(Spoilers ahead for the series premiere of House of the Dragon on HBO.)
The series premiere of House of the Dragon kicked things off with dragon flights, action-packed fights and, in true Game of Thrones fashion, a gruesome death scene.
When Queen Aemma Arryn (Sian Brooke) goes into labor, the nurses realize the baby is breached, forcing King Viserys Targaryen (Paddy Considine) to make a difficult decision: sacrifice his wife to save his heir or let the baby, presumed to be a male, die.
To ensure his family's future on the Iron Throne and get the son he so desired, he painfully watched as the child was cut out of Aemma's belly, resulting in her death. He later learns his sacrifice was for naught, as the baby died hours later.
If you thought the scene was hard to watch, Brooke revealed "it was exhausting" to film while breaking down her bloody death on the latest episode of E! News' digital series While You Were Streaming.
"With a show such as this, there's so much that goes on behind the scenes in order to get to just the day of filming," the 42-year-old revealed. And it was certainly a team effort to pull off, with the actors, makeup team and the props department collaborating on the scene.
"The craftsmanship on these shows is just out of this world," Brooke shared. "And on the actual day, or the two days, it was just extremely intense."
Creating a well-established relationship between Viserys and Aemma was something Brooke says was very important for the cast and crew, so "the decision that is then made is even more upsetting," she explained.
The Queen and her son's deaths result in her firstborn child, Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock), being named the new heir, marking the first time a woman is officially in line to inherit the Iron Throne—instead of Viserys' ill-tempered brother Daemon (Matt Smith).
"I think it's something that's quite wonderful about that, that this change is made within this dynasty, this huge step forward," Brooke said of her onscreen daughter's future. "I think [Aemma] knows her daughter has fire in her belly and something to offer to this dynasty."
And though her time in the GOT universe was short, Brooke told E! News that she will "definitely continue watching it," adding, "I feel privileged to have been able to be a part of it and to be at the start of this journey, wherever it might go."
Check out the full episode of While You Were Streaming above and be sure to follow E! News on Twitter to catch new episodes.
House of the Dragon airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO and HBO Max.