Finn Bennett on why Aerion cheats in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms tourney: “This tournament is an embarrassment”

Finn Bennett has cracked open the psychology of Aerion Targaryen, and what emerges is a prince drowning in contempt for everyone around him. The actor reveals that Aerion walks into that tournament believing he’s wasting his time—that the whole spectacle is beneath a Targaryen’s station. But here’s where it gets interesting: his disdain masks something sharper. Aerion isn’t just cruel for cruelty’s sake. He’s playing chess while everyone else plays checkers.

Quick Read:

• Finn Bennett says Aerion finds the tournament beneath the Targaryens and fundamentally embarrassing

• The prince’s cruelty stems from calculated strategy, not mere sadism or vanity

• Aerion uses chaos as an opportunity to assert dominance and instill fear in his subjects

Boredom as a weapon: the prince who sees through the pageantry

Bennett’s portrayal hinges on this crucial insight: “For me, I was investigating where we are in the history of Westeros: There’s a rebellion on the horizon, and the Targaryens don’t quite have the firm grasp on power that they have enjoyed for centuries. So to Aerion, I think this tournament is an embarrassment. He feels as though it’s beneath them and that they don’t actually belong here.

The main note that I wanted to come in with is he’s fucking bored and doesn’t want to be here.”  Aerion’s contempt isn’t a character flaw—it’s strategic awareness. While others are dazzled by jousting and pageantry, he sees a kingdom fracturing, a dynasty losing purchase. His boredom is lucid, penetrating.

The calculation behind the cruelty unfolds

What Bennett captures so masterfully is that Aerion’s cruelty serves a purpose. “And then, in episode three, a Peter Claffey–size spanner is thrown in the works. And Aerion uses it as an opportunity to do something big, to strike and instill fear and respect in the hearts of his subjects. So that’s what drew me to it, is that he’s absolutely vain and cruel, but I actually think he’s very calculated.”

The prince seizes chaos as opportunity. Where others see disaster, Aerion sees a platform. He’s vain, yes. He’s cruel, absolutely. But beneath that narcissism lies a mind that operates several moves ahead. He understands power doesn’t flow from tournaments or pageantry—it flows from fear, from domination, from making subjects remember why they should kneel. Do you think Aerion’s calculation will ultimately save him, or is his arrogance a fatal blind spot?

Read next: “They really have this stillness”: Finn Bennett praises Emma D’Arcy, Matt Smith & Emilia Clarke’s Targaryen portrayal