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‘Insufferable’: House of the Dragon fans call out TikTok videos romanticising Daemon and Rhaenyra

House of the Dragon viewers have been calling out other fans of the show for romanticising the incestual relationship between Daemon and his niece Rhaenyra.

The characters in the hit HBO series are played by Matt Smith and Milly Alcock, who recently spoke about how “gnarly” their first incest scene was to film.

*Spoiler warning for House of the Dragon episodes four and five*

In episode four of the Game of Thrones spin-off, which aired earlier this month, Rhaenyra Targaryen – heir to the Iron Throne – was led on a secret nighttime adventure around King’s Landing by her uncle Daemon.

Tension had been building between the pair already, but it was during these scenes that they kissed and engaged in a sexually charged moment set in a brothel.

Since then, showrunners have depicted Daemon pursuing his niece and at one point asking her father, Viserys (Paddy Considine), to allow them to marry.

In episode five, Daemon attempts to persuade Rhaenyra to abandon her plans to marry Laenor Velaryon (Theo Nate), while she tells him he should take her to Dragonstone and make her his wife, but warns his time is running out.

Many House of the Dragon fans on TikTok have been posting compilations and videos of the pair interacting set to love songs, with captions such as: “I’m having HEART PALPATATIONS.”

One fan commented on one of the videos: “They literally bring me to tears with their love!”

In response, many other fans have called out these social media users for romanticising incest.

“It’s so weird how some House of the Dragon stans not only ship incest but they also make sure to say on every tweet about them that this is her uncle like they’re not even trying to make people forget it,” tweeted one person.

House of the Dragon really making people out here ship incest on main,” added another.

Milly Alcock and Matt Smith in ‘House of the Dragon’ (Ollie Upton / HBO)
Milly Alcock and Matt Smith in ‘House of the Dragon’ (Ollie Upton / HBO)

“The amount of insufferable House of the Dragon takes I’m seeing I actually cannot believe y’all are rooting for the incest pedo ship idc how female gazey Matt Smith is…,” posted a third.

A fourth wrote: “How tf do people actually ship that incest couple in House of the Dragon?”

Earlier this month, House of the Dragon star Emily Carey admitted she was “scared” of filming the show’s sex scenes because of how “violent” they seemed to be in its predecessor, Game of Thrones.

The new drama’s intimacy coordinator then remarked on how Carey’s comments show the importance of her work.

Alcock will be replaced in the next episode by Emma D’Arcy, who plays an older version of the character opposite Smith. Carey, who plays Alicent Hightower, is being replaced by Olivia Cooke.

Read our recap of the latest episode of House of the Dragon here.