The other day, HBO revealed several official character descriptions for its upcoming Game of Thrones prequel show House of the Dragon. The show will be about the Dance of the Dragons, a brutal civil war that tears Westeros apart some 200 years before the story we know. Characters like Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower got the lion’s share of attention, but there are a lot of characters in this series, even if not all of them will feature prominently in season 1.
Take Aegon II Targaryen, the first-born son of Alicent Hightower and King Viserys Targaryen. When his father the king dies, he’s the nominal leader of one of the two major factions vying for the Iron Throne, the other being his elder half-sister Rhaenyra. Aegon starts out as more of a figurehead than an actual leader, with his mother Alicent and other advisors pulling the strings, which may be why he hasn’t featured prominently in the marketing thus far.
Still, he becomes an important figure. He’s played by English actor Tom Glynn-Carney, who recently talked to Wonderland Magazine about the part. (Thanks to the sleuths on Reddit for finding it.)
Aegon II Targaryen is a “very, very complex character”
Or rather, he tried to avoid talking to Wonderland about the part — this was before HBO officially revealed that he was part of the show — but he still ended up speaking a bit about Aegon anyway.
“It’s definitely one of the darker roles I’ve played,” Glynn-Carney said. “It’s a very, very complex character. One minute we love him, then the next we hate him, but I’m really enjoying that sort of back and forth aspect of the role. It’s a tricky thing to play, but it’s rewarding in so many ways.”
That does sound like Aegon. In his youth, Aegon is known to be lazy and sulky. He’s given to drink and debauchery, habits he never really gives up, not even after he marries his much more pleasant sister Helaena Targaryen, played by Phia Saban. (Yes, there are incestuous relationships on this show. Welcome back to Westeros.)
So Aegon has some flaws, but he also has to endure a lot of suffering during this story…not that it improves his disposition. There are actually quite a few very conflicted, complex characters on this show. It’ll make it a challenging watch, but if the team can pull it off, it could be something very special.
House of the Dragon premieres on HBO and HBO Max on August 21.
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