Ewan Mitchell breaks down the new dynamic between Aemond and Aegon

The most recent episode of House of the Dragon, "Smallfolk," found Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) firmly in control of his regency. He's appointing new counselors, making demands of his allies in the Riverlands, and playing mind games with his older brother King Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), who's recuperating in bed after Aemond blasted him with dragonfire during the Battle of Rook's Rest.

"It’s never been great between those two," Mitchell told Variety. "Aemond has always seen Aegon as someone inferior who lacks the dedication and persistence to be king, whereas Aemond has always seen himself as — although he is the spare — that he should have been treated as the first son."

"I love that scene when they vote Aemond into power, and he goes from one end of the table to the other because there is this massive switch. Aemond has been serving the war from this side of the table. He goes to the other side, and he sees all of these other characters in a new perspective. How can they serve Aemond now? It’s somewhat similar to the relationship with Aegon. How can he serve me now that he’s in his bed, and he’s terribly crippled from what Aemond did to him in the skies above Rook’s Rest?"

Aemond doesn't murder his own brother while he lies in his sickbed, but he isn't especially friendly with him, insisting Aegon reveal what he remembers of the battle and putting pressure on Aegon's brutal burn wound. Then again, he also gives Aegon one of those little roll call small council balls, which means...what, exactly?

"I love that scene, because it’s almost like Stephen King’s Misery,” Mitchell said. "It’s like this spider leering over his prey in the web. You’re right there in the palm of my hand. That’s certainly a new dynamic for Aemond, as well as his brother, who’s now physically inferior than him. I can’t wait to see where it goes. If I give all the answers, people will stop asking the questions. That’s a really cool way of looking at it. It’s the king’s marker. Maybe Aemond is giving it back to his brother, maybe he’s trying to reassure him that everything’s gonna be okay — 'You’ll be king after you recover' — maybe lure him into that false sense of security."

If I were Aegon, I'd be alert, which is tricky when you can barely move. Thank goodness he has a new partnership with Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) under his belt.

Ewan Mitchell teases Aemond-Daemon conflict on House of the Dragon

With one rival convalescing, Aemond is focusing on another: his uncle Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), who's been (ineptly) gathering an army in the Riverlands to resist him.

"Aemond has a multitude of motivations. One of them is that he wants to be the war hero, and to be seen as this nigh-unkillable force, very similar to the Rogue Prince, the younger Daemon Targaryen," Mitchell explained. "Especially because Aemond wields the largest singular power in Vhagar, with that power comes a great responsibility. He has to be seen as someone who can capably control that power. It ultimately means that in his mind [he] has to be the person who wins the war for the Greens. He’s prepared to do the necessary evil. That’s the thing with Aemond, he doesn’t necessarily consider other people’s perspectives in the situation. He’s got his own singular vision. He sees the world through a very black and white filter. You’re either with him or you’re against him, and if you get in his way, he will cut you down."

And one of the things he sees is that a clash with his uncle is inevitable. "I don’t want to spoil anything, but if those guys end up meeting in a room somewhere, every household object would become a dangerous weapon." I would like to see it.

Aemond has emerged as one of great drivers of the plot this season, and for that I am very thankful. He's arrogant and merciless, but also very exciting to watch, with a bit of vulnerability underneath he does his best to hide. "[O]ne of the other driving factors Aemond is he wants his mom, that thing he’s always craved," Mitchell said. "He wants her affection. I don’t think there was anything more Aemond wanted at the end of Episode 10 of Season 1 than to just be held by his mom, and he wanted to say: 'I’m sorry. I messed up. I made a mistake. I let my emotions get the better of me.'”

"He possesses this code that stops him from doing that. He must be seen as this nigh-unkillable, Terminator-like figure who doesn’t feel anything because love is weakness, and “weak” isn’t in Aemond’s vocabulary."

As long as he's entertaining, he can be as delusionally invincible as he'd like. Aemond continues his march of atrocities every Sunday night in new episodes of House of the Dragon.

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