Why Does Everyone Hate Aegon Targaryen Already?

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode 6

It seems that young Aegon II does not enjoy a lot of fan love, even though he only just appeared in episode 6. The child of Alicent Hightower and King Viserys, he is believed to be a rightful heir to the throne — at least according to Alicent, who does not seem to be trying to make peace with the fact that Rhaenyra and her children are set to inherit the Iron Throne.

Aegon is clearly not the most likable character in the world. He is okay with bullying his own brother, and he does not seem to overly care about what's going on in general. When Alicent confronts him about his future as a potential heir, she distracts him from something he sees as way more amusing and exciting, and it does not look like that is going to change.

But is he actually the villain he was anointed to be by many fans?

"His character isn't insane, compared to Daemon and his brother he's super tame. He's just portrayed as antagonist because Rhaenerya is his rival," Twitter user 3_percent_milk_ noted.

Unlike Daemon, who enjoys an unprecedented amount of fan love, Aegon is yet to commit a murder, or, say, mock his dead newborn brother. Still, fans seem to be merciless to him, even though he is still a child — albeit a pretty cruel one.

Some people have already labeled him as House of the Dragon's Joffrey Baratheon, even though the most disgusting thing Aegon has done yet is letting commoners see too much from his chamber's window. However, House of the Dragon is likely yet to provide more reasons to hate Alicent's eldest son.

Portrayed by Ty Tennant, young Aegon is also a character that will be subject to time jumps. The adopted son of iconic actor David Tennant is set to portray Aegon for quite a short time, with the young prince to grow up and be replaced by an older actor, Tom Glynn-Carney, over the course of episodes 7 and 8. New House of the Dragon episodes arrive on HBO Max every Sunday.