The Targaryen dynasty is at the absolute apex of its power, with more than 15 dragons under their yoke. Most empires crumble from such heights. In the case of the Targaryens, their slow fall begins when King Viserys breaks with a century of tradition by naming his daughter Rhaenyra heir to the Iron Throne. But when Viserys later fathers a son, the court is shocked when Rhaenyra retains her status as his heir, and seeds of division sow friction across the realm.
This tv show contains 100 potentially triggering events.
50:30 an angry man kicks a dog. The dog yelps in pain and runs away. This scene is completely unnecessary for the story of this TV show. It's excessive. If you don't like it, skip ahead a minute or two.
A character is shown to have produced numerous children, probably with prostitutes he frequented. The children are sometimes abandoned to awful fates like fighting for the entertainment of adults.
A woman is strangled on-screen by her husband in S1E10. The woman seems to more-or-less overlook this incident and it isn't addressed in future episodes.
In episode 1 around 37:00 a man forces his wife to have a C-section. He does it knowing it will kill her, and she screams and protests the whole way through.
Alicent was neglected as a child and forced to marry a middle aged man, which makes her a abusive and cold mother. Aemond was bullied and had his eye mutilated as a child by his cousin and later end up killing him and being very cold person. Aegon was emotionally neglected by his parents and becomes a cold hearted rapist when his older ect.
In S1E2, a 12 year old girl is forced into courtship with a middle-aged man, per the traditions of the setting/period. This is with the understanding of her obligation to be “bedded” once she turns 14. She is treated well, not touched at all, and (spoilers) he ultimately decides against marrying her (/spoilers) but it’s still fairly disturbing and would be considered abusive by today’s standards.
S1E6: A man hurts a child and facilitates a fight between children because he has issues with the child’s mother. Also, a mother is rough with her teenage son.
S1E7: Children are drawn into family conflicts and physically fight each other. One is stabbed in the eye (the kid lives but loses the eye). Also, it’s mentioned that a teenaged brother and sister will be forced to marry one another.
S1E9 Children roughly 7-10 years old (likely homeless and/or orphans, dirty and malnourished) are forced to fight each other for sport and entertainment.
Note: Per the source material, children will continue to be mistreated, married off, and put in harrowing and occasionally deadly situations.
Like… alcohol addiction is all over the series. Not only king Viserys seems to have drinking problem, but others as well. It’s so strange to me that nobody pointed that out.
The stag in S1E3 is particularly hard to watch. He is restrained with ropes and stabbed with a spear several times because the person killing him is too hungover/distracted to focus and aim properly. He definitely suffers. I may get time stamps later but it is easy to see it coming.
S1E10 A small dragon is chomped in half by a much larger one. Occurs near the end of the episode.
You see dead rabbits roasting on spits. There is a brief but fairly graphic shot of someone skinning a dead rabbit S1E3 at 0:40:00. You don’t see the rabbits dying or being hurt while alive, though. (As of Season 1)
Episode 7, HBO time: Around 5:50 a female character has a big spider on her hand for about 15 seconds. Then there's dalogue between her brothers, and another view of the spider around 6:37 - for no longer than 5 seconds.
Throughout the final few episodes of Season 1, the king is given opium under the guise of easing his pain, because he is dying from leprosy or a leprosy-like condition, but there is a strong implication is that he is also being kept in a state of constant mental confusion for more nefarious purposes.
Daemon grooms and eventually marries his niece, starting when she was a teenager.
Before that, he married 15 year old Laena.
Alicent was married to Viserys at age 15 and had her first child at age 16.
Also major Victim blaming trigger. Alicent say to the girl who got raped that if she tells anyone people will blame her and that she might had lead him on or persuade him.
She then buys her silence with gold, so she tell no one. Like a real abuser gaslight victims to be silent
S1E4 (TW: marital r*pe) Alicent is coerced into sex with Viserys I… he is her husband and the king so she is unable to refuse, per the laws/customs of Westeros. It is painfully obvious she doesn’t want to do it.
