'House of the Dragon' Writer Says the Show Won't 'Depict Sexual Violence' Against Women On-Screen

justjared.com:

One of the writers on HBO’s new Game of Thrones spinoff House of the Dragon is speaking out.

Last month, House of the Dragon director and co-showrunner Miguel Sapochnik told THR that the series would be “pulls back” on depictions of sexual violence, but added that “violence against women is still very much part of the world.” “[We] don’t shy away from it,” Miguel said. “If anything, we’re going to shine a light on that aspect.

You can’t ignore the violence that was perpetrated on women by men in that time. It shouldn’t be downplayed and it shouldn’t be glorified.” But in a new interview with Vanity Fair, writer and executive producer Sara Hess shared that the new show will “not depict sexual violence” onscreen. Click inside to read more… “I’d like to clarify that we do not depict sexual violence in the show,” she said. “We handle one instance off-screen, and instead show the aftermath and impact on the victim and the mother of the perpetrator.” “I think what our show does, and what I’m proud of, is that we choose to focus on the violence against women that is inherent in a patriarchal system,” Sara continued, adding that House of the Dragon will include violence against women that isn’t necessarily sexual. “There are many ‘historical’ or history-based shows that romanticize powerful men in sexual/marriage relationships with women who were actually not of an age to consent, even if they were ‘willing,’” she said. “We put that onscreen, and we don’t shy away from the fact that our female leads in the first half of the show are coerced and manipulated into doing the will of adult men.

This is done not necessarily by those we would define as rapists or abusers, but often by generally well-meaning men who are unable to see