Tom Glynn-Carney hasn't given up on making Aegon II Targaryen sympathetic in House of the Dragon season 3.
The actor spoke to Entertainment Weekly in a new cover story about the upcoming season and his character's renewed fight for the Iron Throne. He said that his goal has always been to show the human at the heart of Aegon's actions, no matter how heinous they might be. He'll have plenty to work with in that regard coming up, and it sounds like he is embracing the challenge.
House of the Dragon season 1 introduced Aegon as a cruel and unambitious boy, using his status to assault a serving woman with impunity, and for petty squabbles with his brothers, among other things. Glynn-Carney said that he never wanted to portray Aegon as simply "a problematic young man who was a product of his background and his upbringing and the people that he surrounds himself with," adding: "There was a human side to him as well. There's a vulnerability and a fragility."
After season 2 broke Aegon down, it's easy to imagine him conveying "vulnerability and fragility" going forward. The prince was badly burned by dragon fire and left disabled by his fall in the Battle at Rook's Rest. However, the season ended with Aegon rekindling his resolve to fight for the throne, and Glynn-Carney promised many more twists and turns to come in his story. He said that Aegon's story has always been plotted as a "slow burn," so we shouldn't count him out yet.
Aegon is a classic Game of Thrones character archetype
Some fans were clearly nervous when House of the Dragon season 2 gave Aegon some humanizing moments. They feared the show would ask them to empathize with this clueless prince after he committed a sexual assault in season 1 — a tall order, yet not unheard of in the Game of Thrones franchise. The main series took us on a similar emotional roller coaster with Theon Greyjoy, among other characters.
Glynn-Carney's read on Aegon's role is perfect for this situation. He can't really be sympathetic, and he shouldn't be likable, yet he must still be a fully-realized character, warts and all.
Glynn-Carney has zeroed in on the real superpower of this franchise, which is often overlooked in hindsight. George R.R. Martin's writing is completely character-driven, and every character has realistic human responses to the world around them. That doesn't mean that he and the TV writers are endorsing the actions of characters like Aegon — only that they're maintaining rigorous consistency. Readers are viewers are confronted with the uncomfortable fact that even a monster like Aegon isn't evil for cartoonish reasons, but for reasons grounded in the plot.
For now, we can look forward to watching Aegon at his lowest, licking his wounds and searching for a way back into the war. House of the Dragon season 3 premieres on Sunday, June 21 on HBO and HBO Max.
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