S1E8 A servant girl is r*ped by Prince Aegon. The assault is discussed but not shown on screen. The servant girl is exiled and given a tea to ensure no pregnancy occurs. She is compensated but simultaneously threatened/intimidated into silence. She recieves no justice.
S1E9 There is a quid pro quo situation between Alicent and Larys Strong.
In S1E9 Aemond reveals he was coerced into sex as a child. The coercive aspect is never mentioned again and in S2 some see his "mommy issues" as humorous.
S1E4 Marital rape on screen. A woman is unable to refuse sex with her husband due to the laws and customs of Westeros, although it is very clear she does not want to. It’s a fairly long and uncomfortable sequence.
S1E9 A character is in a prid pro quo situation and is made to bare her feet while a man watches and masturbates. Her disgust is made evident while this is happening on screen.
A man accidental cut himself on a throne. In battles There Are alot of peoples who Gets cut up. People being cut by sword, and a man is cut apart with only torso left, insides hanging out. Ep 7: A woman is cut by a blade in an attack by another woman. a boy Also Gets his eye cut up by another boy. Ep 8: a head is cut up. The top missing exposing the whole tongue. It lingering shot.
Episode 6, a woman is unable to give birth and commands her dragon to kill her by fire. It is quick and we see it from afar.
There is a fire near the end where a man is trapped in a burning room. We see the burned bodies later.
In episode 1 around 20:00 there is a scene with a lot of graphic mutilations, including multiple amputations. A cart filled with heads and various limbs is shown at the end of the scene.
People are nailed to posts to be slowly eaten alive by crabs by a character nicknamed “The Crabfeeder.” This is shown in excruciating detail in the beginning and the end of S1E2. It is shown once again in the beginning of S1E3.
Just a placeholder to let folks know that small children will be killed in fairly disturbing ways throughout the series (assuming the show continues to follow the source material)… In case anyone wants to opt out and not get invested early on.
S1E10: (SPOILERS) A preteen kid is killed near the end of this episode. He is swallowed by a dragon. It’s very quick but still awful. Also in this episode, there is a graphic stillbirth.
S2E1: A small child is brutally murdered near the end of the episode. (SPOILERS & TW: Description of the murder of a child) His head is cut off. It is heard but not seen. (/SPOILER)(/TW)
S2E2: (TW: Decapitation) A child’s beheaded body, with the head sewed on, is shown in a funeral procession.
Pretty much all of them. The only ones who don’t are (and again, MASSIVE MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW)
Baela, Rhaena and Alicent (and even Alicent dies shortly after the Dance)
The show’s premise is about a royal family, all of whom have inherited a magical bond with dragons, turning on one another and starting a civil war. (SPOILERS) It will end with most of the family dead. (/spoilers)
1.01- a man is brutally murdered and someone v*mits at the sight of it, graphic audio and visual (34:21)
1.05- Viserys is seasick around 6:53-7:10, audio and visual
When Rhaenyra and Daemon watch the satirical play put on by the mummers in Flea Bottom, the mummer dressed as Rhaenyra sits on the “iron throne” privy and makes farting noises.
The closest the series has to a police force (the Gold Cloaks) is seen brutally terrorizing the populace of King's Landing for their alleged crimes, beating, mutilating, and killing many of them. Pretty much everyone who discusses this in a later scene is disturbed by this, with the king promising punishment if there's a repeat.
There is a consensually open marriage between a straight(ish) woman and a gay man, who are forced to marry for political reasons. I wouldn’t call what happens cheating since all parties are on board with the arrangement.
The character Heleana Targaryen has a lot of autistic traits. Although she is not explicitly labeled as autistic, she is autistic-coded and it’s obvious that it’s what they were going for in the portrayal of the character. As far as misrepresentation, I am not sure. Opinions will vary whenever there’s a (presumably) neurotypical actor playing a neurodivergent character.
