As the second son of King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) and Queen Alicent (Olivia Cooke), Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) is one of the most compelling and emotionally complex characters inHouse of the Dragon.Ewan Mitchell’s cold, vulnerable portrayal blends the ferocity of a vicious knight with the unpredictability of Aemond’s uncle, Daemon (Matt Smith). The character goes froma boy who was bullied by his siblings to the rider ofthe largest dragon in Westeros, Vhagar, and Aemond dedicates himself to combat training with more rigid discipline than his older brother, King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney). Aemond’s traumatic childhood and militant mindset also cause him to draw first blood against Rhaenyra’s Blacks by the end of Season 1, but Season 2 ofRyan Condal’sprequel epichas so far seemingly forgotten the act and its role in his identity:the fact that he is a kinslayer.
In the world of Westeros, kinslaying is the killing of a family member at the hands of another, and it is ranked among the most dishonorable acts of violence a person can commit. Since Aemond kills his nephew, Lucerys Velaryon (Elliot Grihault), with Vhagar inHouse of the Dragon’s Season 1 finale, the prince already qualifies for the sin, but Season 2 ofthe series has yet to explore the full implications of Aemond’s crime.InGeorge R.R. Martin’s prequel novel on whichHouse of the Dragonis based,Fire and Blood,Aemond’s murder of Lucerys earns him the title of Aemond the Kinslayerto his enemies, bringing with it a legacy of guilt and shame. In the show, Aemond’s kinslaying is barely acknowledged by members of the Red Keep, barely delving intothe taboo of kinslaying or howAemond’s murder demonstrates the hypocrisy of the Greens.
House of the Dragon
The reign of House Targaryen begins with this prequel to the popular HBO seriesGame of Thrones.Based on George R.R. Martin’sFire & Blood,House of the Dragonis set nearly 200 years beforeGame of Thrones, telling the story of the Targaryen civil war with King Viserys.
Kinslaying Carries a Severe Stigma in the World of Ice and Fire
While fans of bothGame of ThronesandHouse of the Dragonknow Westerosis no stranger to horrific wars, bloody weddings, and heartless massacres, even the citizens of the Seven Kingdoms have to draw the line somewhere. Throughout both shows and George R.R. Martin’s multiple books, characters of various classes, religious backgrounds, stations, and titles repeatedly insist thatno one is as cursed as the person who chooses violence over family. Those who do are reviled in the eyes of both friend and enemy, and the majority meet tragic ends as a result of their alienating act. Therefore,Aemond’s own act of kinslayingcarries an entire history of extrema stigma on its back, andthe true cost of the prince’s murder is him being turned into a cursed social pariah.
Past examples of Westerosi kinslayers illustratethe bloody cost of killing family. InGame of Thrones, one of the most dramatic examples of the taboo occurs in Season 2, when Stannis (Stephen Dillane) kills his brother through the magic of the Red Priestess Melisandre (Carice Van Houten). In Season 3, Episode 5, “Kissed by Fire,” Robb Stark (Richard Madden) also becomes a kinslayer when he executes Rickard Karstark for murdering Lannister hostages, as the accused himself admits that theKarstarks and Starks share a related bloodline. The fact that both Robb and Stannis later face brutal ends in the series reaffirms the Westerosi idea that kinslayers are inherently cursed, with Robb’s betrayal at the Red Wedding and Stannis’s defeat outside Winterfell emphasizingthe tragic fates awaiting those who partake in Aemond’s crime.
Even Targaryens, who tend to be exceptions to the rules of the Seven Kingdoms' various faiths, suffer from the stigmatized form of violence.InFire and Blood,King Maegor Targaryenis impaled on the Iron Throne after stealing it from his nephew, Aegon the Uncrowned, and killing the boy during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye. In the battle’s aftermath, Maegor is believed to be cursed when he is unable to produce an heir, further isolating him from his subjects.House of the DragonSeason 2, however, chooses not to demonstrate the social costs of Aemond’s actions but the personal ones, as Aemond confesses to regretting that he killed Lucerys in the arms of a brothel keeper (Michelle Bonnard). The show thereforechooses to depict the more intimate struggles of Aemond processing his own actions,rather than any potential blow to his social status.
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Alicent and Halaena’s grief did more than just replicate the event in George R. R. Martin’s novel.
The Greens’ Reaction to Aemond’s Crime Reveals Their Own Hypocrisy in ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 2
The potential stigma attached to kinslaying is of much more interest to the rest of Aemond’s faction, however, asthe Hightowers' Greens attempt to use Season 2’s most high-profile instance of family murder to strengthen their position. Taking advantage ofBlood and Cheese’s assassination of the infant Prince Jaehaerysand the realm’s hatred of kinslayers, Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) immediately uses his grandson’s death as an excuse to blame Rhaenyra and incite public outrage towards the Black faction. The title of this week’s episode, “Rhaenyra the Cruel,” stems from the small council’s use of Jaehaerys’s intentionally public funeral to villainize Rhaenyra in the killing’s aftermath, but sinceAemond’s presence gives the Greens their own prominent kinslayerin their midst, the effortonly really reveals the Greens' own false attempt at public virtue.
If the Hightowers really cared about punishing royals guilty of kinslaying, they would have imprisoned Aemond the moment he returned from Storm’s End after killing his nephew. Instead,the Red Keep’s own version of Prince Daemonis given little more than a light scolding in the small council chamber, whileKing Aegon is nothing if not complimentary to his brother for Aemond’s murderous accomplishment. Aside from emphasizing the tragedy of Prince Jaehaerys’s death, the Greens' funeral serves to sell the citizens of King’s Landing on the lie that the Hightowers truly care about what is considered right. In reality, the Greens' usurping of Rhaenyra’s throne and hypocritical protection of their ownreveal that what the faction has always cared about is power, and Aemond’s abilities as a warrior and dragonrider are the Greens' best chance at keeping the throne.
Furthermore,this week’s episode ofHouse of the Dragonmakesthe Greens even more culpable of kinslaying than the Blacks. While Daemon is directly responsible for hiring Blood and Cheese to murder Jaehaerys, Aemond’s murder of Lucerys almost brings the two sides to an even playing field. As Season 2, Episode 1’s title, “A Son for a Son,” suggests, the Greens and the Blacks traded lives at the beginning of their dance. However, with Aegon approving Ser Criston Cole’s (Fabian Frankel) plan to send Ser Arryk Cargyll (Luke Tittensor) after his twin, Ser Erryk (Elliot Tittensor), on Dragonstone, the Greens initiate a mission which results in the brothers all but murdering each other, castingan even greater kinslaying stain on the Greens' honorthanPrince Daemon’s callous assassination attempt.
It’s unclear why the series refuses to even attach kinslaying to Aemond’s name, especially since it now acknowledges how horrible the crime is. Instead, the show overlooks the social stigma of kinslaying and refuses to acknowledge how Aemond’s murder of Lucerys contradicts the Greens' most recent attempts to curry public favor inHouse of the Dragon. Aemond’s status as a kinslayer makes him cursed in the eyes of the Seven Kingdoms, while the Greens' deceptions emphasize their false face of self-righteousness that Rhaenyra recognized in Alicent duringHouse of the DragonSeason 1. As war unfolds and Aemond’s actions inevitably reap their consequences, the series still has time to demonstrate how the shame of kinslaying may yet drive more allies from the Greens' cause, as well aswhether one of the show’s most layered characters can survive being haunted by his most shameful murder.
House of the DragonSeason 2 is currently streaming on Max. New episodes air every Sunday.
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