The world of Game of Thrones and consequently, House of the Dragon, is often the subject of controversies. From featuring incest relationships to the many explicit scenes that fans have found issues with, the fictional world is nonetheless among the most-watched series of all time.
However, controversies about the series’ premise do not seem to end. As season 2 of the prequel series premiered last week, fans have found another thing to be furious about, a scene featuring a dog being kicked. As fans’ ire grew to an unprecedented level, one House of the Dragon star is forced to defend himself and assure fans.
House of the Dragon Star Assures Fans Nothing Happened to the Dog!
![Mark Stobbart with the dog [Credit: Instagram | @mdstobbart]](https://fwmedia.fandomwire.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/21221922/mark-stobbart.jpg)
Although gruesomeness is a part of every other episode, fans recently went on to attack the show for one scene in its newly premiered season 2. In season 2, Daemon Targaryen hires two assassins, one of them being Cheese. Cheese is a rat-catcher and has a dog along with him. But before the brute events can take place, the adorable dog ends up getting an undeserving kick from Cheese.
As fans went ballistic over the scene, actor Mark Stobbart, who portrays Cheese, took to Instagram to state,
Let’s just chill about the dog! We were best pals. No canines were launched in anger. Rats, however….
The recent uproar over the alleged mistreatment of the dog sparked conversations about the ethical treatment of animals in the entertainment industry and on the sets of the show. Yet, it is ironic that fans would react in such a way when Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon itself features several problematic scenes that fans have bluntly ignored.
Fans React to Mark Stobbart About the Dog Incident
It is shocking to see that the same episode featured the brutal murder of Jaehaerys, the son of King Aegon II and Queen Halaena. Yet, fans were okay with the usual gore depiction of violence and abuse but found issues with a dog getting kicked.
While it is interesting how different people can have varying levels of sensitivity to different types of content, it is nonetheless ironic to see how people have been reacting to the incident so far. As soon as Mark Stobbart’s clarification about the scene went viral, this is what fans had to say about it:
Smiling with that pup after slicing that babies head off is kinda crazy.
— Ghost of Texas Football (@FortyAcreVibes) June 20, 2024
Read a review that said “I was more disturbed by the dog being kicked than the sounds of a child being beheaded”.
Y’all people are weird.— Arkhḗ (@Archaic3one) June 21, 2024
The fact that people got triggered about him kicking a dog but not brutally killing a child is funny😂
— RC (@Rtitan25) June 20, 2024
There be consequences from the john wick multiverse court pic.twitter.com/Ym0mlSalka
— AntTheCuteDoggo (@ant_twig) June 20, 2024
Because a rat's life is obviously not worth as much as a dog's! People really only value life of animals based on how closely their emotions show to our own
— Jake Dougherty (@Jakesnakegzilla) June 20, 2024
That was actually the most disturbing part the episode for me.
— Eric Satterberg (@EricSatterberg) June 20, 2024
As fans continue to debate and react to the scene, it is important to remember that these are fictional representations and that modern productions usually have laws on sets that dictate the treatment of any animals featured in a project.
With the rest of season 2 of House of the Dragon left to premiere, there are bound to be many more controversies, and we certainly cannot wait to see what fans find offensive next!
House of the Dragon is streaming on Max, with new episodes airing every Sunday until August 4.
