{"id":26207,"date":"2026-08-03T15:30:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T10:30:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26207"},"modified":"2026-08-03T15:30:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T10:30:37","slug":"house-of-the-dragon-fans-are-seething-over-the-humiliation-ritual-of-olivia-cooke","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26207","title":{"rendered":"House of the Dragon fans are seething over the \u2018humiliation ritual of Olivia Cooke\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307273149-714b.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29286801\" alt=\"Olivia Cooke in House of the Dragon\" decoding=\"sync\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The actress said: \u2018It\u2019s sort of the humiliation of Alicent, and Olivia Cooke by default, this show\u2019 (Picture: Theo Whiteman\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><em>Warning: spoilers ahead for <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/house-of-the-dragon\/\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\">House of the Dragon<\/a> season 3 episode 7.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>House of the Dragon fans are outraged over a disgusting scene in the latest episode where <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/olivia-cooke\/\">Olivia Cooke<\/a> and her on-screen son have sex, with one saying they had to turn off the show completely.<\/p>\n<p>Some have claimed that this is yet another example of the series being a <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/06\/29\/pointless-sexual-assault-scene-house-dragon-leaves-fans-outraged-28970067\/\">\u2018humiliation ritual\u2019 for Olivia<\/a>, echoing comments that she made about Alicent Hightower\u2019s storyline, when she acknowledged: \u2018It\u2019s sort of the humiliation of Alicent and Olivia Cooke by default, this show.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Ever since the start of the <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/game-of-thrones\/\">Game of Thrones<\/a> spin-off, Alicent has suffered misery after misery. As a teenager (played by <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/08\/30\/do-you-recognise-casualty-star-emily-carey-in-house-of-the-dragon-17265980\/\">Emily Carey<\/a>), her father manipulated her into marrying the King, who was also her childhood best friend\u2019s dad. She was forced to bear his children, and lost her friendship with Rhaenyra in the process.<\/p>\n<p>As she grew older (with the role then taken over by Olivia), she became more cunning and ruthless, but her own suffering didn\u2019t end. <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2022\/12\/12\/house-of-the-dragon-matthew-needham-on-larys-strong-foot-fetish-scene-17920282\/\">Larys Strong <\/a>(Matthew Needham) made her indulge in his foot fetish in exchange for information, exacting his power over the Queen Consort.<\/p>\n<p>In the latest season, the degradation of Alicent has been constant. In the first episode of season three, Alicent has to endure being <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/06\/15\/house-dragon-season-3-made-feel-physically-sick-28787323\/\">kissed in a romantic way<\/a> by her son Aemond (<a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/06\/11\/house-dragon-star-avoided-eye-contact-matt-smith-set-21014316\/\">Ewan Mitchell<\/a>), whose skin-crawling <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/06\/24\/house-dragon-star-denies-aemond-targaryen-mummy-issues-21091618\/\">\u2018mummy issues\u2019<\/a> have been going on for years.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307273152-8f8e.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29286800\" alt=\"Ewan Mitchell in House of the Dragon\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Aemond (Ewan Mitchell) has had ongoing \u2018mummy issues\u2019 in the series (Picture: Theo Whiteman\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307273154-e4cd.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29286799\" alt=\"Ewan Mitchell and Olivia Cooke in House of the Dragon\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>These horrific mother and son scenes need to go (Picture: Theo Whiteman\/HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In the following episode, <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/06\/29\/pointless-sexual-assault-scene-house-dragon-leaves-fans-outraged-28970067\/\">Alicent is shoved to the ground by Lord Jasper (Paul Kennedy) as he tries to rape her<\/a>. Fortunately, he\u2019s stopped when Grand Maester Orwye (Kurt Egyiawan) bursts into the room, following Alicent\u2019s attempts to fight back against her attacker.<\/p>\n<p>Now, in episode seven, House of the Dragon viewers had to endure watching Aemond and Alicent not only kiss again, but make out passionately, make their way to the bed and start having sex.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s revealed that the scene is a dream sequence during Aemond\u2019s time at the haunted castle of Harrenhal, and he\u2019s actually having sex with the witch Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) \u2013 but that doesn\u2019t negate the fact that Olivia had to film yet another horrifyingly icky sexual scene.<\/p>\n<p>Fans have not only expressed their disgust, but also their anger, as they feel that Olivia deserves better on the show.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018They\u2019ve given Olivia Cooke not one, not two, but THREE uncomfortable sexual scenes this season alone. Olivia described the show as the humiliation of Alicent, and of herself. Honestly I couldn\u2019t agree more. It\u2019s such a disservice to Alicent, but most importantly to Olivia,\u2019 kendallgrl wrote on X.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">the alicent aemond scene was horrifying tho like free olivia cooke<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 \ud83e\udd42 (@Iesbicent) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Iesbicent\/status\/2084100017938170242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 3, 2026<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<section class=\"metro-comment-cta\"\/>\n<p>\u2018It\u2019s ridiculous what they\u2019re doing to Alicent and to Olivia Cooke herself this season, constantly putting her in these humiliating and embarrassing situations \u2013 in the first ep she\u2019s kissed by her own son, that disgusting scene in the second, and now this ffs,\u2019 alicentdilauren remarked.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You can really tell what Olivia Cooke meant by humiliation ritual for her character,\u2019 LoveLadyLaena quipped, while zulcma stated: \u20188 minutes into the episode I\u2019m gonna end it here. I do not need to see whatever they\u2019re gonna do.