{"id":5590,"date":"2026-06-22T17:54:37","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:54:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=5590"},"modified":"2026-06-22T17:54:37","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T16:54:37","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-season-3-aemond-alicent-kiss-pointless-shock-twist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/06\/22\/house-of-the-dragon-season-3-aemond-alicent-kiss-pointless-shock-twist\/","title":{"rendered":"Aemond and Alicent’s kiss is House of the Dragon’s most pointless shock twist yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Listen, incest is nothing new to the Game of Thrones world, but Aemond and Alicent\u2019s kiss in the House of the Dragon<\/a> season three premiere is a step too far – and not just because it\u2019s mother and son.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Season three episode one deals with the Battle of the Gullet, and it\u2019s a return to form for the show, which spent much of the previous chapter setting up the burgeoning war between the Greens and the Blacks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alicent (Olivia Cooke<\/a>) realises her mistake and makes a deal with Rhaenyra (Emma D\u2019Arcy) to open King\u2019s Landing to her forces and offer up Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) for her to take back the throne.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The timing is ideal, as Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) is set to be away finding Daemon (Matt Smith). Alas, when Alicent arrives home, she finds Aemond is still there, and so she does her best to convince him to travel to Harrenhal.<\/span><\/p>\n

During their interaction, she holds his face in a motherly sort of way. But Aemond, out of nowhere, leans in and kisses her. It\u2019s clear by the look on her face that she\u2019s horrified, but she keeps up appearances to get him to leave.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of backlash to the scene, especially as this doesn\u2019t even happen in George RR Martin\u2019s<\/a> books. \u201cThis mf Ryan Condal is ruining George RR Martin\u2019s<\/a> story,\u201d wrote one on X.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another joked, \u201cIf I had a nickel for every time Ryan Condal added non-canon mother-son incest to the show, I\u2019d have two nickels. Which isn\u2019t a lot, but it\u2019s weird that it happened twice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The kiss nobody needed<\/h2>\n
\n

AEMOND JUST KISSED HIS MOM ALICENT?!
I had to rewind three times because there\u2019s no way my eyes just witnessed that. House of the Dragon keeps finding new ways to leave me absolutely speechless.#HouseoftheDragon<\/a> #HOTD<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/iNzMS3suj6<\/a><\/p>\n

— sanmeyo (@oyemnassxo) June 22, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n