House of the Dragon’s Aegon II Is Nowhere Near Game of Thrones’ Most Hated Villain
No one can compete with this kind of cruelty.
The first season of House of the Dragon gave viewers a pretty good idea of both Team Black and Team Green. With many rooting for the Blacks, Team Green had very few fans, most of whom admired Olivia Cooke 's Alicent Hightower and Ewan Mitchell's Prince Aemond. With the season two premiere, however, the power dynamic began to shift.
Now that both branches of the Targaryen family are headed for actual war, the stakes are higher and the strategy has to be more thoughtful. So far, the premiere has shown Team Green's level-headed planning, which could lead them to victory. But that wasn't the only surprise the Greens had in store.
King Aegon the Magnanimous
The opening of season 2 showed the beginning of King Aegon's reign under the careful guidance of his grandfather Otto Hightower, also doubling as The Hand, and his mother Alicent, who still has a seat on the small council. Though Aegon II continues to be his childish and careless self, the unexpected glimpse of good has shone through.
In the scene with smallfolk, Aegon, who has previously been compared to Game of Thrones ' Joffrey Baratheon, showed genuine concern for the people's struggles and acknowledged their importance in winning the war. And while viewers weren't expecting him to show such grace, the title 'Magnanimous' didn't come out of nowhere.
Tom Glynn-Carney, who portrays King Aegon the Magnanimous, has never seen his character as a match for the most hated character in the entire franchise. In fact, he says, they couldn't be more different.
“I can understand why people have made those comparisons, but I always thought of them as being very different. Joffrey is cold and calculated, while Aegon is frantic, and when he feels, he feels so deeply — which is as dangerous as someone who doesn’t feel at all,” he shared with Independent.
Given the violent murder of Aegon's son and heir to the Iron Throne in revenge for the murder of Prince Lucerys Velaryon, he will definitely have an emotional reaction in the very next episode. Overwhelmed with emotion, he may yet turn to the cruelty we all expected.
If you're interested in seeing what's in store for King Aegon in the coming episodes, be sure to tune into House of the Dragon every Sunday on HBO.
Source: Independent