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>C4rtwrong also commented: \u2018Alicent used to be my favourite character in HOTD, I am so mad with what the writers did to her. Truly the humiliation ritual of Alicent Hightower and Olivia Cooke \ud83d\udc94.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>However, other fans have shared their opinions that the criticisms are over the top, with one X user called raidnae_ writing: \u2018\u201dOlivia Cooke humiliation ritual\u201d it\u2019s a TV show. She\u2019s an actress. It\u2019s not real. Are y\u2019all 12 or sth wtf is going on?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>In a recent interview with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/HouseOfTheDragon\/comments\/1udro6k\/its_sort_of_the_humiliation_of_alicent_and_olivia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Entertainment Tonight<\/a>, Olivia admitted that she \u2018dreaded\u2019 seeing people\u2019s reactions after they saw Aemond and Alicent\u2019s episode one kiss.<\/p>\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"video-player\">\n<div class=\"metro-video-player  \" data-track-module=\"article_video-player-with-related-carousel\">\n<div class=\"vjs-video-container vjs-fixed vjs-responsive\">\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t<video id=\"3659223\" class=\"video-js\" poster=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.com\/1s\/2026\/05\/29\/17\/108962061-0-image-a-14_1780071651243.jpg\" data-opts=\"{\" autoplay=\"\" of=\"\" the=\"\" dragon=\"\" season=\"\" official=\"\" final=\"\" trailer=\"\" throne=\"\" knows=\"\" no=\"\" mercy.=\"\" preload=\"metadata\" playsinline=\"\"><source src=\"https:\/\/videos.metro.co.uk\/video\/met\/2026\/05\/29\/6648894076305427620\/480x270_MP4_6648894076305427620.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\"\/><p class=\"vjs-no-js\">To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbrowser that<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/videojs.com\/html5-video-support\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">supports HTML5<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo<\/a><\/p><\/video>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307273157-5121.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=646\" class=\"article-image wp-image-29286798\" alt=\"Gayle Rankin in House of the Dragon (Picture: HBO)\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\"\/>\t<\/div><figcaption>Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin) has worked her way into Aemond\u2019s good graces (Picture: HBO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The interviewer then asked: \u2018If you had to rank the biggest ick moment for poor Alicent, what would you say is on top?\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Olivia responded: \u2018It\u2019s sort of the humiliation of Alicent, and Olivia Cooke by default, um, this show. Um, anyway. What would I say? I mean, the feet wasn\u2019t great.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Criston Cole actor Fabien Frankel, who was being interviewed alongside her, chimed in to add: \u2018The feet as well. God, Alicent\u2019s really been through the ole ringer with that stuff.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Olivia continued: \u2018And then there\u2019s many more in season three, so tune in. Tune in if you like to see that stuff.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><em>Olivia Cooke\u2019s representatives declined to comment when contacted by Metro.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>House of the Dragon is available to watch on <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" data-track=\"inline-tag-auto-link_article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/hbo\/\">HBO Max<\/a>, Sky and NOW, with new episodes released on Mondays.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/08\/02\/breakthrough-british-tv-star-unpacks-cast-best-video-game-character-time-29268849\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Breakthrough British TV star unpacks being cast as \u2018best video game character of all time\u2019<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/31\/glee-problematic-tragic-ryan-murphy-leave-alone-29261115\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">Glee is problematic and tragic \u2013 Ryan Murphy should leave it alone<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"metro-more-link\"><svg><title>Arrow<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#common-right-arrow\" href=\"#common-right-arrow\"\/><\/svg><span class=\"mor-link\" data-track-module=\"mor-link_article\">MORE: <a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2026\/07\/30\/wwes-fastest-rising-star-reveals-john-cenas-secret-advice-changed-career-29261458\/?ico=more_text_links\" class=\"\">WWE\u2019s fastest-rising star reveals how John Cena\u2019s secret advice changed his career<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<section id=\"share-buttons-bottom\" class=\"share-buttons share-buttons-bottom\"><a class=\"metro-button share-bar-comments\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Comment now<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-comment\" href=\"#social-comment\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-comments__label\">Comments<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t<\/a><a data-ico=\"hyperlink-article\" class=\"metro-button share-bar-preferred-source\" data-vars-position=\"bottom\" href=\"https:\/\/google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/metro.co.uk\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span><svg><title>Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google<\/title>\n<use xlink:href=\"#social-preferred-source\" href=\"#social-preferred-source\"\/><\/svg><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"share-bar-preferred-source__label\">Add as preferred source<\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/section>\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card accent--tv\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-end-card__inner\">\n<h4>TV Newsletter<\/h4>\n<p>Sign up and tell us which TV shows you love to watch to get personalised updates every morning.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The actress said: \u2018It\u2019s sort of the humiliation of Alicent, and Olivia Cooke by default, this show\u2019 (Picture: Theo Whiteman\/HBO) Warning: spoilers ahead for House of the Dragon season 3 episode 7. House of the Dragon fans are outraged over a disgusting scene in the latest episode where Olivia Cooke and her on-screen son have&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26208,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SEI_307273149-714b_1785752882.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200&h=630&crop=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrity-gossip"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}