Game of Thrones often came under fire for what many perceived to be gratuitous sex scenes and nudity, with star Emilia Clarke talking openly about feeling uncomfortable about being asked to do those as a young actress. While those moments did sometimes serve a purpose, it later started feeling like they were being thrown in just for the sake of it.
House of the Dragon has featured its fair share of risque moments, of course, but seems to have dialled things back a little when it comes to how much of that we actually see on screen.
Talking to Deadline, intimacy coordinator Miriam Lucia was asked about the series not being quite as sexually explicit as its predecessor. "Yes. Definitely. Game Of Thrones had a negative reputation – which they’ll admit — in terms of the press and the #MeToo movement," she says, "and with Emilia Clarke and other actors talking about how difficult and gratuitous it could be at times, and how much pressure they felt."
"So, I think what you get on House Of The Dragon is not only a production team that are sensitive to that, but you get a cast that is very aware of it and careful about what they will agree to," Lucia continues. "That precedent had been set. "It was about finding the balance for [showrunners] Miguel Sapochnik and Ryan Condal. [Sexual content and nudity] is part of the show, it’s part of the essence of what it is, but we’re in a new era."
Asked what the most challenging scene working on House of the Dragon has been, Lucia would suggest that the best (worst?) may still be to come in the HBO series and declined to give too much away. She did, however, look back at a couple of particularly difficult moments on set.
"I’ll say probably the scene with Emily and Paddy because of her age, and the implications of that, and maybe the way that would be viewed, and whether I had done enough work on that. But I felt very good about working with Clare [Kilner] on that."
"But also with Milly in the same episode. When we shot her intimate scene with Daemon, Matt Smith was in his late 30s and she was only 20 or 21? She’s not underage but many of these young women haven’t done scenes like this before."
House of the Dragon is being made in a completely different era to Game of Thrones, so changes were to be expected. Hiring someone like Lucia to ensure this prequel series doesn't repeat its predecessor's mistakes is a smart and necessary move, and one that's so far been praised by fans of the show.
Do you think House of the Dragon has done a good job not overdoing it on the sex and nudity these past five weeks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.