Twitter Says ‘House Of The Dragon’ Childbirth Scene Is A Reminder Of Post Roe V Wade World Where Women Don’t Have Bodily Autonomy
*SPOILER ALERT* Childbirth is a painful process for every single woman. Over the years, we’ve all heard tales of painful childbirth but imagine watching one with is gory and graphic? Even if it’s on-screen, it can have a lasting impact on all of our minds. Over eight seasons, Game Of Thrones has taught us that nothing is too graphic for this series. August has been an important month for GOT fans because the much-awaited spinoff House Of The Dragon premiered on Disney+ Hotstar on August 21. This spinoff series is set 200 years before the events of Game Of Thrones and tells the story of the House of Targaryen. And along with it comes a rather graphic and gory childbirth scene.
The first episode of House Of The Dragon opens with not one but two death. The episode shows Queen Consort Aemma Arryn, played by Sian Brooke, as she dies during childbirth. In the gory and stomach-churning episode, Queen Aemma Arryn dies after a bloody C-section is performed on her without permission. Hoping to give birth to a male heir for the Iron Throne, Queen Aemma loses her life after the King is asked to decide between the Queen or the unborn child as he can save only one and desperate for an heir, the King asks the grand maester to slice open the Queen’s stomach without anaesthesia to save the life of the baby. But in the end, the King loses both, his Queen and the heir as the infants survives only for a few hours. While modern medicine has made childbirth less painful and much safer, in a post-Roe v. Wade world, this scene holds a lot of significance. Having said that Twitter seems to be just as scared by the childbirth scene from House Of The Dragon.
Netizens are talking about how the medical advancements in today’s time have made childbirth safer and how glad they are to not have had to give birth back in those days.
#HouseofthedragonHBO made me grateful to have given birth in the modern era 😅 childbirth ain't no joke
— Rosa Parra (@rosasreviews) August 22, 2022
Extremely solid, you could tell the creators were trying to shine light on the difficulties of childbirth back in those times and the hardships women went through trying to provide an male heir. #HOTD #HouseOfTheDragonHBO https://t.co/MhCy0kuMqH
— 🛸 Outer Space Bih 🛸 (@B9YONDTHECOSMOS) August 22, 2022
Aemma’s death will stick with me for some time…really gives u a glimpse of the horror of childbirth in a medieval feudal society #HOTD
— Ash (@shawny0818) August 22, 2022
Several women on Twitter are expressing relief that they’re not living in times where a man gets to decide if they live or die during childbirth but hey, we are living in a post-Roe v Wade world so, not very different!
Watching House of the Dragon and I’m SO glad I wasn’t living during that time. Childbirth? A man choosing whether I live or die based on his own ego and selfishness for power? Yeah. Absolutely not.
— Tia. (@iamTiaMarie) August 22, 2022
And then there are those calling it a murder.
Childbirth as straight-up murder. She has no agency whatsoever. I’m sitting here alone watching and just said “wow” out loud. #HouseoftheDragon
— Jodie Lynn Zdrok (@jlzdrok) August 22, 2022
On the other hand, there are those who are speaking about how wrong the King’s choice was.
Well, now I’m crying because I know, as a King, I would NEVER be able to choose our unborn child over my wife if her labour proved life threatening.
I don’t have a wife, BUT the thought of her dying in childbirth is too much to bear, you know? I love her too much.#HotD
— Margo | a shame bat 🦇♥️ fragile era (@MargoshaTheKing) August 22, 2022
Some users also took a moment to warn people that the childbirth scene can be triggering. Well, it sure does need a trigger warning.
I don’t care if this is a spoiler. Massive trigger warnings for folks who have trauma from miscarriage and/or childbirth. It’s graphic and very tough to watch #HouseoftheDragon
— Courtney Bat-Ami ✡︎ (@c0urtneyH) August 22, 2022
As triggering as this scene is, it seems to have scared people of childbirth so much that some just never want to experience it ever.
Seeing Queen Aemma in childbirth solidified my strong will to never get pregnant. Fuck that. #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/3VmSu0sV66
— Jackie Frankopan (@TargaryenFyre) August 22, 2022
PSA: If you have childbirth trauma, do NOT watch the first episode of #HouseofthedragonHBO
— worm girl (@babybrinner) August 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/soniacardenasx/status/1561583158641827841?s=20&t=z4uxqq9hB0JqWsgsDiR4iA
With that came, Roe v Wade parallels
Watching Queen Aemma die during childbirth -after the deliberate choice to value her life less than her unborn child & sacrifice her life for birth – when #RoeVsWade is overturned & womens lives are treated the same as this fictional queen’s life had me sobbing #HouseoftheDragon pic.twitter.com/It63qbjyUd
— M.H 🌻 🕊 (@HoustonMH1757) August 22, 2022
I know #HOTD is a prequel but a man deciding to let his wife die during childbirth in an attempt to gain a male heir FEELS VERY 2022 🙃🙃🙃
— Dani Trevino (@d_trev) August 22, 2022
This childbirth scene is an excellent reminder of how dangerous it is and why abortion rights are so important in a country without universal healthcare and third world maternal mortality rates in red states. #HouseOfTheDragonHBO#HouseoftheDragon
— What's Streaming? (@whatsstreamin) August 22, 2022
Also Read: ‘House Of The Dragon’ Episode 1 Review: Targaryen Succession Drama, And Its Gender Politics, Show Promise
Well, in the world that we are living in, I’m not surprised that Roe v Wade parallels have been drawn. We’re all slowly inching towards times when women have no choice or say when it comes to their own bodies. Having said that, this scene sure is one of the most gruesome things to watch.
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