10 Grossest Moments in House of the Dragon Season 1

The first season of House of the Dragon is already almost over, as the acclaimed Game of Thrones spinoff series barrels toward its Season 1 finale on October 23rd. The fast-paced freshman season of the series has covered a lot of ground in the lives of the main Targaryen characters, and it has delivered on the expectations of Game of Thrones fans. The performances have been incredible, the dialogue superb, and the action scenes with the dragons have been a blast to watch. In typical Game of Thrones fashion, however, House of the Dragon has also delivered more than its fair share of gross moments.

Just about every episode of House of the Dragon‘s first season has brought something to the table that fans have found disgusting, in one way or another. From sexual abuse between family members to tongues hanging out of dead bodies to incredibly creepy foot fetishes, House of the Dragon has given fans plenty to gag about.

With the season finale in sight, we thought we’d break down some of the most disgusting moments of the previous nine episodes. Sorry to make you relive some of these things if you’ve already forgotten about them, but misery loves company. 

Larys’ Foot Fetish

Let’s just start with the one that is freshest on everyone’s minds. Larys Strong has always come off as a bit of a creep, but he took things to another level in the ninth episode of the series.

We knew that Larys had been working with Alicent to do her dirty work in the shadows. As it turns out, she has been paying him for his services, but not with money. Larys has a foot fetish, and his information and services cost the Queen the price of showing him her feet. 

Not only did Alicent have to show Larys her bare legs and feet, but she also had to sit there while he touched himself, staring at her the entire time. Alicent’s face in that scene says it all, and it was hard to watch.

Alicent & Viserys

Alicent may do some evil things, but it’s easy to empathize with her after watching what she’s been through over the course of Season 1, especially when it comes to the men in her life. 

The relationship between Viserys and Alicent has always been a little gross, given the massive age gap between them. But that ickiness gets some visceral imagery in one scene early in the series that shows the couple having sex. Viserys, parts of his skin already rotting away from his disease, is on top of Alicent for the scene, and the camera focuses on the contrast between his decrepit body and her youthful face. She’s miserable, but reluctantly acting out of a sense of duty instilled in her by her father.

Joffrey’s Death

There have been lots of death scenes over the course of Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but few have been as gruesome as that of Laenor’s lover, Joffrey.

In the fifth episode, Criston Cole has his heart broken by Rhaenyra, who wants to continue loving him in secret instead of running away together. He takes this VERY personally. Cole ultimately takes his rage out on Joffrey, who is the secret lover on Laenor’s side of the proposed marriage. Out of nowhere, Cole snaps and begins beating Joffrey to death.

Not only does Cole mercilessly kill another man, but he beats Joffrey’s head so hard that there is almost nothing left of his face. The reveal of Joffrey’s body is an image that’s not easy to forget.

Aemma’s Sacrifice

House of the Dragon wasted no time showing viewers just how emotionally intense the show would be, and how brutal childbirth was in medieval times. 

Aemma, Viserys’ first wife, spent her whole marriage trying to give Viserys a son. It cost her her life, as she died giving birth to Baelor. Viserys made the decision to have the maesters cut Aemma open while she was still breathing to try and save the baby, killing her in a bloody and devastating scene at the start of the series. 

To make matters worse, Baelor only lived for a short time after his birth. 

Rhaenyra & Daemon

As gross as it is, Game of Thrones fans have gotten used to the fact that a lot of Targaryens don’t have an issue with incest. In order to keep their Valyrian bloodlines “pure,” Targaryens often married their siblings and cousins. With that in mind, the relationship between Rhaenyra and Daemon in the back half of House of the Dragon Season 1 isn’t too difficult to watch. The front half, however, was a different story.

Daemon made it clear he wanted to be with his niece when she was very young. During one scene in the fourth episode, he took her to a brothel in King’s Landing and started getting physical with her, only to leave her there by herself in an act of manipulation. It was very easy to hate Daemon after that, if you didn’t already.

Viserys’ Final Days

For the most part, Viserys has been depicted on House of the Dragon as an honorable man. He’s a likable King, albeit one that seems allergic to actually doing anything productive. Unfortunately, the poor guy has been slowly dying since the series began.

Various diseases and ailments hurt Viserys throughout his time on the show, stemming from a wound he suffered sitting on the Iron Throne. He looked a little bit worse with each episode, eventually losing half of his face to the illnesses in his final days alive. He took his mask off in a couple of scenes in his final episode, looking like half a skeleton already, skin falling off of his bones. 

No matter how bad we felt for Viserys at that point, we didn’t need to see that.

The Crabfeeder

Speaking of horrible skin conditions, the villain known as the Crabfeeder had an awful case of greyscale. His skin was covered in hard, stone-like scabs, and patches of his thin hair grew through burns on his scalp. This guy was nasty.

Not only did Crabfeeder look gross, but he had a terribly disgusting way of making a point. When claiming a victory, the Crabfeeder would leave prisoners on the shore, tied to posts, allowing them to be eaten alive by hordes of crabs.

Crabfeeder Part 2

Okay, there were a lot of gross things surrounding the Crabfeeder. Perhaps the most disgusting of them all, however, was the character’s death.

After a long battle with the Crabfeeder, Daemon lured the pirate’s forces into a trap, using the Velaryon army and a couple of dragons to annihilate the enemy. Daemon wanted to personally kill the Crabfeeder, though. He followed his foe into a cave, only to return moments later, dragging half of the Crabfeeder’s body behind him, leaving a trail of blood and guts on the sand. 

Old Men

This isn’t to say that the older men of House of the Dragon are gross in a physical sense, but the majority of them are disgusting when it comes to their actions.

Several men on this show have married women half their age or younger. Nearly all of them have used their young daughters as pawns in their political dealings, marrying them off to other old men so they can produce children. At one point, it was suggested that the middle-aged Viserys marry an elementary-aged Velaryon simply because it would strengthen his position as King.

These things are customary in George R.R. Martin’s fictional world, but do they really have to be? 

Poor Vaemond

Daemond was at the right end of a few nasty deaths in House of the Dragon’s first season. The most recent was Vaemond Velaryon.

Vaemond wanted a Velaryon to take over Driftmark should Corlys die from an injury suffered in a battle, and he called Rhaenyra’s sons bastards in front of the King’s Court to prove his point. Before he could finish, however, Daemon sliced his head in half, leaving his tongue handing out for all to see. The poor guy didn’t do anything but speak the truth, and it cost him everything.