Warning: This article contains spoilers for House of the Dragon episode nine.
House of the Dragon has plenty of despicable characters that are cruel, evil, or in some cases outright disgusting. One of these characters is the Realm’s newest ruler Aegon Targaryen II.
Characters of this type aren’t new for House of the Dragon having dominated most of the run of Game of Thrones too and it seems that one of the worst inspired the new king’s portrayal in the recent prequel.
Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, Tom Glynn-Carney who plays Aegon spoke about the comparisons he has been receiving to Game of Thrones’ Joffrey Baratheon explaining that this was the goal of the showrunners.
“Ryan and Miguel said if we could make any comparisons to [Thrones characters], that he’s the closest to Joffrey. However, he is not an out-and-out psychopath. He’s much more complex. His decisions are due to insecurities and confusion and rage. He’s just bitterly confused and mentally unwell.”
As Glynn-Carney explains, Aegon while being similar isn’t exactly like Joffrey. Going further the star says that his character is defenseless and reliant on those around him to make decisions that steer him in the right direction.
He also elaborates on Aegon’s actions in the recent episode having pleaded to avoid being made King.
“He’s grown up with the idea that he doesn’t want power. And his father didn’t want him to have it. So there’s that resentment, as well. He’s a very selfish person because he wants to escape. I think if he was a modern-day person, he’d leave his family and go traveling around Australia and grow some dreadlocks.”
While it’s now evident Aegon won’t be getting his wish it remains to be seen how Aegon will deal with this newfound power both in next week’s finale and the seasons that follow.
House of the Dragon is available to stream on HBO Max now.