House Of The Dragon Just Featured The Weirdest Sex Scene In Game Of Thrones History

This article contains spoilers for "House of the Dragon" season 2, up to episode 5.

Strange things are afoot post-Castle ​​Harrenhal, and the subconscious psyche of the sadistic sicko Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) is feeling the brunt of it. As Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) described the seemingly unholy grounds, Harrenhal was "built in hubris" by Harren the Black as a self-described monument to his greatness, mixing blood with the mortar. "It is said to be a cursed place — that it passes judgment on all who pass beneath its gates." Daemon arrived at Harrenhal to guarantee support for Team Black in the name of Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D'Arcy), but the house seems to be continuing to pass judgement on the unpredictable Daemon. This judgement comes in the form of deeply unsettling hallucinations, a result of a special potion given to him by Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) to "help him sleep."

Sleep he does, but now all of his internal struggles are making themselves known, displayed in the form of cinematic hallucinations that are terrorizing Daemon from the inside out. Audiences have known since his introduction on "House of the Dragon" that Daemon was bitter because, as the younger brother to Viserys, he felt entitled to the throne over his niece Rhaenyra in the absence of a male heir. At the same time, though, he's strongly in support of her claim to the crown. He married her, and is willing to do anything to put her on the Iron Throne. The conflict between the Greens and the Blacks is not the only war raging on, as Daemon's demons regarding his feelings toward Rhaenyra and his own quest to be king are shredding his psyche.

It's also making him dream about eating out his own mom, Princess Alyssa Targaryen, while she tells him he's her favorite son.

Daemon's hallucinations have been pretty intense over the last few episodes, including a surprise visit from Milly Alcock as young Rhaenyra Targaryen again, only for Daemon to envision himself decapitating her with a sword. It's an undeniable nod to his love of Rhaenyra and jealousy toward her for destroying the chance he had at becoming the King of Westeros. 

To be explicitly clear — Rhaenyra didn't "destroy" anything, and she's more than proven to be a far more suitable ruler than Daemon ever would be. At the same time, it's impossible to know if Daemon was always destined to be a violent and unpredictable lil' freak, or if being born as the second son and knowing from birth that he'd never be king turned him into a vengeful weirdo. Men will truly call for the beheading of babies instead of going to therapy, amirite? As such, all of those thoughts he keeps buried down about Rhaenyra are rearing their barbaric heads.

But not all of these thoughts are violent ones. In "House of the Dragon" season 2 episode 5, Daemon's first major scene sees him amid a tryst with a beautiful woman with flowing white hair. We can assume this is another Targaryen based on appearance, and considering incest is as traditional in House Targaryen as dragon riding, this isn't that unusual, all things considered. As his hands and lips travel around the woman's skin, her voice is heard complimenting him, seemingly saying everything he's ever wanted to hear:

"You were always the strong one. The finest swordsman. The fearless dragon rider. Your brother had great love in his heart but he lacked your constitution. Viserys was unsuited for the crown but you, Daemon, you were made to wear it. If only you'd been born first."

Daemon moves his hands from her flesh, leaving a streak of blood across her chest and on his hands. "My favorite son," she says to him before Daemon snaps back to reality. Move over, Oedipus, there's a new motherf***er in town.

Intrusive thoughts have been diluted in pubic understanding in recent years, and it's important to note that intrusive thoughts are uncontrollable and not at all in line with how a person actually feels. I'm not a professional psychologist and I'm not here to psychoanalyze a fictional character, but "House of the Dragon" is walking a fine line with Daemon between intrusive thought and deeply shameful fantasy rooted in reality. His vision of making the beast with two backs with his own mother takes place while he's sitting at a table eating a nice dinner of a bloodied duck surrounded by his men.

The blood of the fowl drips into some sort of white cream sauce, a disgustingly fantastic visual that looks quite a bit like blood falling into a pool of semen. Perhaps this sauce is what triggered the vision in the first place, or perhaps Daemon is so damn insecure his subconscious buried thoughts of his mother complimenting him to continue stroking his precious ego. But in his vision, he has blood on his hands, perhaps a sign that guilt is setting in regarding his impulsive actions.

As gross as this is going to be for people to hear — it's actually super common for people to have weird sex dreams about their family members, but obviously no one is ever going to talk about it because it sounds insane. Fortunately, in an overwhelming majority of cases, it's just your subconscious dealing with feelings of envy or other unresolved issues. It's a true intrusive thought because brains are weird as hell when we sleep. Daemon doesn't just dream about doing his mom while she tells him how great he is; he dreams about providing her with pleasure, as if he's thanking her for validating all of the things he feels about himself and desperately needs to hear out loud.

Don't worry, Daemon. Sigmund Freud would have loved you just the way you are.