‘House of the Dragon’ cast reacts to shocking mother-son intimate scene

House of the Dragon’s character Aemond Targaryen has crossed yet another line.

In the season 3 premiere of House of the Dragon, which aired on Sunday, June 21, on HBO, Aegon's (Tom Glynn-Carney) family is grappling with the shock of his sudden disappearance, and the chaos prompts a truly shocking move from Aemond (Ewan Mitchell).

During a tense conversation with his mom, Alicent (Olivia Cooke), he then kissed Alicent on the lips. It's a moment that, as Mitchell tells PEOPLE, "kind of makes you want to throw up in your mouth a little bit."

"Yeah, it's kind of shocking," he says. "But then also, I just recognized a tremendous challenge and an opportunity to show Aemond in a new light."

Mitchell continues, "It's quite a difficult pill to swallow, isn't it? Kissing your mom on the lips, especially in that way.”

"I mean, Aemond, growing up, he never felt like he was loved enough by his mom and his family around him, and a kid needs that unconditional love to develop a balanced view of themselves. And Aemond, because he never had that, he's got a very skewed perception and a very strange way of showing love,” the actor mentioned as he explained the character’s actions.

"I think what you see in that scene in episode 1 is that skewed love," Mitchell suggested.

There's no doubt that "something's skewed" with Alicent's second son, but for Mitchell, the reality of filming the moment wasn't as intense. "Working with Liv Cooke in that scene is just — it's a masterclass working with Liv Cooke in any scene, yeah she's a real one."

From Cooke's perspective, her onscreen son is "f**ked," as she tells PEOPLE. "I think it was quite odd for both of us," she says of filming the scene with Mitchell.

"There has been this Oedipal undercurrent — unbeknownst to Alicent. And I think it's shocking," she says. The kiss is also "really dangerous, because he's a very dangerous person."

"She knows that one wrong facial expression, one perceived rejection, will cost her her life. So, she's trying to tread very, very carefully," the 32-yer-old actress said, adding, "But I do think she's sort of stupefied in that moment."

Mitchell also says that Aemond's unflinching loyalty to Alicent is a key motivator in his unending quest for the throne. "I think he's always seen Alicent as someone that he's wholeheartedly loved and is one of the prime motivations for why he wants to win this war so bad."

"I always think about the eye for an eye scene in season 1, when it's young Aemond having his eye taken out, and Alicent, his mother, is really the only person defending him in that moment," Mitchell says. "That moment is something he's certainly never going to forget. He's bound to her."