House of the Dragon not ruling out depictions of sexual violence in future seasons

The first season of House of the Dragon does not have any depictions of sexual violence. But that doesn’t mean the show will never have any.

Speaking to Vanity Fair back in August, House of the Dragon producer and writer Sara Hess said that the hit HBO show would not portray any form of sexual abuse in the first season of the show:

"I’d like to clarify that we do not depict sexual violence in the show. We handle one instance off-screen, and instead show the aftermath and impact on the victim and the mother of the perpetrator."

Hess clarified her words during an appearance on The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon. During that interview, Hess said that the show isn’t ruling out depicting sexual violence in future seasons.

"I would like to clarify that I didn’t say that we are not going to portray sexual violence ever. I’m not saying that we are. I don’t know. There are hopefully going to be several more seasons of this show so it’s not off the table"

Hess went on to say that, when it comes to depictions of sexual violence, the House of the Dragon team did not feel the need to include what wasn’t described by George R.R. Martin in his book Fire & Blood. It is up to the individual viewer whether they consider Daemon grooming Rhaenyra from the time she was a teenager falls under this category.

House of the Dragon’s mother show Game of Thrones didn’t hesitate to adapt the more graphic scenes from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire book series. It was also criticized for its depictions of sexual violence. We’ll see what path House of the Dragon takes as it continues.

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