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House of the Dragon fans were seriously distracted during the series' most recent episode, leading to a debate about one scene in particular.
The third episode in the Game of Thrones prequel saw the royal court celebrate Prince Aegon's second name day as his older sister Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) runs away from the festivities, frustrated with the way in which the nobles look down on her as the heir to the Iron Throne.
Another major arc saw the king's brother, Prince Daemon (Matt Smith), struggle in the war he is leading against the Crabfeeders.
The fledgling battle is the source of much gossip in the royal court at the young prince's name day, as is Aegon's prospect of replacing Rhaenyra as heir to the king.
A group of noble women sit with Queen Alicent (Emily Carey) as they slam both the prince and King Viserys (Paddy Considine) over their war efforts.
One of the women who is especially disgusted with the efforts is Lady Joselyn Redwyne (Joanna David) who also takes the opportunity to chide Rhaenyra about her father.
Lady Redwyne manages to do all of this while wolfing down a cake and holding her pet pug on her lap. The pug gets its own close up when it greedily licks the crumbs off his master's plate as Rhaenyra masterfully shuts her down.
"And how have you served the realms of late Lady Redwyne, by eating cake?" she says before storming off.
Viewers watching at home were seriously distracted by the pug and began debating online whether a pug would have existed in the Seven Kingdoms, where the show is set.
"House of the Dragon is so unrealistic how the f**k do Pugs exist in this world," wrote one fan on Twitter.
Another said: "House of the Dragon fans: 'Wow, the dragons look so realistic. Also House of the Dragon fans: 'WTF!? There's a pug, how unrealistic!'."
A third asserted: "'A pug in House of The Dragon is not realistic. A pug, one of the oldest dog breeds out there literally bred for royalty isn't realistic but dragons, three eyed ravens, white walkers are."
Author George R.R. Martin, who wrote the series of books on which both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based, has said he used a range of historical and fictional influences to create the fantasy world.
"I get inspiration from history, and then I take elements from history and I turn it up to 11," Martin said at the San Diego Comic Con in July.
"Games of Thrones is, as many people have observed, based very loosely on the War of the Roses. And this show [House of the Dragon] is based on an earlier period in history called the Anarchy."
While the world of Westeros is set in a fictional time, it is not outside the realm of possibility that a pug could have existed there.
The breed of dog first appeared in China about 2,000 years ago and was brought to Europe in the 16th century.
They were very popular in the royal courts of Europe, including with England's Queen Victoria who bred her own pugs and helped the breed to become even more popular.
The show also divided fans embroiled in a debate about race and ethnicity.
Actor Steve Toussaint in a recent interview spoke out against racist opinions about his character, Lord Corlys Velaryon.
The British-born actor said the criticism comes from notions about what characters from historical periods should like and often rely on outdated depictions.
"So many people are basing their idea of the history of this country on a few films and stuff that were made in the '50s, '60s and '70s, which don't bear any resemblance to the truth," Toussaint told Men's Health.
"Historically, people of my hue and your hue, we didn't just turn up here in the '70s or the '60s. There was a point when the ruler of his country, 'the Caesar,' was an African man."
He continued that some viewers "are happy with a dragon flying. They're happy with white hair and violet-colored eyes, but a rich Black guy? That's beyond the pale."
But not everyone is upset with the inclusion of Black and POC actors on the show, as fans celebrated seeing the first Black person to ride a dragon on either of the shows.
The third episode saw Velaryon's son Laenor riding a dragon into the Crabtree battle and torching their enemies by shouting the infamous command of "dracarys" to his dragon.
"We got Black dragon riders with locs and a battle on the third episode. The Game of Thrones redemption arc is strong," wrote one fan on Twitter.
Another said: "A Black man was on a dragon, what a Time to be alive."
House of the Dragon airs on HBO on Sundays.
About the writer
Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more