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.
