The first time we see Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) in the season 2 premiere of House of the Dragon, she's having an extremely intimate moment with Ser Criston Cole of the Kingsguard (Fabien Frankel), one that was apparently less erotic and more hilarious behind the scenes. So far as we know, these two didn't have a sexual relationship prior to this; in fact, neither of them had much of a sexual relationship with anyone, since Alicent was married off to a dying man as a teenager and Criston Cole took a vow of chastity to join the Kingsguard. They have another sex at the end of the episode, so they're both making up for lost time.
And apparently Alicent had yet another sex scene somewhere in the season that we're not going to see, since showrunner Ryan Condal decided to cut it. That scene is apparently "carnal" and "animalistic," according to Cooke. “It was messy as fuck. It wasn’t beautiful, and that was really fun to do,” she told Elle. “I think Ryan said we weren’t learning any more about the characters, which I disagree with slightly, but it’s OK. It’s his show.”
House of the Dragon hasn't been shy about sex scenes, but Cooke actually thought there would be "way more" than there is given how often predecessor show Game of Thrones got busy. “I’m relieved that when it has been used for me, it’s showing Alicent being pleasured, which is amazing and doesn’t feel gratuitous. It feels like we’re telling a story.”
Does House of the Dragon have too few sex scenes? Does it have too many? Apparently it's all in the eye of the beholder, because while Olivia Cooke expected more sex in the show, Matt Smith (Daemon Targaryen) opined while the first season was airing that there was "slighty too much."
"You do find yourself asking, ‘Do we need another sex scene?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we do.’ I guess you have to ask yourself: ‘What are you doing? Are you representing the books, or are you diluting the books to represent the time [we’re living in]?’ And I actually think it’s your job to represent the books truthfully and honestly, as they were written."
The book on which House of the Dragon is based, Fire & Blood, doesn't lack for sex, so no matter what tack you take, I don't think we've seen the last of it.
New episodes of House of the Dragon air Sunday nights on HBO and Max.
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletter and check out our YouTube channel.