House of the Dragon just delivered its most disturbing scene yet, and the star behind it is finally talking. Gayle Rankin addressed the bizarre Aemond-Alicent moment and opened up about Alys’s real feelings.

House of the Dragon’s shocking new sex scene explained by Gayle Rankin

Gayle Rankin discussed filming House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 7’s provocative opening sequence in a new Variety interview.

The episode begins with Aemond experiencing hallucinations of his mother Alicent during an intimate moment with Alys Rivers. The scene transitions from what appears to be a mother-son encounter into reality with Alys. Rankin addressed the challenges of shooting such a complex and layered sequence. “It was very intimate and very odd but very professional,” she shared.

She also revealed the cast used humor to navigate the discomfort on set. “We tried to like make jokes, just to keep it lighthearted because those scenes are not easy and they’re complicated and very technical,” Rankin explained. She summed it up as “another day at the office for being like a very odd, fucked-up scene.”

Later in the episode, an incredibly tense family dinner unfolds after the real Alicent reaches Harrenhal. Rankin described filming that sequence as “terrible” and “awful” but confessed she “kind of loved it.” She believes Alys “intentionally wants it to feel unbearable” to drive Alicent away. Alicent ultimately validates Alys’s suspicions by drugging Aemond and escaping under cover of darkness.

Rankin explains whether Alys really loves Aemond

The actress firmly believes Alys holds genuine romantic feelings for Aemond despite their unusual dynamic. “I think they’re not uncomplicated, like anyone, you know,” Rankin noted about the relationship. She highlighted that Aemond attracts Alys because “he’s pretty unabashedly himself.” Rankin even described them as “a dark power couple.”

Notably, Alys shared hidden dragon eggs with Aemond yet never revealed them to Daemon before him. Rankin attributed this to Daemon never truly opening up to Alys. Still, neither Alys nor Aemond knows that Aegon has found Sunfyre alive. With Vhagar still absent, they face growing danger heading into the Season 3 finale.

House of the Dragon Season 3, Episode 8 airs next week as the season finale on HBO and streams on Max.