House Of The Dragon Episode Seven Review - 7 Ups & 3 Downs

10. Down - Incest, incest, incest

It's just not going to get any less unpleasant to watch.

Following the nauseating moments between the pair earlier in the season, House of the Dragon finally showed a full on sex scene between uncle and niece, Daemon and Rhaenyra. Fans hoping that the previous tryst between the two or the fact that Rhaenyra was now an adult may have made this latest sequence any easier to watch were sorely mistaken.

While Matt Smith and Emma D'Arcy have phenomenal chemistry whenever they are onscreen together, this simply does not change the fact that central characters engaging in incest makes for absolutely wince worthy viewing. It's a complex character wrinkle for sure, but the nature of the act itself means that it is one that viewers do not want to explore in the slightest, yet find themselves dragged along for every agonizing second of the way. Not only that, fans have to move forward with a storyline in which arguably the lead protagonist - debates about moral grey areas aside - is in a loving and passionate relationship with her uncle.

This remains a fiercely debated point within Martin's universe; it's exceedingly difficult to make peace with such a status quo, let alone throw one's emotional weight behind the characters engaged in such a taboo. By the same token however, Martin likely does not care in the least; by refusing to omit even the most undesirable of traits from his characters, the author achieves a level of authenticity that other fantasy writers just cannot match.