15 Incest Storylines In Movies And TV That Were So Disgusting And Unnecessary, They Kinda Just Ruined The Entire Show
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🚨 WARNING: First of all, proceed at your own risk — because this list discusses graphic and disturbing scenes that may not be suitable for everyone. This post also contains spoilers for The White Lotus, among other shows and movies! You've been warned!
The entire internet has been talking about The White Lotus lately — most recently, because of that shocking weirdo brother storyline (you know the one) that made its way into the plot.
So naturally, my coworkers and I began talking about how disturbing it was — and we quickly realized that there are quite a few similar storylines in other TV shows and movies. Because as much as the scene in The White Lotus was shocking, it's certainly not the first (and won't be the last) to depict this hard-to-watch behaviour on screen.
So here are a few shocking and surprising portrayals that you've probably forgotten about:
I literally cannot believe I'm writing this, but here we are.
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1. Of course, we gotta start with The White Lotus. Basically, ever since the beginning of Season 3 — which premiered Feb. 16, 2025 — the vibe has felt way too close between Saxon and Lochlan, who are brothers in the show. And a kiss between the two of them in Episode 5 confirmed fans' suspicious (as well as, uh, even more in Episode 6).
2. I literally couldn't get through the first episode of Game of Thrones (sorry, Dad). I had trouble for multiple reasons, but one of them was just how close the siblings were. There's full-blown affairs and marriages between siblings throughout the show, because it's set around 298 A.C."Keeping the bloodline pure" and all that. Still, that definitely deters me from trying the show again, and it's caused chaos online about whether it's OK to root for these couples.
3. And in the same vein, how can I not mention House of the Dragon, the first Game of Thrones spinoff show? The Targaryens, a GOT house, are no stranger to sibling relationships as it is — but one particular scene in Season 2 left fans disturbed over the edge. Some even said the show "crossed every limit" by including the scene.
4. Now, time for a bit of a lighter one: Clueless. I know what you're thinking: Abby, that doesn't count. But something about Cher dating Josh, her ex-step-brother, feels GROSS. Sure, they're not siblings anymore, but they were once technically related. No thanks. Cher is a character known for her high standards, but I guess she just lets them go entirely when she chooses to date someone she was once related to.
I'm kinda dying to know your opinion on this one, though, so please tell me your thoughts in the comments.
5. Gossip Girl had a pretty incestuous plotline. Again, it wasn't full-on like GOT (thankfully), but it was something. Essentially, Serena and Dan — who date each other in the show — become step-siblings, since Serena's mom Lily and Dan's dad Rufus get married. At the wedding, Serena and Dan also find out that share a sibling. While Lily and Dan get divorced, Serena and Dan still do end up together at the end.
6. Perhaps the king of awko-taco sibling reveals is none other than Star Wars. In The Empire Strikes Back, Luke and Leia kiss, before finding out that they're actually brother and sister. Like, BLOOD siblings. Yikes.
Is it just me, or do people kind of gloss over this part of the story? Because the second-hand embarrassment is just too much for me.
7. Rick and Morty had so much incest in it at one point that fans literally started complaining. Morty and his sister Summer are one example, and you may remember when Beth and her clone — yes, her clone — hook up (whether that qualifies is up to your discretion). There's also an episode about Jerry getting a fortune that says he's gonna have sex with his mom.
8. Spanish romance movie Culpa Mia, translated as My Fault, is one of those movies that may cross a few lines. In the movie, the two romantic leads, Nick and Noah, are step-siblings. So it's a "forbidden romance" of sorts. I'm not sure if it's intended to be cute or not, but to me, it was just a whole lot of UNCOMFY.
9. This one is definitely on the higher end of the scale, so prepare to be disturbed if you ever watch either of the Flowers in the Attic movies. In the story, not only are siblings full-on romantic with one another, but there are characters who are products of incest in this movie (yes, I'm serious). So I guess you could say Flowers in the Attic isn't for those of us who have weak tummies.
10. Speaking of characters that are related and have a child together, we also have that in How To Get Away With Murder. This show is probably one of the wildest ones out there, and there is more than one stomach-turning storyline. But perhaps the most memorable is between Sam and Hannah, who are siblings (and are later revealed to have a child).
ABC / Via youtube.com
11. Not many people would think to add Back to the Future to this list — but that's one of the first movies that comes to my mind. As we all know, in the first movie, Marty goes back in time, and his mom falls in love with him (without realizing that, you know, THAT'S HER SON). It's gross and weird — but I do still love this movie despite that uncomfy bit.
12. More recently, in 2024, the first season of Cruel Intentions shocked us all. Since the series was based on the movie from 1999, we figured we'd get the same level of disturbing. But the romantic relationship between Caroline and Lucien, the step-siblings at the centre of the movie, felt more uncomfortable in the newer version. This was one of the shows that really started the whole conversation about why the heck incest has been all over TV recently.
13. In Sons of Anarchy, we get another instance of siblings who get too close before even knowing they're related. This time it's between half-siblings Jax and Trinity, and the storyline plays out in Season 3 of the show. The pair finds out they're related before it REALLY gets out of hand, but there are still many scenes that made us all cringe.
14. Another one you may have forgotten about — but still lives rent-free in my head — is New Girl. In Season 6, Jess dates a guy named Robby. It seems innocent at the start, but then they learn they're actually third cousins. So thankfully, they stop dating, which is a huge relief.
15. And finally, Life with Derek. How could I forget this one as a Canadian? It's possibly the biggest conversation our country faced in the 2000s. I will clarify, this was a kids' show, so nothing actually happened, but step-siblings Casey and Derek were definitely crushing on each other. And we all noticed.
This show still slapped, though.
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