An execution with children in the audience wasn’t the only shocking thing in Game of Thrones’ first episode, as the series declared itself unafraid of confronting and exploring one of our society’s biggest taboos: incest.
From a story perspective, it was absolutely scandalous and earth-shaking that Queen Cersei would be involved in an incestuous relationship with her brother Jaime, especially since it calls into question the legitimacy of Joffrey Baratheon and his siblings. What makes it even more shocking, however, is how fearless both George R.R. Martin and the show’s producers were in introducing such a twist so early. Even more shocking than that, however, was what happened immediately afterward...
