Warning: There are spoilers in this story for the House of the Dragon premiere.

It wouldn’t be a Game of Thrones series without some controversy, and it didn’t take too long for that to come with the new prequel show House of the Dragon. Fans of the original series probably knew to expect some bloody scenes in the episode, though there was one shocking moment in particular that had sparked backlash on social media. There has since been some criticism over the lack of a trigger warning at the start of the episode to warn viewers about the brutal scene.

In the scene in question, King Viserys (Paddy Considine) has his wife, Aemma Aryn (Sian Brooke) undergo a cesarean section. The operation goes awry, killing both Aemma and her child. Director and co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik had reportedly consulted with many women about the scene, concerned that it may have been too violently shocking for viewers. Jen Coates, the director of a bereavement support charity called Sands, told Radio 1 Newsbeat that adding a trigger warning in situations like this is very important.

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“I think it’s fairly traumatic for anybody actually,” Coates said. “With 13 babies dying every day in the UK, the situation impacts an enormous community of people directly too.”

Noting how Sands puts out its own warnings about certain movies and TV shows on social media when things like this happen, Coates added, “That way, people can be better equipped with the knowledge and make an informed decision to watch or skip particular scenes or episodes. Trauma makes people feel guilt, shame, anger, you may be feeling very isolated sometimes.”

John Whipple, who created the website Doesthedogdie.com to warn viewers about canine deaths in entertainment, also weighed in on the subject. Whipple supports the idea of adding trigger warnings and suggests streaming platforms offer warnings tailored to each user, such as recommending content based on a user’s specific triggers.

“Everyone has something in their past they don’t want to relive. Having prior knowledge going into a movie puts users back in control of how they experience entertainment,” Whipple said.

House of the Dragon Has Been a Hit for HBO and HBO Max

     HBO

While some viewers were shocked by the events of the series premiere, House of the Dragon can be seen as a big success already for HBO and HBO Max. The show set a new record as the most-watched series premiere for an original series in pay cable history, pulling in around 10 million viewers. Less than a week later, total viewership that factors in On Demand and streaming has made that total climb to 20 million viewers.

Given this success, the show has been renewed for a second season. Only one episode has aired at this point, but seeing such high viewership numbers, coupled with a largely positive response from critics and viewers, has gotten those in charge feeling confident in House of the Dragon’s success moving forward. Given what’s already happened in the premiere, we can only imagine what’s to come in the upcoming episodes.

House of the Dragon is streaming on HBO Max with new episodes arriving every Sunday evening.