*Warning: This article contains spoilers from the opening episode of House of The Dragon.
Game of Thrones fans have been eagerly awaiting House of the Dragon and perhaps no more so than an apartment block in New York.
Dozens of neighbours appeared to tune into the George RR Martin adaptation at the same time, which premiered on Sunday, on a video shared on Twitter.
The footage was shared by @Bkillinit, who captioned the post: ‘Big #HouseoftheDragon night in New York City apartments @HBO.’
Fans jumped on Twitter to comment on the clip showing lights flashing in unison as the episode played, with one joking: ‘I wonder if the synchronization was planned.’
Another wrote: ‘That’s so awesome. That’s why TV is so great and especially TV shown weekly on a scheduled time. Nothing like coming home knowing your shows on at 10 and you have to get ready to relax. It’s a beautiful routine and something that made TV special.’
‘It’s nice to have that must-watch GoT Sunday tv again. Brings back crazy memories,’ another penned.
While only one hour-long episode has aired, multiple scenes from the prequel have already been causing a stir.
Viewers were left aghast at a ‘traumatising’ birth scene in a moment that was deemed ‘more disturbing’ than the ‘Red Wedding’.
The first instalment of the fantasy show saw Queen Aemma (Sian Brooke) go into labour while a tournament is being held in King’s Landing in honour of her baby.
After her husband King Viserys Targaryen I (Paddy Considine) rushes to her side, as she screams in agony, fans learn the birth isn’t going as planned.
As the baby is breach, Maester tells the King he will have to make an impossible and gut-wrenching decision: to choose between his wife or his baby, who is believed to become the new heir to the throne.
Opting to save the life of his child, the Maester approaches Queen Aemma with a blade in order to slice her open and extract the baby from her womb, causing her to bleed to teeth.
Clearly distressed and pleading for answers, Queen Aemma looks on in horror as they gouge out her stomach, while the King, clutching her hand, looks on.
Fans have also been ‘choking on their tacos’ over a NSFW scene involving Matt Smith, who plays Daemon Targaryen, a blood-thirsty and violent character who is desperate to rule Westeros.
Daemon, who also visits a brother later on in the episode, gets caught getting very raunchy with Sonoya Mizuno’s Mysaria.
A Twitter user wrote: ‘Matt Smith really did that sex scene THAT way wow so powerful of him.’
The first episode ended with the King telling his daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) that she was born to rule, and she is named successor to the throne.
But with competition from the likes of her uncle, Matt’s Daemon, we don’t think it’s going to be a smooth ride.
House of the Dragon will continue on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW on August 29, 2022.
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