There is little doubt that the women went through a lot in Game of Thrones. However, it looks like things could change in the show's upcoming spin-off. Olivia Cooke has just stated that House of The Dragon will not feature any form of "graphic violence against women" unlike the previous HBO series.
It was previously confirmed that Cooke will play Alicent Hightower in House of the Dragon. Interestingly, the Ready Player One actress pointed out that she wouldn't take the role if the Game of Thrones spin-off didn't show proper treatment of women.
"I wouldn't feel comfortable in being a part of anything that has just egregious graphic violence towards women for no reason whatsoever, just because they want it to be tantalizing in a way that gets viewers," Cooke told The Telegraph.
So how does Cooke know that this won't happen in House of The Dragon? She revealed that she was given the chance to read the screenplay before she joined the cast.
"I was lucky enough to read the [prequel] script before, and it has changed a lot from the first few seasons [of Game of Thrones]. I don't think they'd be in their right minds to include any of that any more," Cooke stated.
Cooke does have a point considering that the main female characters were subject to several cruelties in Game of Thrones. For instance, Daenerys Targaryen appeared to have been raped by her own husband Khal Drogo in the first season of the show. Sansa Stark would later suffer the same fate in Season 6.
We're certainly hoping that Cooke is right about House of The Dragon being more careful about how women will be treated. After all, it would be better to see female characters being empowered instead of being terrorized. With that in mind, we have great expectations in the Game of Thrones spin-off series.
House of the Dragon will also star Paddy Considine, Emma D'Arcy, Matt Smith, Steve Toussaint, Eve Best, Rhys Ifans, and Sonoya Mizuno. The series has not yet been given an official release date but is set to premiere on HBO along with several other prequel shows. Stay tuned for more updates on this story.
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