Game of Thrones had fans on the edge of their seats when episodes were first premiering on HBO, thanks to George R. R. Martin’s infamous ability to kill off beloved characters with no regrets. The prequel series, House of the Dragon, proved to be no different but, amid of all the deaths and shocking content it's provided, there's one gore-less scene that arguably shocked people the most. So Matthew Needham has now clarified that foot scene featuring his character, Larys, and Alicent. And folks, it's not due to a foot fetish but something weirder.
Fans had some theories about Larys when he first appeared on House of the Dragon, but they never suspected that what Alicent’s “reward” for him for helping her would come in the form of a bare foot, toe peep show. To viewers’ horror though, that’s just what he and millions of HBO viewers received when Episode 9 aired and, for me, it was more uncomfortable than all of the GoT universe’s sex and murder scenes combined.
While I'm not one to kink shame a foot fetish, Larys’ incredibly cringe-worthy reaction to Alicent’s bare feet would send shivers up most people's spines - and with good reason. Matthew Needham, during a panel at the Game of Thrones Convention (via Entertainment Weekly) revealed that all of this goes so much deeper than a mere love of feet. Here is what he says, exactly:
I don't think it's a foot fetish like we understand in 2022. I think it's weirder than that. It's not just about a man with a clubfoot being attracted to feet. It's that he can make her do it. This is a very disturbed person with a lot of trauma... It's about making her feel as much shame as she does for that part of her body as he does for his.
It seems Larys doesn’t have so much of a foot fetish as he does a power one. I suppose this doesn’t really come as a surprise, seeing as on the show, he has a track record for forcing his way into positions of power - and doing so with very little screen time.
Fans of the series see various instances in which Larys forces his presence and help on Alicent, with the biggest instance of that being when he kills his family in her name. Alicent doesn’t ask him to set fire to his family home, killing his father and brother and in turn raising him to the status of Lord. In fact, she is horrified when he admits he actively sought to rid her of the Strongs.
Not only does this deed put him in a higher societal position of power, but it also places him above Alicent, the Queen, in the chain of command. He uses this, as fans come to find out, to force his presence on her even further and influence her to do things she doesn’t want to do, like show off her feet for his own sexual satisfaction. This eats at her conscience, as she is shown to feel morally superior to others. So all in all, her sense of powerlessness in the situation is what Larys is really attracted to.
It’s interesting that it's not an in-your-face violent moment that most fans found inconceivable and uncomfortable in the Game of Thrones universe but instead, one of psychological warfare between Larys andd Alicent. Things have really only started to heat up on the top-tier drama series, though. While you wait for new episodes, check out what we know about Season 2 of House of the Dragon and continue to stew on that foot scene. And of course, you can also stream episodes using an HBO Max subscription now.
