‘House of the Dragon’: Milly Alcock Reveals Details on Filming ‘Shocking’ Brothel Scene in Episode 4
House of the Dragon Episode 4 left many viewers feeling uncomfortable. The episode features Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) and Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) venturing into a brothel, where the two begin to give in to the temptation of lust. While incest is nothing new to the Game of Thrones universe, it still made many fans squirm. According to Milly Alcock, the brothel scene in House of the Dragon wasn’t as awkward to film as it seemed.
Daemon and Rhaenyra have an eventful night in King’s Landing
In episode 4 of House of the Dragon, Daemon returns to King’s Landing after delivering a triumphant victory for King Viserys (Paddy Considine). During the evening, he and Rhaenyra sneak out and wander the night scene of King’s Landing, filled with debauchery and scandalous behavior.
Later, Daemon takes Rhaenyra into a brothel, where Rhaenyra witnesses plenty of acts against her regal upbringing. She and Daemon then begin to kiss, but Daemon rebuffs her before they take it too far. Fans were surprised by the steamy yet disturbing activities featured in this episode, but Alcock says it wasn’t as uncomfortable to film as audiences might think.
Milly Alcock says she was ‘comfortable’ filming the brothel scene in ‘House of the Dragon’
In an interview with the New York Post, Milly Alcock details filming episode 4 of House of the Dragon. The Australian actor says her make-out scene with Smith wasn’t uncomfortable to film because she had an intimacy coordinator helping, and she has a friendly relationship with Matt Smith. The scene’s context may be hard to watch, but Alcock didn’t feel that while filming it.
“No, strangely enough. [Matt Smith and I] were just kind of mates. So, it was quite comfortable,” Alcock said. “We had an intimacy coordinator, and we worked with her through the rehearsal process and blocked it out months before.”
However, she did share that she hadn’t seen the brothel until they began shooting. So, her reaction to the “gnarly” scene is authentic.
“Clare Kilner, our director, made sure that we hadn’t seen any of the brothel stuff until we were shooting,” Alcock explained. “So, that was our first time walking through the brothel, and he’s guiding her through the room with all of these other bodies. So, that was quite shocking. You’re like, ‘This is kind of weird and silly.’ There were extras who we had just met who were like, 69-ing for 12 hours. It’s pretty gnarly. We felt pretty overdressed because everyone else was nude.”
Will Rhaenyra and Daemon get married?
House of the Dragon appears to be setting up a love triangle between Rhaenyra, Daemon, and Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel). In the novel Fire and Blood by George R. R. Martin, Rhaenyra does marry Daemon, and Alcock suggests that is where the series is headed.
“I wrestled with [her feelings for Criston] the whole time, in the show,” Alcock admits. “I think that she wants to be seen, and ultimately Daemon and Cristan Cole are the only two people who really see her. Both of them see her for different reasons. Daemon kind of has the upper hand, and Rhaenyra has the upper hand with Cole, and that turns her on a bit. I think that she genuinely likes him. But I don’t think she would pick him over Daemon, ultimately.”
House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max.
