Warning: The following contains major spoilers for House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4Come back now if you are not up to date!
House of the Dragon has struck again. The latest episode is nothing short of exhilarating – and downright shocking. Finally, after two episodes of careful politics, caution, and strategy, Rhaenyra unleashes the dragons into war, and blood is flowing quickly at their heels (or claws).
We caught up with Aemond Targaryen actor Ewan Mitchell shortly before the seismic episode aired to discuss the jaw-dropping finale, which saw Rhaenys and her dragon Meleys meet a heartbreaking end on Rook's Rest… and the Green King Aegon take a serious beating. Check out our spoiler-filled analysis of the episode's biggest moments below.
Rest in peace Rhaenys
For a moment, it seems as though Rhaenys will escape the battle. She flies safely out to sea when, literally out of nowhere, the mighty Vhagar rips her dragon's neck off in its fearsome jaws. Meleys is killed, and Rhaenys plunges to her own end.
Of course, this isn't the first time Aemond has been responsible for mass death in the House of the Dragon – although, as Mitchell immediately points out, “Luke and Arrax, it wasn't Aemond's fault, it was all Vhagar's fault.”
This time, however, Mitchell believes Aemond has accomplished exactly what he set out to do, and it's all a consequence of the bloody family history that underlies the Dance of Dragons.
“It goes back to episode 7, when Aemond is being tended to by one of the maesters after he’s had his eye gouged out,” Mitchell explains. “Aemond had forgiven Luke for gouging out his eye, he just hadn’t forgotten that he got away with it. And that’s not partly because of Lucerys, it’s partly because of that scene, where a lot of the adults were silent in that scene, including the sea serpent, including Rhaenys.
“And so Aemond forgives, but he does not forget. What could have been resolved with simple words of apology has been left to fester, cast aside,” Mitchell continues.
“Like a lot of issues that get pushed aside, it often exacerbates it. And over the years, it’s grown and grown and grown. And then what you see in the sky over Storm’s End at the end of Season 1 is really human nature running its course, and the story of these two characters reaching a crescendo. The intention this time in Episode 4, I think was much more intentional. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was in control of his dragon, and he knew the consequences going forward.”
Powerful couple
Indeed, Aemond and Vhagar work together in perfect harmony in this episode. It's a stark contrast to the Season 1 finale, when Aemond lost control of his dragon, leading to disaster.
“Otto Hightower’s words ring true early in the series, when Otto says, ‘You have to control your emotions.’ And Aemond, he takes that in stride,” Mitchell says. “One of the interesting things I love about dragons and their riders is that they’re almost extensions of each other. You could say that the Blood Dragon’s bloodlust is similar to the Rogue Prince’s bloodlust and how he wants to prove himself, especially in his early years. And Vhagar is a very clear demonstration of Aemond’s will, and those two together, the power couple that they are, I think he may have been able to control his dragon a little bit more than he did in Season 1.”
Given that Vhagar was once the dragon of Laena Velaryon, Rhaenys's deceased daughter, the conflict seems to be personal to him as well. However, according to Mitchell, Aemond would have been prepared to attack anyone who flew over Rook's Rest. “The plan was for Fabien Frankel's character, Criston Cole, to mobilize troops from across the Riverlands, take their dikes, and integrate them into his army to attack Rook's Rest,” he explains. “And Aemond's role in all of this was to provide air support if they were to be confronted by rival dragons. In Aemond's mind, the dragon wouldn't matter; if they were confronted by an enemy piloting a dragon, Aemond would be there to take them out.”
The king has fallen
But while Black may have been dealt a major blow with the deaths of Rhaenys and Meleys, Green also suffers losses: King Aegon and his dragon Sunfyre are knocked out of the sky by a deliberate blast of fire from Vhagar.
They crash into the forest, and when Criston catches up to Aemond, he is standing over his fallen brother, his sword drawn. He appears to be sheathing it, but he may be considering using it as well.
“That’s what’s so fascinating about this character, you don’t know what’s going on in his head,” Mitchell says. “He can be looking at someone thinking about making him a nice meal and taking him on a date, or he can be looking at someone thinking about how they want to turn him into a meal and take Vhagar on a date. You don’t know what he’s thinking, but you know he’s thinking. He’s not just a one-dimensional character in a black hat. He’s not a mindless sociopath. There are cogs turning behind his eye.”
It’s Aemond’s enigmatic complexity that makes Mitchell reluctant to dwell on what Aemond is thinking as his brother lies on the ground. “And if I had to answer your question, what he was going to do at that moment, I don’t know if people would stop asking me that question, so to speak,” he says. “And I think that’s what’s so fascinating about this character, there’s a fear of the unknown. You don’t know where his true allegiances lie.”
House of the Dragon season 2 airs weekly on Sky Atlantic and the NOW streaming service in the UK and HBO in the US.
For more from our interview with Mitchell, find out how the actor Michael Myers inspired his portrayal of AemondWhat Aemond has in common with Robert De Niro's Heat characterand the rivalry between Aemond and Daemon. You can also learn more about House of the Dragon with our deep dives below: