Emilia Clarke may have earned the title of “Mother of Dragons” throughout much of Game of Thrones, but Kit Harington, too, had his moments in the dragon saddle towards the end of the series. Before his dragon-riding scenes, Harington confidently boasted about his imagined skills and eagerly anticipated his turn in an effort to show Clarke how it was really done.
However, when the time came to bring his dragon-riding fantasy to life, he encountered an unexpected challenge, rather a pair of challenges, his testicles. The reality of mounting a dragon proved to be a more complicated maneuver for him, which he eventually conquered as seen in the series, but it was a bumpy ride, that is for sure!
Why “Riding” a Dragon Was Far More Difficult for Kit Harington Than for Emilia Clarke?
In 2019, Emilia Clarke appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and shared a hilarious story about Kit Harington. By the time Harington had his turn to ride a dragon, Clarke was already an experienced dragon rider. Harington, full of confidence, gloated that he could ride a dragon even better.
However, when the moment arrived, he encountered an unexpected issue. Clarke revealed that Harington’s confident claims were put to the test, and he soon realized that dragon riding wasn’t as easy as he had bragged about. She said,
He was kind of, you know, arrogant about it and was like, ‘I can do this,–And then got on and that’s when I learned that men riding dragons is like a whole other thing than a lady who rides a dragon. A little more uncomfortable for them.
Which then Kimmel quickly pointed out saying,
Because of the human testicle!
In reality, riding that hydraulic contraption was far from the smooth experience it seemed on camera, it was actually quite painful and tricky. Emilia Clarke made it look effortless, but behind the scenes, there was a lot more going on. The rig’s sudden, sharp movements made the experience quite uncomfortable. Despite these challenges, it seems that by the end, Kit Harington managed to get the hang of it.
Emilia Clarke Had Mixed Feelings About Sharing Her Dragon-Riding Privileges with Kit Harington on Game of Thrones
Riding a dragon is a unique and royal experience that only a few people have had the chance to enjoy, thanks to Game of Thrones. Emilia Clarke, having been one of those few, felt a sense of pride and protectiveness when she learned that Kit Harington would also get to share in this rare honor.
During the same Jimmy Kimmel interview, Clarke revealed her mixed feelings about Harington joining her in this exclusive club. She said,
I feel weird about it, I’m not gonna lie,–He was all like, ‘Psh, yeah, you think you’re good at this. Let me be professional.’ Obviously, I was a girl so I got in and I was like, ‘Whatever, I’m amazing at this. No big deal, it’s just my children.’
Harington’s bragging about his dragon-riding skills didn’t help matters, and thus Clarke decided to teach him a lesson. She took it upon herself to prank him during his first time on the dragon rig. As she revealed,
He looked really pained. It’s like, ‘You alright dude?’ He’s like [grunting] ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’ So yeah, yeah. And I sat – I was letting the girl doing the joysticks know to just — whenever she felt needed — to just mess with him.
In the end, seems that the two managed to share their dragon-riding privileges gracefully, delivering some of the most memorable and breathtaking scenes in television history.
Game of Thrones is streaming on Max.
