‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff’s ‘Forced Birth’ Scene Triggers Pro-Choice Crowd

Writer’s Note: Spoilers!

This could be seen from a distance. I avoided all “spoilers” on Monday since I wasn’t able to watch the premiere episode of the Game of Thrones prequel spinoff House of the Dragon until Monday evening.

Anywho, after watching the episode, “The Heirs of the Dragon,” while there were sprinklings of post-modern feminism throughout the episode, it wasn’t overwhelming to the point that justified a proper eye-roll. But there was one scene that I just knew was going to be talked about — the primitive C-section scene.

The writers couldn’t have made it any clearer that the whole thing was an allegory for the typical leftist abortion trope of, “in the event of the mother being in mortal danger.”

These days, there’s no reason for an abortion, because you can still have the baby and save the mother. In the 110 A.D. time frame, however, there was a choice between losing the mother and the baby, or saving the mother.

‘King Viserys’ (Paddy Considine) was given the choice between losing both his wife, Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke), and saving the prospective heir to his throne should the child be a boy. ‘Viserys’ chose to try and save the child, which meant putting his ‘Aemma’ through an absolutely pre-medieval C-section:

GRAND MAESETERMELLOS: Sometimes it’s necessary for the father, during difficult labor, to make an unwise choice.

KING VISERIES: You can speak it.

MELLOS: One or both. We have a chance to save the baby. At the Citadel, we teach a method that cuts directly into the womb and frees the child. But the resulting blood loss…

VISERIES: Seven Hells and Mellos. Can you save the child’s life?

MELLOS: It is up to us whether we act immediately or wait for the gods.

There was no way to save either or, not in those primitive times, even taking into account it’s fiction. Unfortunately, the baby also died after birth. This was the beginning of all the trouble.

I figured viewers might be critical, not upset, that a clear abortion trope was inserted into the show, even though the show is fantasy — and therefore, NOT REAL.

Of course, the helmet-wearing intelligentsia on social media were upset and offended that Aemma didn’t have a choice…even though in that time period, as mentioned earlier, the only choice was to possibly save the child or lose both.

 

 

House of the Dragon can be seen every Sunday evening on HBO and HBO Max.

 

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