Apparently We've Been Going Wrong About That HotD Feet Scene All Along

Director Clare Kilner called it a "really dirty scene". But, as Needham said in a recent interview with People, his character had reasons for making it so dirty and disgusting beyond merely having a foot fetish. Hardly a spoiler: the scene was intended as a display of dominance.

"I don't think it's a foot fetish like we understand it. I don't think he's sexually aroused by feet. It's more that he's making her show her feet," he explained. "You know, this man who's had this club foot disability all his life is making this incredibly powerful person show him her feet. It's such a power move."

According to Needham, this behavior is a way of reasserting control and displaying dominance by putting someone in a box and making them feel ashamed of a particular body part. It is also a way of associating something traumatic with that body part, as if the individual experiencing this behavior feels ashamed of it as well.

Alicent Hightower actress Olivia Cooke too supported this interpretation (via):

"She knows what Larys can do, how powerful he is, and how he won't stop shy of killing his entire family in order to progress in this court, " she said, adding, "It's disgusting, it's demeaning, it's assault. But she's not really left with any choices. She's surrounded herself with psychopaths and murderers. There's no one else to turn to. "

Well, at that moment Larys Strong was by far the biggest psychopath and murderer at the court, and he owed most of his power to the fact that Queen Alicent basically allowed him a free reign, so Olivia might have been getting a bit too far into her role. Nevertheless, this helps to clarify the meaning and the message behind this scene. Sure, it is disgusting, but as Matthew Needham said:

"…that is the thing about this job: the oddest, most twisted things become normalized really quickly. Monday, I'm cutting out someone's tongue and then on Tuesday, it's the feet scene."