Entertainment
House of the Dragon premiere smashes viewing records as Game of Thrones prequel shocks with gory first episode-Stella Akinwumi-Entertainment – Metro
The premiere episode has broken an incredible record.
The debut was watched by millions (Picture: HBO)
*Warning: This article contains spoilers from the opening episode of House of The Dragon.
House of the Dragon is already breaking records after the first episode became the most watched premiere in HBO history.
The Game of Thrones prequel, which is based on the Fire and Blood novel by George RR Martin, is set 300 years before the events of Game Of Thrones and follows the Targaryen family history, starting right at the formation of Westeros.
The first episode of the new series opened with King Jaehaerys Targaryen choosing his successor to the Iron Throne, choosing Viserys (Paddy Considine) over his daughter Rhaenys (Eve Best).
After someone hilariously spotted dozens of New Yorkers tuning into the fantasy drama at the same time, we knew everyone would be talking about the first installment – which attracted a whopping 10million viewers on Sunday night.
Chief Content Officer at HBO and HBO Max, Casey Bloys said in a statement: ‘It was wonderful to see millions of Game of Thrones fans return with us to Westeros last night.
House of the Dragon caused a frenzy on social media (Picture: HBO)
The birth scene was a little too much for some viewers (Picture: HBO )
‘House of the Dragon features an incredibly talented cast and crew who poured their heart and soul into the production, and we’re ecstatic with viewers’ positive response.
‘We look forward to sharing with audiences what else George, Ryan, and Miguel have in store for them this season.’
While fans praised the show’s opener as a whole, Queen Aemma’s (Sian Brooke) ‘horrific’ birth left some a little queasy.
Aemma is pinned down on the bed while her husband King Viserys Targaryen I (Paddy Considine) tries to soothe her, telling her they’re going to bring the baby out now and that he loves her.
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Confused by what’s going on, Aemma spots the Maester approaching her with a knife, as she screams at her husband to stop what’s happening.
In graphic scenes, viewers witnessed the Maester cutting into her stomach as the baby is pulled directly out of her womb, causing fatal blood loss.
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The creators of House Of The Dragon spoke about the decision to include the scene in the episode, saying: ‘It’s visceral and it’ll rip your heart out and throw it on the floor. It has the kind of impact that the Red Wedding had. It’s a beautifully done scene of something horrible.’
Co-showrunner Ryan Condal explained that the sequence was ‘not meant to be gratuitous’, as they wanted to convey the ‘heavy theme in this particular period’ of ‘difficult births’.
House Of The Dragon is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW, with new episodes released at 2am on Mondays.
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