We Need to Talk About Aegon on ‘House of the Dragon’

In Season 1 of House of the Dragon, the show went to great lengths to demonstrate how unfit Aegon Targaryen is to sit the Iron Throne and rule Westeros. We see him as a drunkard, an abuser, lacking the martial skills of his brother and the political nous of his fellow Green Council members, and even lacking the legitimacy of his half-sister’s claim. Our first real interaction with him—albeit a younger version of the Aegon we have come to know—saw him beating one out perched on a ledge before being interrupted by his mother… hardly the stuff kings are made of.

But Season 2 has chartered a slightly different course for the now crowned Aegon II, giving the character more complexity than Season 1 provided, and even softening the figure we read about in George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood. From the offset, we see the newly-crowned monarch, played by Tom Glynn-Carney, struggle under both the weight of the crown and the scheming of his various advisors on the Green Council: Otto Hightower’s machinations, Larys Strong’s hidden agenda, Aemond and Criston Cole’s personal desire for war to name but a few. But peeking through are flashes of decency in Aegon, glimpses that Season 1 never offered us.

“The Red Dragon and the Gold” may have hinted at a tragic fate for the character, though those of us who have read the book are skeptical. But more importantly, it was a showcase for why Aegon—and particularly Glynn-Carney’s performance—is one of the backbones to this season of House of the Dragon. And that’s a remarkable feat, given how explosive this week’s episode was. Still, you have to look at the whole series to appreciate why this character works so well.

Read more at The Daily Beast.