House of the Dragon spoke, and the Internet responded! If you peruse TikTok, it doesn't take much time to find a guilt-ridden post "shipping" Rhaenyra and Daemon Targaryen, who are uncle and niece. As tantalizing as this all sounds (sarcasm, just in case any readers misunderstand), incest is one of our culture's greatest taboos.
Yet, the union of uncle and niece is not particularly shocking. If anything, we are nearly desensitized when it's seen on TV, especially if the show has a primetime spot. After all, this isn't the first time we've seen incest as a subplot, particularly in the Game of Thrones world (recall Cersei and Jamie Lannister, who later produced three children as a result of their affair). The topic of incest isn't limited to this universe, either; we've seen it time and time again in shows like Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, and most recently, in (spoiler alert) Rick and Morty.
'House of the Dragon's Marriage Is a Political Move Made From Loyalty
Within House of the Dragon, the marriage of Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Daemon (Matt Smith) is a strategic move that is one to be watched by Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) and Rhaenyra's aunt Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best). Still, it's not one without some honest love. From the premiere episode, Rhaenyra is one of the few characters to tease some kindness out of her shrewd uncle. Although he shows disdain towards his brother, King Viserys (Paddy Considine), and his foes (like the Crabfeeder), his niece enjoys this side of him that's, dare I say, sweet and protective. Rhaenyra balances his cunning, and he shows her loyalty that his first two wives did not get the full extent of.
By the end of Episode 8, "The Lord of the Tides," the audience is given yet more incestuous unions as Rhaenyra's sons, Jace (Harry Collett) and Luke (Elliot Grihault), are now engaged to their cousins Baela (Bethany Antonia) and Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell). That's not even getting into the recent marriage between Alicent's own children, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney) and Helaena (Phia Saban) as of Episode 7. This nature is unsavory by today's standards but is clearly not forbidden, at least on television (or in Westeros).
These Familial Ties Have Real World Implications
Historically, incest has been a hot topic throughout literature as a whole. Notably, we have seen incest on stage in the form of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex performed on stage since 429 BC, and read about it in the Bible and other literary works — but it is not limited to just literature. In times come to pass, the union of family members was common among royals across cultures for reasons that mirror those of the Targaryens; it strengthened bloodlines and consolidated power. Although these unions were powerful, and the lineages were understood as "pure," over time, children of incestuous marriages would result in numerous health issues that would eventually raise the families' mortality rate. In this instance, the historic connection strengthens the plot, and the tangled branches of the family tree only add to the spectacle.
The real-world connections hardly end there, though. Each year, the adult film site Pornhub.com releases its year-end insights that report searches by term, actor, country, and other statistics and demographics. The results revealed that for 2021, the 12th most popular search in the United States was "Stepmom." Clearly, this is not something that bothers the public as much as one may believe. It's not just primetime TV, either, so the question must be asked: what is the allure?
According to an article recently posted by Insider, the reason being is more deeply answered. Incest is forbidden, it's taboo, and that's what makes it interesting. A part of our brain loves doing or seeing things we aren't supposed to. Additionally, it's shocking and heightens the drama. With shows like Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon, though, it's not merely the shock and taboo nature that is alluring; it's the fact that it's written to build up that way. There is a tension that is nearly tangible between Daemon and Rhaenyra from the first episode. As previously mentioned, Daemon's regard for Rhaenyra is protective and loving in a way that he shares with no one else, so she's special to him. The contrast between his ruthless nature against the tender regard he has for his niece makes him seem safe — so when it does happen, the viewer almost wants it to happen. With each character previously married to family members, you tacitly accept it as a fact of their lives, especially since history has shown us that this wasn't always an uncommon practice among royalty.
In comedies like Rick and Morty, the shock factor is an awkward situation for an already awkward character, and the results are hilarious. In a series of events that would only occur in an episode of Rick and Morty, called "Final DeSmithation," Jerry's fortune cookie predicts that he will have sex with his mother. This prediction leads to Rick, Jerry, and Jerry's mother being in a room with a chaos-eating alien (that an obvious Gwyneth Paltrow prototype owns) whose poop leads to fortune cookies that render the recipient immortal until the fortune occurs in reality. Then, by some twisted circumstance involving a vortex, Jerry's pants are off, and he is literally pulled by gravity toward his also-pantsless mother. Fortunately, incest is narrowly avoided, and the fact that this would have never happened in the first place makes it a more entertaining approach to the subject.
Ultimately, the incestuous reunions occurring on these TV shows are occurring on TV shows. It's not real, so while there is a sense of satisfaction to the part of our brains that loves to do things we aren't allowed to do, in the end, none of it is really happening. While the inherent taboo of the topic does significantly heighten the drama, we can feel safe watching the spectacle play out, knowing that when it's all said and done, these are just shows about fictional characters.