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Spoilers for House of the Dragon, season 3 follow.

George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones universe has had its share of comparisons to Greek tragedy. Now, though, we expect those comparisons to narrow in on Oedipus.

In case you haven't already seen it (or if you have and have succeeded in erasing it from your memory), House of the Dragon season 3 opened with an exceptionally incestuous moment in an already exceptionally incestuous show - by featuring a long, deep kiss between mother-and-son duo Aemond Targaryen and Alicent Hightower. It was a moment that uncomfortable for both the audience and the cast, although according to the actor that plays Aemond, it at least made sense from a character standpoint. 

That actor is Ewan Mitchell, who sat down with USA Today after House of the Dragon's season 3, episode 1. "It was definitely weird reading [the kiss] for the first time in the script," Mitchell told the outlet, "But I always kind of knew Aemond was capable of doing that, especially with his, well, Mommy issues. I didn't think it was too much of a stretch."

Mitchell continued to explain that not only did the moment stem from, well, 'Mommy issues' is pretty much the best way to put it, but from a warped sense of responsibility.

"Aemond always had the motivation to provide for his mum," the Wuthering Heights actor continued, "That eventually he would behead Daemon Targaryen, win the war for The Greens and settle down far from it with his mother, sipping pina coladas on some beach."

Even beyond duty, though, Mitchell said the kiss represented something not just in Aemond's character, but something missing.

"It's like growing up," he concluded, "Aemond needed unconditional love and never felt it. And he's got a very strange way of showing that in Episode 1. It's all just very weird."

Yes, Ewan. Yes it is. 

House of the Dragon season 3 drops new episodes every Sunday night on HBO Max.

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms season 1 may have wrapped on HBO Max, but with House of the Dragon season 3 coming just around the corner, it's always a great time to read up on all things Game of Thrones. Fortunately, Popverse has everything you need to journey through the George R.R. Martin-created Westeros, including:

• Popverse's Game of Thrones watch order 
• How to read George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series in order 
• The biggest differences between The House of the Dragon and Game of Thrones
• The history of Westeros's greatest houses & families
• Every single dragon in The House of the Dragon so far

Plus much more coming as it gets announced!