Heads up, if the “neurodiversity is supernatural” trope bothers you, this character is also a seer, called a “dragon dreamer” in the lore. Sometimes her words, which seem like irrelevant nonsense to the other characters, are actually riddles and prophesies.
very dense crowds- while no one appears to be injured, it is a bit tense, especially as the major character in focus in those scenes is being pushed along with the crowd against her will
Episode 6: A character commands their own dragon to burn them alive. For context, this is done because the character was very likely going to die within the next few hours and they wanted to end life on their own terms. They were not otherwise suicidal or depressed. It’s easy to see it coming.
Note: This will not be the last suicide in the series, per the source material.
Quite a bit of swearing. Daemon in particular likes to swear and often says fuck, c*nt, cock and the like. In-world calling someone a bastard seems to be one of the worst insults and is used pretty often.
S1E4 Someone is given “moon tea” which is the Westerosi version of the morning-after pill. Technically it is preventing fertilization, not terminating a pregnancy. But still probably worth mentioning.
S1E8 A servant girl is sexually assaulted by a prince and given moon tea as part of the cover up.
Judaism (and, indeed, every other real-world religion and ethnic group) does not exist in this show's universe. I have no idea what the person who voted "yes" is thinking.
S1E6, while very drunk and in good spirits, a character tells his wife of how his male lover has been telling him stories of a Tyroshi pirate who "dyes his beard purple and wears women's frocks." More emphasis is put on the man's drunkenness and obliviousness to the current situation than to the ridiculousness of a man in a frock. It is worth noting that in Tyroshi culture as portrayed in the source material, many men dye their head and facial hair with garish colors.
S1E5 (spoilers) …. An LGBT character is brutally murdered towards the end of S1E5. Note: They’re not killed specifically for being LGBT but their romantic relationship is a factor in their murder.
Sex and nudity are in almost every episode, either shown or discussed, often bluntly and/or crudely. Additionally, incest and CSA are major parts of the story. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to avoid any sexual content without losing the plot.
Aemma and Viserys I are first cousins so right off the bat, yes. Marriages between family members is normal/traditional for Targaryens.
S1E4 (major spoilers): A 34yr old uncle takes his 18yr old niece to a brothel. In a back room, they kiss each other, clothes are removed, and he pins her to a wall. They stop just short of actually having sex. Later, he asks her father (his brother) for her hand in marriage.
S1E7 (major spoilers) Uncle and niece have sex, which is shown on screen, and later get married. They’re both adults at this point and it’s very consensual.. although some might feel niece was groomed since the flirtation began when she was young. Also in this episode, a brother and sister are betrothed to each other. Both of these characters are teenagers and neither has a choice in the matter. (/spoilers)
Note: Although incest will continue to be a thing throughout the series, per the source material, most of the important super incestuous relationships (i.e. more than just cousins) have now been set up and will be ongoing.
King Viserys has a chronic illness akin to leprosy. It is shown progressing throughout the show. He has sores that won't heal that eventually spread. By the time of his death part of his face is eaten away.
Due to his advancing age and debilitating illness, Viserys is bedridden, frail and confused, having trouble recognizing family members. It is implied that this is caused by the use of an opiate painkiller (milk of the poppy), as he regains much of his mental faculties after he refuses to take any more.
Not in a modern sense. But many people live on the street in a medival setting, fantasy city. Was more normal in this universe and probaly not the same .Depends If it triggers
Lots of violence, bloodshed and murder but not with guns. The setting is based on the late Middle Ages. Other era-appropriate ballistics (like cannons) may be used in the future.
2 comments | Add comment
Become a Supporter!
Filter triggers to only show "Yes" or "No" answers.
DoesTheDogDie, LLC. gives a portion to charity: raised so far!
Support as many triggers as you like simply by pinning them. More paid supporters means the trigger will get answered faster.
Only Supporters get to vote on new trigger ideas.
Help us pay our moderators.
Help this trigger get rated faster. Become a supporter!
Support as many triggers as you like simply by pinning them. Your triggers will be given priority for answering.