenario.

The showrunner of the series along with Ryan Condal, Sapochnik, quotes Gemma as saying, "The child bed is our fight." "We thought that was an intriguing way to explore the idea that childbirth was violent for women in mediaeval times. It's the riskiest thing there is. There is a 50/50 chance that you will succeed. A lot of women didn't. A caesarean section would kill you, thus if, given the option, the father would pick the child over the mother. There was a lot of intense violence involved. We basically wanted to give the births in the programme different themes and examine them from many angles, much like I did for a number of fights on Game of Thrones, where each time I

The episode ends with Viserys choosing his daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (played by Milly Alcock in the early episodes of the programme) over his volatile brother Daemon, setting up the main conflict of the show about the issue of the king's succession (Matt Smith).

The Hollywood Reporter also questioned Considine on why his character ultimately chose his daughter over his brother, despite the fact that he is aware that a woman sitting on the Iron Throne may never be accepted by the realm.

"He absolutely understands that Daemon cannot be king," Considine says. "He lacks the temperament." Daemon would destroy everything. He's far too volatile. 'My next real option is my daughter, and I'm taking a big risk because she's female.' But I believe she has something inside her, that she has the best of her mother,' who was Viserys' love. He has an instinctive feeling that he can trust her and that she will listen enough to understand what it takes to be the ruler of that kingdom. It's almost like giving your child a burden that appears to be a gift but is actually a curse. It's as if I'm giving you something that will make you happy.

House of the Dragon follows the civil war that tore Westeros apart nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones.